Workforce Demands

The US faces a current and growing shortage of skilled workers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that jobs requiring higher education will grow by 22 percent between 2002 and 2012--nearly double the rate of non-college jobs. In addition, the highly educated baby-boom generation is nearing retirement age, and shortages in the scientific and engineering-related fields will be particularly acute.

Skills requirements

Beginning in the 1970s, and more noticeably toward the end of this past century, a shift occurred in the American economy. Good jobs—those that allowed families to participate as middle class citizens—required education and training beyond high school.

Today, nearly every job that ensures some economic security requires higher levels of education. The global economy relentlessly punishes those with no or only a high school education.