Strengthening our Workforce

By 2014, 78 percent of jobs in the state of Washington will require some college or training beyond high school. A full 51 percent of all jobs will require a bachelor's degree, while 26 percent will require some postsecondary training.^[1] And, as is true for the U.S. as a whole, Washington's secondary school graduates need college and work ready skills to compete for living wage jobs.

 

In addition, all students—not just the top 5 or 10 percent—must gain deep knowledge and strong skills in science and math by the time they graduate from high school. This is imperative, not just for ensuring that all students have the tools to succeed in postsecondary education and the workforce, but also to ensure that the state of Washington has a strong technical workforce, and a competitive economy. Washington is currently graduating only enough students with the credentials to fill 67 percent of the expected annual job openings from 2009 to 2014 in engineering, 56 percent in computer science, and 65 percent in the medical professions.^[2] To fill these gaps, the state must drive schools and districts to achieve high levels of STEM course completion and dramatically accelerate the achievement of low‐income and minority students in STEM content areas.

 

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[1] Forgotten Middle‐Skill Jobs, www.skills2compete.org

[2] STEM Initiative Concept Paper

Dateline: January 11, 2010, 3:04 pm