Manufacturing the Neoliberal Subject: Corporate Capture of Vocational Education at a US Community College

• In Event: Sociology of Education Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 23. Stratification Processes in Higher Education

Abstract

This study investigates the corporate capture of vocational education at a North Carolina community college, arguing that public institutions are being repurposed as subsidized human resources arms for transnational capital. Grounded in the concept of the “shadow college,” the analysis reveals how the democratic mission of public education is subordinated to the short-term profitability needs of private firms. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, the study demonstrates how the curriculum combines “human capital” and “deficit” models to engineer compliant neoliberal subjects. The program enforces labor discipline through intrusive behavioral interventions—such as self-optimization and scripted social interactions—that extend corporate control into the student’s subjectivity. Situated within the anti-union context of the American South, this model reinscribes historical industrial paternalism under the guise of workforce development. Ultimately, the study concludes that this employer-driven model compromises workforce resilience by producing non-transferable skills, leaving workers vulnerable to market volatility while socializing the costs of training onto the public.

Author

• Abe Walker, Fayetteville State University