As job market advances, so can American workers
The US has enough work to go around. It just doesn't have a workforce trained to do it.
By Julian L. Alssidfrom the September 19, 2007 edition
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New York - Workers who lose their jobs to globalization can get government services and benefits, thanks to the Trade Adjustment Assistance Act (TAAA) passed 33 years ago.
The law is more important today than ever, as millions of jobs continue to move offshore. So when legislators debate reauthorizing it this month, they should not only renew the program but also drastically revamp the way the nation helps American workers.
The economy has changed drastically since the TAAA came into being in 1974. Advances in technology have created jobs that demand skills beyond what was expected of the average worker three decades ago. Yet during the same time period, America's share of the world's college students has fallen from 30 percent to 14 percent, and it continues to fall.
As of 2006, nearly half of adults over the age of 25 – approximately 90 million Americans – had no more than a high- school diploma or GED. Yet 65 percent of the country's fastest growing occupations require postsecondary education.
In short, it's not that the US doesn't have enough jobs to go around. It's that it doesn't have a workforce trained to fill them.
The US could close this gap if the nation made a commitment to help workers obtain two key credentials: postsecondary education and technical aptitude.
Based on my collaborations with dozens of states and localities over the past 10 years, I have identified seven steps needed to bring workers out of low-wage jobs and meet the needs of businesses and local and regional economies:
Promote access: Millions of workers are eligible for financial aid and assistance programs but don't know it. They can be connected to advanced training if they are alerted to programs such as the Temporary Aid to Needy Families, Workforce Investment Act (WIA), and Trade Adjustment Assistance. Georgia uses these funds to provide "Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally" (HOPE) grants to any state resident without a bachelor's degree.
Support students: 46 percent of students who begin their postsecondary studies at community colleges never complete a degree, according to social-policy research organization MDRC. There needs to be a focus on student retention and completion. Ohio and North Carolina are two states that have begun to reward colleges for graduating targeted populations.
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