Category: Reports

2025 Report: Employer Leadership in Early Talent Development

Washington’s economy has long been a national leader, driven by innovation, strong private sector growth, and a talented workforce. Last year, research projected more than 1.5 million job openings in our state through 2032, with 75% requiring postsecondary credentials. Washington students are eager to seize this opportunity: 86% aspire to complete a credential beyond high school.

However, without systemic change to scale up enrollment and credential production, Washington will experience a shortfall of nearly 600,000 credentialed workers needed by 2032.

To safeguard Washington’s economic vitality and expand opportunity for its residents, our state must build a stronger, more aligned talent pipeline that empowers and compels more students and adults to earn credentials necessary for living-wage jobs and long-term economic mobility. High-quality, career connected learning that intentionally integrates education with career and credential pathways is one critical solution for both employers and students.

Learn more about employers who are leading on this early talent development strategy in the 2025 Employer Leadership Report for Career Connect Washington.

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Jefferson Healthcare Develops High-Demand Career Pathways

Jefferson Healthcare in Port Townsend is addressing rural healthcare workforce shortages by building a local talent pipeline through career connected learning. By partnering with local schools and colleges, they’ve developed a three-phase pathway that introduces students to healthcare careers as early as 8th grade and supports them through training, post-high school credentialing, and direct employment.

 

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Skill Up For Our Future: Priority Occupation Cluster, Advanced Computing & Tech

REPORT: Washington’s advanced computing and technology sector is growing fast—already making up 21.8% of the state’s GDP, the highest in the country. Over the next decade, demand for software developers, computer support specialists, and systems analysts will surge, with 128,000 job openings expected by 2032. Despite this demand, there’s a critical skills gap: 84% of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher, and the state is on track to produce 35,000 fewer qualified workers than needed.

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Path to 70% Update: Postsecondary Enrollment Recovery Falling Short of Workforce Needs (February 2025)

REPORT: Recent postsecondary enrollment trends reveal the challenge of meeting projected demand for workers with degrees, apprenticeships, and high-value industry certifications. After years of stagnation, enrollment at Washington’s colleges and universities plummeted during the pandemic. Community and technical colleges (CTCs) lost over 53,000 students—a 24% decline—from fall 2019 and fall 2022, while public baccalaureate institutions lost 10,000 resident undergraduates (an 11% drop).

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New Report: 1.5 Million+ Job Openings by 2032 – Can Washington Meet the Challenge?

REPORT: Washington Roundtable, Partnership for Learning, and Kinetic West released a new report, Skill Up for Our Future, taking a deep dive into what Washington’s economy will look like through 2032 and where the opportunities and challenges lie for our workforce.

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Postsecondary enrollment plateaus – 51,000+ Fewer Students Enrolled Since Pandemic

A chart showing postsecondary enrollment trends in WA state.

 

After three years of steep declines, postsecondary enrollment in Washington is showing signs of recovery. According to data shared with Washington Roundtable by the state’s public postsecondary institutions, 51,000+ fewer students enrolled in our public institutions in fall 2023 than in fall 2019 – representing a 17% enrollment decline since the pandemic’s onset. This comes when postsecondary education is increasingly the only pathway to middle-class jobs.

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Path to 70 Update: Projected decline in credential attainment demands bold action

In 2016, the Washington Roundtable set a goal: 70% of Washington students—overall and within each racial and ethnic community—will complete a postsecondary credential by age 26. This goal reflects the workforce needs of Washington employers and national and state data projecting that at least 70% of jobs in our state will be filled by workers who complete a postsecondary credential, such as a degree, apprenticeship, or industry-aligned certificate or license.

Bar graph showing the credential attainment rate trajectory over the last 15 years for Washington students.

New data analysis indicates that nearly a third of the progress made toward the goal since the class of 2006 was wiped out during the pandemic. The estimated credential attainment rate for the high school class of 2021 is 40%—three percentage points lower than the class of 2019 and 30 points below the goal.

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New report: Postsecondary enrollment declined for 3rd straight year

The crisis of stagnant or declining postsecondary enrollment – a concern even before the pandemic – is deepening at Washington’s public two- and four-year colleges and universities. According to data shared with the Washington Roundtable by the state’s public postsecondary institutions:

  • Fall 2022 enrollment of resident undergraduate students at Washington’s public four-year colleges and universities is down by nearly 10,000 students (11.3%) compared to pre-pandemic figures (fall 2019).
  • Preliminary data also indicate that enrollment across the state’s 34 community and technical colleges is down by could be down upwards of 60,000 students (an estimated decline of 26% or more).

The decline in postsecondary enrollment contrasts with the increasing economic need for credentialed workers in Washington state. From Nov. 2021 to Nov. 2022, employers added more than 130,000 jobs in Washington. That follows a decade of economic growth when a credential—such as a degree, apprenticeship, or certificate—had become essential for jobs that offer a good salary and advancement opportunities.

Read more about the picture of postsecondary enrollment in Washington in fall 2022 in our latest report. Meeting students where they are and improving the postsecondary credential attainment rate is critical to our state’s future. Join us.

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New case study: The promise of flexible learning

Washington employers will create an estimated 373,000 net new jobs in our state by 2026. Seventy percent of these jobs are expected to require or be filled by workers with a postsecondary credential—such as a degree, apprenticeship, or certificate. Bur our state is facing a crisis in credential attainment. Further, the pandemic has driven alarming drops in postsecondary education enrollment.

Our new case study explores flexible learning models that are driving up postsecondary enrollment. One particularly bright success story comes from the all-virtual Western Governors University in Washington (WGU Washington).  From 2011 to 2019, WGU Washington grew from less than 1,000 to 12,000 students. As of March 2021, there were 13,905 students attending WGU Washington, and enrollment had grown 15.8% in just the last two years.  By comparison, nearly all of Washington’s public two- and four-year institutions experienced enrollment declines during the same time period.

Our case study explores the five reasons WGU Washington cites for enrollment growth: an all-virtual model, flat tuition rate, flexible and student-directed learning, consistent mentoring, and streamlined academic pathways.

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New case study: The benefits of dual credit

Washington employers are expected to create 373,000 net new jobs in our state over the next five years. An estimated 70% of these jobs will require or be filled by workers with a postsecondary credential – such as a degree, apprenticeship, or certificate. But our state is facing a crisis in credential attainment, and the pandemic has driven alarming drops in postsecondary enrollment.

Our new report explores how earning college credit while in high school can help Washington students succeed in post-high school education, examines how to increase equity in dual credit participation, and spotlights a successful partnership between Wenatchee Valley College and Bridgeport High School.

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