Public Policy : California 's Workforce Skills Gap

In today’s society, a college degree has become a requirement in order to obtain a well occupied profession. Prior to the recession, which the study defines as the period between December 2007 and June 2009, bachelor's graduates were already more likely to be employed than were associate degree holders, who were more likely to be employed than those without any postsecondary degree. After the recession, employment of college graduates dropped 7 percent, while associate degree holders experienced an 11 percent drop, and employment of high school graduates fell 16 percent. The percent of people excluded from the workforce, meaning they were seeking work but couldn’t find it, rose 31 percent for college graduates, 37 percent for high school graduates, and 50 percent for associate degree graduates, though associate degree holders were still excluded at a lower rate than high school graduates (Tilsley, 2013).

Higher education in America is facing many challenges, i.e., low retention, low graduation rates and less funding. Postsecondary institutions are scrambling to remain a competitive entity within society. In order to do so, students must remain in school (Talbert, 2012). The Office of the White House states (2014), educational attainment is critical to our county’s economic success. In essence, the work force is creating more jobs requiring more education and a higher level of skill than was previously achieved. Individuals with only a high school diploma will not make into the middle class sector because of

With the workforce becoming more competitive in today’s economy, the educational requirements have increased. By the year 2020, approximately 65% of all jobs in the United States will require a postsecondary education and/or further training proceeding high school education (“Recovery”). One thing that is not increasing is the rate of college enrollment of students from the Detroit Public Schools or college enrollment in general. There are many factors that contribute to this problem, just as there are also many solutions that may help assuage it. The main reason why students from Detroit Public Schools are not enrolling in postsecondary education institutions has to do with their financial situation.

Even though the rise in the number of college graduates had positively impacted the American economy by leading to the growth of the pay gap, yet it’s still not enough. The reason is that the short number of college graduates is mainly due to the lack of

Even with the fact stated earlier that about how many college graduates work in fields that don’t require a degree, more and more jobs are requiring a college degree even to the associates degree level. Though they can argue how the number of jobs requiring a college degree fell by 1.75 million, the number of jobs that require a high school diploma fell 5.56 million. Thus proving that having a college degree could provide more job security compared to their counterparts who don’t. Along with that is how many

“By 2020, 65 percent of the jobs in the United States will require at least one post-secondary education Community colleges serve close to half of all American students, enrolling 10 million students each year, but just under 20 percent earn an associate’s degree within three years.”(Georgetown recovery: job growth and education requirements through 2020) In contrast to the 20th century, a high school diploma was sufficed enough to fulfill

This potential shortage of qualified workers has come to a level of conscious awareness and states such as Texas could benefit from the skill sets found within this diverse group of people (Hrabowski, 2012). Another problem centers on the need to fill the void that will be left by the large number of baby boomers who are close to retirement age (Malcolm, 2010). This phenomenon is not new, studies have established a correlation between earning a college degree and different socio-economic levels (Swaii, Redd, & Perna, 2003). Another study looked at the advantages of earning a post- secondary degree such as more pay, higher level of job satisfaction, movement between classes, access to better health insurance, and contributions as a tax payer (Baum, Ma, Payea, 2013). The Texas Higher Education plan “Closing the Gaps” has indicated the need for an educated workforce to contribute to the state’s prosperity and noted that an education takes an

As the writing advances, the argument shifts to people capable of hands on jobs out of high school considering whether going to college should really be advocated as much as it is today. Along with this, he says that eventually attending vocational schools will become scarce due technology and the fact that many things accomplished at these schools can be done online. He also claims that income statistics of high end jobs today are skewed considering the fact that when you look at average incomes of a profession, many of us will end up in the lower percentiles. For many people, he says, the best option is to pursue a service or hands on job that doesn’t require a four year education. He ends the essay by claiming that “College isn’t all it’s cracked up to be” as well as depreciating the value of the normal B.A. that little college pursuers end up achieving. Murray writes: “the misalignment is in the optimistic direction, as adolescents aspire to be attorneys or physicians without understanding the educational hurdles they must surmount to achieve their goals”.

