In a recently published study by Georgetown University's Center for Education and Workforce, the authors find that not enough Americans will have the right education for the jobs that will emerge in the next several years. Here is a quote from the study that you can find here: http://cew.georgetown.edu/jobs2018/
"America is slowly coming out of the Recession of 2007—only to find itself on a collision course with the future: not enough Americans are completing college . . . By 2018, we will need 22 million new workers with college degrees—but will fall short of that number by at least 3 million postsecondary degrees . . . At a time when every job is precious, this shortfall will mean lost economic opportunity for millions of American workers." The executive summary is attached to this post.
This is another validation of what has been obvious since the information age accelerated in the 1990's and early 2000's. Each successive economic cycle requires workers in almost every occupation and industry to have higher levels of education and training. A job that was once performed by high school dropouts or high school graduates now requires some college level education or training. Jobs that were once performed by those with some college or an associate's degree now require a bachelor's degree. Occupations that were once the province of bachelor's degree holders are now held by those with master's, MBA's or higher level degrees.
In addition to that, jobs that now exist never existed before, particularly those that deal with anything internet or social media related. "Internet Marketing Manager" is a position that didn't even exist before 1998 and those companies that hire for that position are definitely going to hire a bachelor's degree holder plus relevant experience.
Unfortunately our policymakers and elected officials do not seem to recognize this reality as they continue to cut funding for higher education, especially the four year universities where the high demand-high impact degrees are conferred. Even the community and technical colleges, where the needed 2 year and certificate programs reside, got hit in the latest state budget. We are not doing our citizens any favors when we limit access to higher education that will help them move forward.
We must also be more forthright with young people about their choice of major as they approach higher education. While there is nothing inherently wrong about pursuing sociology or history degrees, the reality is that the job market for those graduates, as compared to engineers, is going to be weak, unless liberal arts majors have good selling or customer service skills that are useful to a business.
Washington has done a credible job of "worker retraining" and garnering the federal funds available for such programs that are delivered mostly through the community and technical college system. These programs are very good for workers who have lost jobs because of the recession, outsourcing or automation. However, in few cases can these workers be "retrained" for truly high value jobs that are less immune to the economic cycles.
The state must prioritize bachelor's and master's degree production, particularly in the STEM fields over community and technical colleges. This is not a judgement or criticism of CTCs but a simple reality of what the future will hold. This also means that we have to keep our focus on the K-12 system. We cannot allow for low standards and high dropout rates. The opportunities for those that do not finish high school or who come out of high school unprepared for higher level learning are going to get left behind and, in fact, already are experiencing hardship in this economy.
The flip side of this is that if we are going to do more to get folks into college and pursue a four year degree or higher, then college and universities must be accessible and affordable. Currently too many students and their parents are incurring large debts to get that degree. Plus in a tough economy, getting gainful employment to start repaying those school loans is much more difficult, especially if the degree is not one highly valued by an employer.
The bottom line, though, is that a society that has higher numbers of college educated citizens is better off. Those with college degrees are involved much less with the criminal justice system, are generally healthier, make higher salaries on average, pay more taxes and are more civically engaged.
One of WTIA top legislative and public policy priorities is more and consistent funding for the state's colleges and universities, particularly around STEM degrees. We will continue to be advocates for that as it is important both to the technology industry and the state.