Behind The Sound Bite: Tech Education
Robert Schwartz, head of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, recently came to Worcester to make the case for investing in technical and vocational education. During his remarks, he said that of all the new jobs projected to be created in the United States from now until 2018, one-third of them will require a bachelor’s degree or better. Another third of those jobs will require some post-high school training. We decided to look for the facts behind that claim and found them in a study from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
What Is the current state of jobs and educational attainment?
A study by the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown found that in 2007, 59 percent of jobs required more than a high school education. That was up from 56 percent in 1992 and up significantly from 28 percent in 1973. The Georgetown study predicts that the trend will continue, with 62 percent, or nearly two-thirds, of jobs requiring more than a high school degree by 2018.
How many jobs will be created?
The Georgetown study predicts that the United States economy will create 47 million jobs by 2018. That means that 29 million of those jobs will require more than a high school education. According to the center’s figures, 7.9 million of the jobs will require some college education, 5.6 million jobs will require a two-year degree, 10.8 million will require a bachelor’s degree and 4.7 million will require a master’s degree.
What does vocational and technical education have to do with it?
Higher education will become an even more important route to economic success in the future, according to Schwartz. But what has not been emphasized enough in the conversation, he said, is the importance of two-year degree and occupational certificate programs. According to the Georgetown Center, 14 million jobs by 2018 will require a two-year degree or occupational certificate. These occupations will pay a “significant premium” over jobs available to those with just a high school degree, Schwartz said.
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