2009 WorkKeys National Conference

Lack of Skilled Workers Poses Threat to Current and Future Economy

America has jobs, but not enough skilled workers to fill them. Solving this growing problem was the lead topic among the more than 400 education and workforce professionals who attended the twelfth annual WorkKeys National Conference, held in San Antonio in May.

Cindy Leyrer, WorkKeys specialist at Ingham Intermediate School District in Michigan, makes a presentation at the WorkKeys National Conference. Leyrer spoke about the Road Construction Apprenticeship Readiness Program and how WorkKeys job profiling and assessments tie into it.

“America has a large middle-skills gap. Nearly 50 percent of the jobs in America demand middle skills obtained through education or training beyond a high school diploma. These skills are necessary for the United States to compete in a global economy,” said Martin Scaglione, president and chief operating officer of ACT’s Workforce Development Division.

Despite the current economic downturn, millions of positions remain open in America today. Most of these are middle-skill jobs requiring some significant education or training beyond a high school diploma, but less than a bachelor’s degree.

“The gravity of the challenges facing our nation and the workforce presents a serious threat to the U.S. economy now and in the future,” he said.

Partnerships—such as those ACT has recently developed with the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), The Manufacturing Institute, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)—are vital to removing the threat and ensuring success for both employers and employees.

The partnership between ACT, The Manufacturing Institute, and several other partners establishes a skills certification system, a credentialed, competency-based, customized education and training program designed to prepare the manufacturing workforce of the near future. The National Career Readiness Certificate is the foundation of the program.

Emily Stover DeRocco

“Eighty percent of U.S. manufacturers cannot find educated, skilled workers for their entry-level jobs. Without a skilled workforce, our manufacturers cannot continue to be the drivers of innovation and will not be successful in the global economy,” said Emily Stover DeRocco, president of The Manufacturing Institute and senior vice president of the NAM. She was one of three keynote speakers at the conference.

Companies cannot afford to lose the 1.2 million students who drop out of high school every year in the United States, said DeRocco. Providing educational pathways to acquire foundational, academic, and basic workplace skills so they can qualify for middle-skill jobs is one of the goals of the certification system.

Keith Bird

Keith Bird, chancellor of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System and another keynote speaker, agreed that reaching young people with education and training must happen—and soon.

“If we don’t address the 16 to 26 age group in terms of education and skills attainment, we will not break the cycle of poverty that is prevalent among this group,” said Bird.

Education is even more vital given the country’s current economic crisis, the retirement of baby boomers and the loss of the skills they represent, changing demographics, and advances in technology.

“These factors are causing a huge workforce shift that is producing demand for higher skill levels than ever before,” said Bird. “It makes practical sense for a company to hire workers who can grow with it as it transforms to remain globally competitive.”

Bird said more and more employers are turning to community and technical colleges for help in finding skilled workers. They are seeking employees who have multiple skills or the potential to learn them. “Employers are wondering where they will find skilled workers in the next three to five years.”

Pamela Tate

For Pamela Tate, president and CEO of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and also a keynote speaker, part of the answer lies in addressing the critical link between adult completion of postsecondary education and competitiveness of the national economy. CAEL’s mission is to remove barriers so that adult learners can be successful in postsecondary education and training.

More than 18 million U.S. adults between the ages of 18 and 64 have not graduated from high school and therefore do not quality for most of the jobs in the current economy. Over 51 million adults in the same age range have no college education and earn less than a living wage. In addition, a growing number of adults have started college only to drop out, primarily for financial reasons.

“By 2025, we’ll need 55 percent of our adult population to have college degrees if we want to compete with the best-performing countries. But at our current rate of degree production, we would be able to produce only about 42 percent. I find this to be a distressing picture,” said Tate.

“The National Career Readiness Certificate can be a key driver of the creation of a lifelong learning system in the United States. It is urgent that we work together, because we are falling behind and the economy needs a workforce that can take us through the twenty-first century,” she added.

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