Education

Now more than ever, the success of American business and the effectiveness of our education systems are inextricably linked. Business leaders must be even more engaged in ensuring that our education and workforce systems are preparing learners beginning at an early age for the increasing demands of the globally competitive 21st century knowledge economy.

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.

As President Donald Trump moves forward with his pledge to rebuild America’s infrastructure, we’re going to need more workers. And as the nation looks to rebuild the American middle class, we’re going to need more people who are workforce-ready to support it. But we find ourselves in a difficult holding pattern.

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.