State sets goal for dramatic increase in adult education and job training

An ambitious new Oklahoma workforce initiative calls for producing nearly 600,000 more workers with a college degree, certificate or other quality credential in just eight years.

The goal is for 70 percent of Oklahomans ages 25-64 to have post-secondary education and training by 2025. About 40 percent have that level of education now, according to the latest annual report of the Lumina Foundation.

Gov. Mary Fallin announced the goal — called Launch Oklahoma — last week to address the growing gap between the skills workers have and the skills they need to fill jobs.

“Projections show that in 2025, 77 percent of the state’s new labor market will require greater than a high school diploma, highlighting the critical need for higher education,” Fallin said in the announcement.

Launch Oklahoma was developed from recommendations by the Oklahoma Works Leadership Team, led by

There is a job for every Oklahoman who is willing to get the skills and education needed to get a job that is better than what they are doing now.”

Natalie Shirley

Natalie Shirley, secretary of education and workforce development. The goal sets the bar high, but it is attainable, she said.

“There is a job for every Oklahoman who is willing to get the skills and education needed to get a job that is better than what they are doing now,” Shirley said.

Oklahoma had 60,000 job openings this fall — 18,000 of them in vital occupations — but not enough skilled workers to fill them, she said.

“These jobs can’t stay in Oklahoma if they can’t be filled, and we can’t recruit more good jobs to the state without workers to fill them,” Shirley said.

Finish what you started

Launch Oklahoma expands on higher education’s Complete College America initiative begun in 2011 to increase the number of career credentials and college degrees conferred over 12 years by 67 percent.

CCA counts college degrees and CareerTech credentials equivalent to one year of college, said Tony Hutchison with the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

Many other valuable workplace credentials can be earned in a shorter time, Hutchison said. Examples are a commercial driver’s license, IT certifications and union apprenticeships.

The new initiative will focus on helping adults who left the education system at some point return and finish what they started.

“We’ve got to pick up the adults. Many can finish with just a year of education or training,” Shirley said.

Hutchison said some 70,000 Oklahomans have completed 70 to 80 hours of college credit but have no degree. Some of them could be awarded an associate degree immediately or with one more class, he said.

Oklahoma offers a flexible program designed to give adults a second chance to finish their degree while keeping their normal work and family routine.

The state regents are awaiting word from the Lumina Foundation on a grant that would help expand adult degree completion efforts, Hutchison said.

Plan to succeed

The Oklahoma Works Leadership Team will develop a strategic plan to increase overall educational attainment by addressing the needs of both youth and adults, Shirley said.

The plan is to be submitted to the governor by November.

The team includes representatives from higher education, CareerTech, common education and the business community, all willing partners who are on board with the effort, Shirley said.

“I’m excited about this opportunity,” she said. “We are going to be able to do this. I’m confident.”