This post was co-authored by John M. Bridgeland and Jessica Milano
How can it be that today, in the midst of the most severe economic downturn since the Great Depression and millions of Americans seeking work, that 53 percent of employers -- and 67 percent of small business employers that create most new jobs -- find it difficult to find qualified workers? How can a workforce desperate for new jobs appear so helpless amid so many businesses desperate to hire?
The answers to those questions lie at the heart of a new divide that has developed within the American economy. Over the last several decades, a chasm has emerged to divide the skills of the nation's workforce, as they exist, and the demands of the nation's job market. Today, America has only 45 million workers who have the training and skills to fill 97 million jobs that require some post-secondary education. U.S. companies have to choose among importing skilled workers, outsourcing jobs, or relocating operations in markets overseas with a rising supply of skilled and affordable workers. At the same time, the nation has more than 100 million candidates for only 61 million low-skill, low-wage positions. If America wants to remain competitive, we will have to expand our supply of high- and middle-skill workers.
But that will require more than just pointing high school graduates in the direction of their nearest college campus. The national spotlight on "access" to college has shrouded another priority: ensuring that those who enter college programs graduate with the skills and credentials they will need to succeed in the workforce and help America remain competitive around the world. Today, more than 70 percent of high school graduates enroll in some kind of advanced education within two years. Yet, just over one-half of bachelor's degree candidates complete their degree within six years, and less than one-third of associate's degree candidates earn their degree within three years. America has a serious college completion crisis.
The first step to overcoming this crisis is to broaden our definition of "college." Despite the conventional wisdom that bachelor's degrees are critical to success, the job market of the future will demand a vast new supply of talented graduates of a diverse range of postsecondary programs, including those that are two-years or less. By the end of this decade, about an equal percentage of jobs will require a bachelor's degree or better (33%) as some college or a two-year associate's degree (30%). Not recognizing the value of career credentials and associate's degrees is hindering our efforts to meet the needs of employers.
The second step is to recognize that as the costs of higher education outstrip what many can afford, businesses and colleges, especially community colleges which offer shorter-term degrees, need to do more to allow students to "earn and learn" at the same time. More than 80 percent of college leaders and 60 percent of college dropouts identified financial pressures such as needing to work as a major challenge to students completing their degrees. Compounding this challenge is that oftentimes the work students do outside the classroom to pay the bills has little relevance to the degrees for which they are studying, and so rather than enhancing their studies and increasing their motivation to finish their degree, it often becomes a competing priority for their time.
Ultimately, it is crucial that American businesses work collaboratively with higher education to provide internships, apprenticeships, cooperative learning experiences, and to ensure that they are producing graduates with the competencies required by the business community. As the former Chairman and CEO of Procter & Gamble John Pepper recently stated, "Closing the skills gap is an important issue for business leaders, for citizens, and for the country as a whole." If America wants to regain its place in the world and restore the American Dream for millions of our people, closing the skills gap must be priority number one.
John M. Bridgeland and Jessica Milano of Civic Enterprises released new research this week on America's college completion crisis and skills gap in connection with the Grad Nation Summit in Washington, D.C.
Follow John Bridgeland on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@civicenterpris
Bernard Schuster
Arrive2.net
Twitter.com/arrive2.net
It is absolutely true that you must have a college degree, with good grades to boot, before you can even begin to fathom the design and development of new electronics, medicines, etc. Most science and engineering graduates with decent grades will have no trouble finding jobs.
I feel bad for the folks who think their college degree is worthless. That means there are either no jobs available in that profession, you got a job unrelated to your actual degree, or the degree isn't a profession in the first place (all to common).
The few college dropouts who made it big (i.e. Bill Gates) weren't lazy, they dropped out because they were extraordinarily smart and ahead of their time, knew how to make it big, and didn't want to miss their chance in a fast paced world. This is the exception, not the rule.
As always, generational change is equated to generational decline. Clearly, only a few truly gain wisdom with age.
*At least by volume, there's no question about it. The generation that grew up more or less constantly communicating digitally with peers and teachers has certainly learned a thing or two about "the basics of English" along the way.
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That answer is that it can't be. It's a lie. It is not true that a significant number of jobs sit unfilled because employers can't find skilled-enough workers. If you notice, very rarely are any specifics given, and when they are, the story usually winds up being something else.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/08/10/is-any-job-better-than-no-job.html
Consider the story that appeared a few months ago about a small manufacturing company whose owner complained that he couldn't find workers to fill machinist positions. He didn't even demand experience, saying he would train anybody. Wow, a machinist job that doesn't require experience? Sign me up!
Not so fast. Upon closer inspection, it turned out that these were not machinist jobs. They were machine operator jobs. Basically, they needed someone just strong enough to load the machine with blanks, and just smart enough to pull the handle when the alarm goes off. The jobs paid $13/hour.
So yes, if you game the situation just so, you can always claim you can't find "that special person." Microsoft's been doing that since the 1980s.
This whole bogus claim (which I will claim is bogus until it's supported) started with companies claiming they couldn't find programmers in the 1980s. They downright lied to Congress, leading it to believe that because it was such a new field, there just weren't any trained American programmers. That was bull. Programming has been a field since the 1950s, and certainly since the 1960s.
College simply does not teach skills which can be applied to a job or it only teaches some skills from an academic standpoint.
There are many jobs where a credential or degree is not required. In manufacturing, most of these jobs have been shipped overseas due to lower costs and the lack of workers willing to take these jobs at home.
interesting article.
Most simply don't require any.
Business just doesn't need that many social workers, political scientists, psychologists, and journalists. I'm not denigrating these skills...But we just don't need nearly as many of these people as colleges are producing.
how come these guys can never tell us just what skills are lacking? surely many of the out of work engineers and IT people could be retrained for these supposed jobs?
pull back the curtain on those who claim the skills shortage and you will often find they have an increased offshoring or immigration agenda.
Employers also wil often have unrealistic expectations and laundry lists of requirements regardless of whether or not they actually pertain to the position at hand HR depts use this as a screening tool
and where is the responsibility of the employer to provide job specific training?
More education. What a red herring to load young people with debt. If there were so many high tech and high skilled jobs in this country then why are wages stagnant or falling in the STEM fields. Supply and demand aren't showing this "skills gap." Why is it that the US invents and develops solar energy (a lot of it funded off the taxpayer) and then we let the companies ship all the production abroad where foreign governments subsidize like crazy the companies (nevermind those governments didn't have any skin in the game in terms of the high risk invention).
Read this article with regard to the so called "unskilled" American crisis. It is sick to tell an American to load themselves up with huge amounts of debt to only not be able to support themselves
http://www.nationalaffairs.com/doclib/20080710_20031533doweneedmorescientistsmichaelsteitelbaum.pdf
I don't know if your nom de plume is earned,but 85 % of last years grads are unemployed.Certainly,almost all of these are in the less intellectually challenging majors ( humanities,Liberal Arts,etc Glenn Reynolds has been talking of the "Higher Ed Bubble" for some time.A degree in a light weight field is god for the colleges,but not the students.
And,it's one reason the government work force has grown.Private sector employment cabn't use these people.