Fireside Chat, Panel, Interview
The Learning Gap: Creating the Workforce Industry Needs
Milken InstituteGiselle Fernandez, Felix Ortiz III, Eloy Ortiz-Oakley, Chris Romer, Raul Valentin, Judy Woodruff
- The Gulf Coast oil, gas, and chemical sectors must recruit 36,000 new qualified workers by 2016, with jobs comprising 45% of new openings over the next decade, though only 25% of the 2012 workforce possessed the required mid-level skills.
- Employers are shifting strategy to hire and train from entry-level positions, with managers and supervisors expected to be filled 75% internally, while focusing on core technical and soft skills rather than specific credentials.
- A policy shift is expected to establish post-secondary credentials as the default requirement, enabling individuals to change jobs multiple times within a 10 to 14-year career window, replacing the high school diploma as the standard for economic mobility.
- State funding models are projected to tie financial support to outcomes like degree completion rather than enrollment inputs, though this approach risks institutions avoiding the most challenging students without safeguards.
- Significant economic risks include a potential future generation crisis surpassing the 2008 recession if current employment and workforce preparation levels are not met, alongside the prospect of European economies struggling due to labor shortages.
- California faces rigid statutory constraints preventing necessary system innovation, with business mobilization required to influence policymakers away from the status quo and toward supporting STEM graduation and a global-competent workforce.
- Investments are planned to close the digital divide through low-cost internet access for over one million families and to provide youth with career pathways, while venture capital access remains critical given that only 1% of VC-backed firms are African-American and 0.5% are Hispanic.
- Future education systems are expected to evolve into a hybrid, competency-based model utilizing federal funding reforms to replace traditional Carnegie units, supporting lifelong learning and rapid adaptation to technological changes.
- Partnerships among employers, community colleges, and trade associations are anticipated to standardize credentials, improve data analytics for student-job matching, and reinvest in underserved communities to retain local talent.
- Social risks such as crime and poverty are expected to be mitigated through skills-gap remediation, while immigration policies are projected to shift from viewing newcomers as a problem to recognizing them as an economic opportunity.