Ivy League is a "Chanel Handbag": Why Trade Schools Are The Real Future | Cengage CEO Michael Hansen

Are selective colleges a “luxury item”? Michael Hansen, CEO of Cengage Group, joins Hope King to debate whether higher ed should operate more like trade schools — and how AI, certificates, and skills-first hiring are reshaping the path to good jobs.

They cover the faculty–student disconnect on job readiness, the role of soft skills vs. hard skills, why healthcare and the trades are booming, what to major in for project management/advanced manufacturing, and how AI can personalize learning without losing community.

What you’ll learn:
o Why many graduates feel underprepared for work—despite faculty confidence
o How short, low-cost online certificates can bridge the skills & wealth gaps
o The stigma around “trade school” vs. elite degrees—and why that’s changing
o Where AI helps: faster curriculum updates, on-the-job training, and personalization
o Sectors hiring skills-first (healthcare, HVAC/electricians, PM, advanced manufacturing)
o Why coding isn’t the guaranteed bet it used to be—and better options now
o How internships/externships compress the school-to-work timeline
o The future: AI as a productivity lift, not mass replacement

Chapters
0:00 Should more colleges act like trade schools?
1:00 Cengage 101: platform + online skills programs
2:22 The readiness gap: faculty vs. students
3:41 Degrees + alternatives: flexible paths to the middle class
5:17 The “luxury item” problem of selective schools
6:42 Certificates, costs ($2.5–3.5k), and job outcomes
7:33 How universities partner on short, job-ready programs
9:17 Do cheaper, faster programs disrupt college economics?
10:16 Flexible pathways: degree later, skills now
11:00 AI = turbocharger: updating curriculum at speed
12:40 Freshmen dilemma: skills change before graduation—what to do
13:41 Knit school and work: internships/externships
15:08 AI + entry-level jobs: what’s actually happening
17:04 Train to use AI → reskilling beats replacement
18:02 Soft skills vs. hard skills—why the tension exists
22:04 Generational shifts, community, and communication
26:20 What Gen Z wants: short form + print for complex topics
27:39 Multimodal learning that sticks
28:12 Who hires skills-first? Healthcare & the trades lead
29:10 Degrees that still pay: PM, engineering, architecture, law
31:16 Two-year lookahead: AI anxiety fades, productivity up
32:42 Personalization without losing classroom community
33:50 The case for AI-personalized education

Guest: Michael Hansen, Cengage Group CEO
Study: https://cengage.widen.net/s/c2cxf76fc...

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