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America should guarantee two years of education or job training to our workers
The rhetoric of policymakers and political candid ates is peppered with references to “preparing the workforce of tomorrow.” Most often such st atements are coupled with calls for reform of the K-12 education system. Although improving the quality of our schools is essential, by focusing our workforce policy exclusively on the K-12 system, we are ignoring a fundamental reality . . . Two thirds of American workers in 2020 will be adults who are already in the workforce today.
Think about it. The barrista who makes your coffee, the cashier who takes your drycleaning, the security guard who signed you into the building: we are dependent upon them to be our economic engine. Are they ready? A new national campaign, Skills 2 Compete, has come up with a way to ensure th at they are. The diverse endorsers of Skills 2 Compete, including SF Works and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce, assert that every US worker should have access to the equivalent of at least two years of education or training past high school to be pursued at wh atever point and pace makes sense for individual workers and industries. In addition, every person must also have access to the basic skills needed to pursue such education.
Guaranteeing two years of postsecondary educ ation or training may seem radical. However, it is a reality in other industrialized countries with growth rates far exceeding our own. Economic growth in Ireland, now one of Europe’s richest countries and with per capita GDP higher than our own, was spurred by a national policy to cover the tuition of any worker wishing to go to college for up to two years. The US currently spends a miserly .04% of our GDP on job training, resulting in us ranking 21 st out of 25 Organiz ation for Economic Co-oper ation and Development (OECD) countries intern ationally.
We can do better. According to the OECD, even one extra year of postsecondary education leads to an increase in output per capita of 4 to 7%. Increasing the number of adults with more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree by 10% could increase annual federal tax revenues by almost $14 billion. Guaranteeing two years of ongoing education or job training is an investment that will more than pay for itself. It is also popular. A 2007 University of Connecticut poll found that the majority of Americans believe the government should invest more in job training to help workers adapt to changes in the economy. A 2005 poll by the Feldman Group found that, by a 69 to 26% margin, Americans believe th at investing in education and training is a better way to grow the economy than cutting taxes.
As candidates’ forums take center stage in advance of this November’s elections, guaranteeing two years of education or job training to America’s workers, is one issue about which there should be no debate.
Add your organization’s name to an impressive and growing list of organizations in support of the Skills 2 Compete campaign. Endorse Skills 2 Compete now.
Read analysis of the Presidential Candidates’ workforce education positions.
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