Obama’s community college proposal could help small business

  • By Ryan Davis Special to The Herald
  • Thursday, January 29, 2015 8:19am
  • Business

President Barack Obama’s proposal to make two years of community college free for all Americans is getting the attention of cash-strapped college students and their parents.

But students aren’t the only ones who could benefit. If enacted, the president’s proposal could help small business owners too.

I’m not just saying that because I work for Everett Community College as EvCC’s Dean of Business and Applied Technology.

Some small businesses are struggling to find skilled employees.

According to a 2013 survey by staffing firm Robert Half, 60 of small business owners list finding skilled workers as their most significant workforce challenge.

Nearly half of the new skilled jobs small businesses are creating are “middle skill” jobs requiring a post-secondary credential less than a bachelor’s degree. As the competition heats up for these workers, smaller firms often lose out to their larger counterparts.

Few start-ups or even mature small enterprises can compete with well-staffed recruiting teams and lavish marketing budgets — not to mention higher salaries and excellent benefits.

Small businesses can offer sublime perks compared with working for a large organization, such as the opportunity to rapidly learn new skills and to really be a key part of an emerging enterprise.

In a recent business class at EvCC, I facilitated a discussion about leadership styles and what made a good workplace. Students that had worked for both large and small companies seemed to prefer the smaller environments. They found themselves more empowered, felt part of a team and valued the fact they were part of producing the end product or service.

The work was often harder, but they enjoyed the challenge. Free tuition at the community college level, as opposed to large universities, may help land skilled talent looking to help your business thrive.

Expanding access to community college by removing the tuition barrier would grow the pool of skilled workers across the nation. More importantly, the source of the new talent would be accessible to small businesses in the local community.

New college graduates would have roots in the region, and a higher likelihood of wanting to stay to work for a homegrown venture. With more college graduates in their back yard, local business will find increasing opportunities to engage with their local college to target the talent they need to grow and expand.

Additionally, the proposal would create a way for small business to grow from within. Most emerging businesses cannot afford tuition reimbursement benefits like Fortune 500 firms. With tuition waived, companies of all sizes will have access to higher education for their workforce to earn certificates and degrees without footing the bill.

Pairing the opportunity to learn new skills on the job with a pathway to a degree would help level the recruiting playing field in the search for talent.

The free tuition proposal is unlikely to find traction in the current political climate. Critics of the policy decry its cost, and some question whether tuition costs are the best way to spend additional higher education dollars. Surely the end policy would need further refining to meet its ultimate ends.

However, if our community entrepreneurs and business owners add their voice to the discussion, this may be a policy idea that can grow to satisfy both populists and pro-business camps alike.

Ryan Davis is dean of Business and Applied Technology at Everett Community College.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Business

Black Press Media operates Sound Publishing, the largest community news organization in Washington State with dailies and community news outlets in Alaska.
Black Press Media concludes transition of ownership

Black Press Media, which operates Sound Publishing, completed its sale Monday (March 25), following the formerly announced corporate restructuring.

Maygen Hetherington, executive director of the Historic Downtown Snohomish Association, laughs during an interview in her office on Thursday, Feb. 15, 2024, in Snohomish, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Maygen Hetherington: tireless advocate for the city of Snohomish

Historic Downtown Snohomish Association receives the Opportunity Lives Here award from Economic Alliance.

FILE - Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs poses in front of photos of the 15 people who previously held the office on Nov. 22, 2021, after he was sworn in at the Capitol in Olympia, Wash. Hobbs faces several challengers as he runs for election to the office he was appointed to last fall. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Secretary of State Steve Hobbs: ‘I wanted to serve my country’

Hobbs, a former Lake Stevens senator, is the recipient of the Henry M. Jackson Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Mark Duffy poses for a photo in his office at the Mountain Pacific Bank headquarters on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Mark Duffy: Building a hometown bank; giving kids an opportunity

Mountain Pacific Bank’s founder is the recipient of the Fluke Award from Economic Alliance Snohomish County.

Barb Tolbert poses for a photo at Silver Scoop Ice Cream on Thursday, Feb. 29, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
Barb Tolbert: Former mayor piloted Arlington out of economic brink

Tolbert won the Elson S. Floyd Award, honoring a leader who has “created lasting opportunities” for the underserved.

Photo provided by 
Economic Alliance
Economic Alliance presented one of the Washington Rising Stem Awards to Katie Larios, a senior at Mountlake Terrace High School.
Mountlake Terrace High School senior wins state STEM award

Katie Larios was honored at an Economic Alliance gathering: “A champion for other young women of color in STEM.”

The Westwood Rainier is one of the seven ships in the Westwood line. The ships serve ports in the Pacific Northwest and Northeast Asia. (Photo provided by Swire Shipping)
Westwood Shipping Lines, an Everett mainstay, has new name

The four green-hulled Westwood vessels will keep their names, but the ships will display the Swire Shipping flag.

A Keyport ship docked at Lake Union in Seattle in June 2018. The ship spends most of the year in Alaska harvesting Golden King crab in the Bering Sea. During the summer it ties up for maintenance and repairs at Lake Union. (Keyport LLC)
In crabbers’ turbulent moment, Edmonds seafood processor ‘saved our season’

When a processing plant in Alaska closed, Edmonds-based business Keyport stepped up to solve a “no-win situation.”

Angela Harris, Executive Director of the Port of Edmonds, stands at the port’s marina on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, in Edmonds, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Leadership, love for the Port of Edmonds got exec the job

Shoring up an aging seawall is the first order of business for Angela Harris, the first woman to lead the Edmonds port.

The Cascade Warbirds fly over Naval Station Everett. (Sue Misao / The Herald file)
Bothell High School senior awarded $2,500 to keep on flying

Cascade Warbirds scholarship helps students 16-21 continue flight training and earn a private pilot’s certificate.

Rachel Gardner, the owner of Musicology Co., a new music boutique record store on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024 in Edmonds, Washington. Musicology Co. will open in February, selling used and new vinyl, CDs and other music-related merchandise. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Edmonds record shop intends to be a ‘destination for every musician’

Rachel Gardner opened Musicology Co. this month, filling a record store gap in Edmonds.

MyMyToyStore.com owner Tom Harrison at his brick and mortar storefront on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Burst pipe permanently closes downtown Everett toy store

After a pipe flooded the store, MyMyToystore in downtown Everett closed. Owner Tom Harrison is already on to his next venture.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.