Adaptation key as workforce changes
ONE of the striking observations from a recent conference about changes in the U.S. workforce came from the keynote speaker, an executive with a for-profit technical education school.
Jody Kent, a vice president at Universal Technical Institute, which has campuses in nine states, said that of the 20 jobs expected to be most in demand in the next 10 years, only three require a bachelor’s degree.
Kent noted that the traditional college track is a good fit for many students, but many families may overlook trade schools and technical schools. “When we support them, they can do extraordinary things,” she said.
Kent spoke last week at the Age of Agility summit in Oklahoma City, where, as The Oklahoman’s K.S. McNutt reported, officials noted that swift changes in technology are changing workforce needs and the way students need to be educated.
Gov. Mary Fallin said there is a 23 percent gap between the skilled workforce on hand today in Oklahoma and the skilled workforce that will be needed in 2025. Fallin’s administration has started programs aimed at narrowing that gap.
We have long argued that moms, dads, educators, lawmakers and others need to begin rethinking their approach to education. In order to make Oklahoma attractive to business, the state certainly needs more young people who graduate with bachelor’s degrees and advanced degrees. But it also needs students who are interested in two-year programs and trade apprenticeships.
A recent report from Oren Cass, a senior fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute, highlights the importance of promoting varied education options.
Cass found that among a cohort of 100 students who arrive in ninth grade each year, about one-fifth will fail to complete high school on time. One-fifth will graduate on time but not go on to college. A similar number enrolls in college but drops out. One-fifth finish college but don’t find a job related to their degree. And one-fifth go successfully from high school to college to their career.
Although the rate of high school graduates enrolling in college is higher than in years past, “that has not translated to a surge in college graduates,” Cass writes. He says the share of students attaining a bachelor’s degree by age 25 “has not risen for two generations.”
He argues that “the cultural imperative persists to push more people into the college pipeline” because of the potential for better career prospects. Consequently, Cass says, the public education system is geared largely toward college prep. Cass says strong vocational programs for high school-age students are the norm in many countries but not across the United States. Oklahoma doesn’t fit that description— our state’s highly regarded CareerTech system provides outstanding options to high schoolers who may not be wired for a four-year education.
That must continue, as must the need to encourage Oklahoma students to explore all options after high school, if the state is to succeed in meeting the everchanging needs of the 21st-century job market.