“As the economy declines, our enrollment grows, and paired with that are the recent federal policy changes around work requirements in [Medicaid] and food benefits. And we know that those work requirements… drive further students to come to community colleges to enroll….”
“Our students are experiencing [disruption] today with technologies like AI, and that same challenge can be addressed in a similar way of how we’ve handled those transitions in the past … to help us identify how we not just prepare our students with the skills to get those jobs, but to keep those jobs, or to keep the job that they have….”
– Nate Humphrey, Executive Director, State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
Washington’s community and technical colleges often are a barometer of where the economy is headed with a cooling job market leading to a climb in enrollment for people seeking to learn new skills,, the system’s new leader says.
“As the economy declines, our enrollment grows,” said Nate Humphrey, who became executive director of the State Board for Community and Technical Colleges in August, in describing the 34-college system and its 300,000 students.
Long-term joblessness is rising, adding urgency to the issue. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says the number of people who have been unemployed for at least six months is more than double what it was two years ago.
arks a dangerous threshold with lasting consequences for workers and the economy, the agency warns.Humphrey cautioned that the college system is at a crossroads, juggling tight budgets with the changing needs of students. Colleges are pushing degree completion while expanding applied bachelor’s programs and short, stackable credentials tied to local labor demand. He noted growing online and hybrid participation and a larger share of high school students in Running Start, trends reshaping schedules, faculty loads and facilities.
At the same time, artificial intelligence is reframing workforce preparation. Humphrey said the new central task of colleges as readying students for “AI resilient jobs,” from health care to manufacturing, and deepening ties with employers to keep programs current—“working very closely with our employer partners … to help us identify how we not just prepare our students with the skills to get those jobs, but to keep those jobs.”
Questions about the system’s physical footprint persist amid more online and hybrid learning. Asked if closures are possible on TVW’s Inside Olympia with Austin Jenkins, Humphrey pointed to a regular debate that surfaces in lean times. “Since I’ve been in the role that has not been brought to me directly, but that is a conversation that has historically bubbled up, both within our state and nationally, so I certainly expect that we will encounter that again,” he said.
Humphrey said his first year will emphasize listening and trust-building with campuses, employers and lawmakers, while keeping focus on workforce outcomes. “It really is transformational what our system can accomplish,” he said, adding that as economic headwinds build, skills remain the safest hedge. If the downturn deepens, he said, “a skilled workforce is the number one way to be prepared to grow our way out of that.”