Ep. 41 Workforce 2.0: How NCLab Is Changing the Game for Employers and Students

In this enlightening conversation, Pavel Solin (Founder) and Leonard LaFrance, (President) of NCLab, dive into the future of education and workforce development. They challenge the traditional higher education model by championing a "learning by doing" philosophy that equips students with real-world skills. Pavel and Leonard share how gamification has dramatically boosted engagement and success rates in their programs, achieving a near 100% graduation rate, a stark contrast to the industry norm of 20%.The discussion also highlights their innovative career readiness assessments, which help employers find better-qualified candidates, and offers a candid look into the growth challenges they faced while scaling NCLab. From navigating competition with free programs to refining their marketing strategies, Pavel and Leonard share lessons every business leader can learn from. They also explore the role of adaptability, the rising importance of skills training over theoretical knowledge, and the critical need for a strong company culture in today’s fast-evolving workforce landscape.BIO:Pavel Solin, Ph.D.Dr. Solin is also a full professor at the Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Nevada, Reno (UNR). This CV focuses on NCLab and Dr. Solin’s educational activities. For his research CV, please visit the UNR page https://www.unr.edu/math/people/pavel-solin.SynopsisDr. Pavel Solin is an internationally renowned scientist, educator, speaker, and author. He wrote three research monographs, three textbooks, 100+ peer-reviewed articles in international journals, and presented his work at hundreds of international conferences, including dozens of invited keynote lectures. Dr. Solin believes that most students who graduate from U.S. colleges and universities lack practical skills which are required by employers. Therefore, in 2010 he founded NCLab (New Career Lab), an innovative online  training platform where students learn by doing, as opposed to watching tutorial videos or passively listening to lectures. With NCLab, students gain practical skills and become job-ready. The NCLab platform is being used at universities, colleges, K-12 schools and public libraries in the U.S. and other countries.Teaching PhilosophyDr. Solin believes that students can't learn efficiently by sitting passively in lectures, listening to many new concepts at once, without having a chance to practice each one, get comfortable with it, and master it, before progressing to the next one. He also believes that not all students learn at the same pace. The currently accepted model of higher education, called assembly line education, was established during the 2nd industrial revolution (A. Levine, S. Van Pelt: The Great Upheaval: Higher Education's Past, Present, and Uncertain Future, 2021). There is a much better model, called competency-based education (CBE), where students learn at their own pace, one concept at a time. Dr. Solin believes that CBE is the future of higher education.To connect with our guest, click on the links below:LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/company/nclab, Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/NCLabEdTech/ X:  https://twitter.com/NCLabEdTechYouTube https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=nclab+testimonialskedIn:Connect with me:Spotlight to Scale:  https://www.spotlighttoscale.com/blueprintLinkedIn: