It is already a given fact that there has been a deepening gap between education and the workforce industry in the United States. In fact, the shift in the labor force appears to be dividing the population into more educated and less-schooled citizens.
As the U.S. economy gradually recovers from the blows of the Great Recession, the burgeoning skills gap has become undeniably evident. The reason? The workforce industry prefers more educated and skilled population.
"It's not just a factor of a more educated population, it's how the labor market is changing," Tamara Jayasundera, who authored a study conducted by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce, told Bloomberg in an interview. "The labor market is demanding a more skilled workforce."
Most Jobs Went To High-Skilled College Graduates
Ever since the United States started its economic recovery in 2010, about 99 percent of the 11.6 million jobs were filled by more educated population while only 80,000 positions went to less-schooled workers. Due to these statistics, Jayasundera with coauthors Anthony Carnevale and Artem Gulish warned that the increasing skills gap suggests a "longer-term" shift in occupational patterns.
They also emphasized that the workforce industry will now increasingly require more skilled workers, noting the need for more than just a high school diploma. With the pervasiveness of automation and other technological innovations, other job industries have eliminated the demand for clerical, administrative and other hands-on jobs.
Why College Education Is Important In Today's Job Market
With that said, the authors also highlighted the fact that college education does have an effect on the socioeconomic status of the United States. If in the past, individuals with no college education were able to work up to mid-level jobs with benefits and live a comfortable middle-class lifestyle, the authors said those opportunities are harder to achieve now.
The Growing Challenge For Business Colleges And Universities
Speaking of the significance of college education and the burgeoning skills gap, America's business majors are reportedly in need of a liberal-arts education. According to The Atlantic, business majors may secure entry-level jobs but they need more "technical skills" to progress in their careers.
This reality is true in the shifting economic state of the United States, not to mention it also suggests a growing challenge in the education sector. That's why, undergraduate business majors will need an arduous liberal-arts education.
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