Competitiveness

Ask a group of students when they first used their school’s career services office, and you may hear that they stopped in sometime during their final semester. They may even say they made use of those services only during their last month. Even worse, many -- perhaps nearly half -- would say they never visited the office at all. It’s a worrying response that’s having an impact on students’ lives after graduation.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by 2020, there will be 1 million more computing jobs than workers to fill them. Demand for jobs in data science alone has grown 300 percent over the last four years. Tech skills like cloud computing and user interface design top the list of the most in-demand skills.  It’s a challenge that stems, in part, from the well-documented divide between higher education and the world of work. And the challenge is only accelerating as the shelf life of skills shrinks. 

There’s a lot of work to do and not enough skilled people to do it. That was the message U.S. Chamber President and CEO delivered at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Talent Forward event. “There’s no question that the American workforce is the finest in the world,” said Donohue. “But, if we are going to keep that advantage, if we are going to keep the promise of opportunity to future generations of Americans, we have some work to do.”

How do we address America’s skill gap? Employers, economic and workforce developers, and educators are all asking this challenging question. Everything from health issues to incarceration rates to poverty is impacted by individuals’ educational attainment levels. In fact, there may be no better ‘return on investment’ than that which is made in adult education, particularly when it comes to addressing America’s competitive skills crisis.