Middle Skill Jobs
Posted March 1, 2015
A report by Mark Fadden special to the Star Telegram
While the RDFA is a sports based program we encourage and guide the student athlete to understand all the developments around them and what the opportunities can be if one take paths to gain the most results.
Middle-skill jobs can be defined as those that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four year degree. Think firefighters, advanced manufacturing workers, computer support specialists, and radiology technicians. Currently in the US,approximately 70 million people work in middle skills jobs, representing almost half of the entire labor force.
The gap between the number of qualified middle skill workers available and middle skills jobs that need to be filled has been caused by technology and innovation. The skills learned in high school simply aren't good enough to operate the more technology advanced equipment or understand the math and technology centric operations in today's middle skill jobs.
In a 2014 survey, the management consulting firm Accenture found that 69 percent of the approximately 800 humans resources executives who were polled said that middle skill talent shortages 'regularly affect their performance '.
The problem is most critical in the utilities and aerospace sectors where 50 to 60 percent of eligible retirees will leave by 2020; a problem that will worsen in all sectors as more baby boomers continue to retire. Add to all of this the estimate by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that as many as 25 million, or 47 percent , of all new job openings from 2010 to 2020 will fall into the middle skills range , and we've got real issues.
This story point out how important it is if the student decides to pursue a college degree it should be one worth while and not just to get into college , there is a lot on the table for a student in high school or just finishing high school to look into .