A job requires skill and knowledge. Murray says, “ The increase in wealth in American society has increased the demand for all sorts of craftsmanship… work of specialized skills in stonework, masonry, glazing, painting, cabin making, machining, landscaping, and a dozen other crafts” (Murray 236). Murray says that college will not provide the skill set for these jobs. College is where. Murray wants these type of people with low academic ability to shoot for one job and not move from that occupation or move up the ladder. Sanford J. Ungar in “The New Liberal Arts” makes a counter argument saying “It is far wiser for students to prepare for change and the multiple careers they are likely to have than to search for a single job track that might one day become a dead end ” (Ungar 191). During the economic recession, many workers in the manufacturing industry were laid off without a guarantee that they would be rehired in the future or that their positions would still be available. Unfortunately some of these jobs will never come back because the positions have been modernized. Non-stop robotic arms have replaced humans in the assembly line, which have financially benefited the companies. The advancement in technology has brought the world to a state where skilled labor jobs are not needed as much as others such as jobs in computer information systems or computer networking. Ungar brings up Geoffery Grain, president of the Hart Research who says that the responsibility of higher education today is to prepare people “ for jobs that do not yet exist” (Ungar 191). Higher education will always be beneficial now or in the future, it will never be a

In search of causes for the economy’s weaknesses, Kay spoke to employers in North Carolina and came to the following conclusion, “Employers across North Carolina tell me that there is often a disconnect between the skills held by job seekers and the skills they need in potential employees” (heller.senate.gov). By listening to employers, she determined that the existence of a skills gap was a major problem preventing people from obtaining employment within the North Carolinian community. Therefore, she chose to come up with a plan that would close the gap by providing people with sufficient job training that would lead them to gain the necessary skills to obtain a job. Along with senators Heller and Donnelly, she formulated the AMERICA Works Act. This act would create a system in which community colleges and job training locations would adapt a curriculum that would enable students to learn the skills employers are in search of. Through data, it has been discovered that about 600,000 jobs are not filled because they are intended for skilled workers. With the passing of this act, such unoccupied positions would be filled and would not only assist North Carolina’s economy but the nation’s economy in general. Kay sees this plan as an evident solution from national stance and claims, “In this economy, no family should

The skilled trades in America have long been the icon of the working class. Every day millions of people rely on them yet few are ever recognized for the work they accomplish. Without the trades, there would be no office buildings, as well as no plumbing, or electricity, there are plenty more, however, that’s just to list a few. The reason for the project was for personal interest in the trades and the love for hard work over an office setting. In the paper, the lack of skilled trades and the effects that may take place are investigated further. The trades have long been what America was built on, but what’s happening to the future of them, and why fewer students are joining the workforce right out of high school. The push for college has damaged

In this paragraph he dives into college placement rates, and the costly price of college education. In the next paragraph “Today’s Jobs Aren’t Necessarily Tomorrow’s” as he continually builds on that warning of college backfiring stating that the jobs that are in demand, in today’s society

State budget cuts in California have resulted in class cuts at universities and colleges, decreasing the amount of available enrollment space for students. As a result, students are constantly struggling to register for classes, increasing their chances of retaining for a fifth year. Post-graduates are also further presented with complications, particularly in the job market. Findings show that only half of post-graduates will attain job positions in which will actually utilize their earned bachelor’s degrees. Graduate school has thus become increasingly more necessary than a high school diploma and bachelor’s degree, whereas years ago both seemed sufficient enough to maintain decent livings. As mentioned in the New York Times, “more than sixty percent of those who graduated in the last five years say they will need more formal education to be successful”(Rampell). Thus, college students in California are constantly seeking a competitive edge over their peers in order to keep up with such demands. Students, whom are the primary users, also hold different opinions regarding the issue. Essentially, the majority acceptance or disproval of such abusive behavior determines whether or not the issue is a big deal or not on campus. Students are more prone to trying things with the support of their peers.

Not only do the states’ low revenues cause affordability problems, but high unemployment rates contribute as well. As of December 2009, the nation’s unemployment rate was at ten percent (Boskin 22-27). The unemployment rate for people ages twenty to twenty-four is fifteen percent (Dickler). These numbers are still significantly high. This makes finding jobs extremely difficult for college students. Since the nation’s overall unemployment rate is high, students find themselves competing with everyone for jobs. This becomes very difficult for them. Without jobs,

In Robert E. Sullivan, Jr.’s “Greatly Reduced Expectations”, Sullivan discusses the lack of employment available to college graduates. Throughout the essay, testimonials are given by four college graduates who expected more opportunity when they graduated with a four year degree. I sympathize with these men and women who are working in jobs that do promote their ability.