Why Educators And Employers Must Come Together To Cross The Skills Gap — from forbes.com by Mark C. Perna
Excerpts:
Beyond the IT sector, skills gaps also exist in other areas of the economy, such as manufacturing and retail. There is a shortage of workers in the skilled trades industries, for example, which is growing more acute every year.
The other major factor in the growth of the skills gap is the aging of the Boomer generation, who are exiting the workforce—leaving open highly-skilled jobs that members of younger generations have not had the time or training to fill.
By 2030, forecasts predict that all Boomers will have left the job market—leaving some 85 million open jobs, according to a Korn Ferry study on the Global Talent Crunch. The cost? A projected $8.5 trillion in lost revenue.
Put another way, schools and employers need to team up in new ways to help provide access to members of the younger generation to gain the kinds of skills that make the skills gap a thing of the past. We need to connect the dots between school and work, because far too many people are getting lost in the middle.
And on a somewhat relevant note, also see:
General Assembly Launches Apprenticeship Solution to Help Employers Source, Deploy, and Retain Hard-to-Find Tech Talent — from finance.yahoo.com; via Paul Fain
Excerpt:
NEW YORK, Feb. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — General Assembly (GA) today announced the launch of GA Apprenticeships, Powered by Interapt, a tech apprenticeship solution designed to fast-track high-potential, overlooked talent into careers in software engineering, data, and cybersecurity. In light of growing labor market challenges and ongoing skill shortages across a range of industries, this new model will provide employers with a derisked opportunity to onboard entry-level tech talent while also enabling apprentices to earn a salary as they learn alongside senior-level developers.
See Workers as Workers, Not as a College Credential — an opinion item out at nytimes.com (paywall)
In one of the richest nations on earth, the path to prosperity has narrowed significantly in recent decades — especially for those without a college education. More than 62 percent of Americans ages 25 and up do not hold bachelor’s degrees, and the earnings gapbetween those with a college education and those without one has never been wider.