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SALT LAKE CITY — With the nation still recovering from the Great Recession — a time when unemployment across the U.S. soared to 10 percent in October 2009 — the job market may be facing a new, unique challenge: a shortage of skilled workers.
In fact, the current national unemployment rate of 6.2 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, may be misleading because it does not account for American workers dropping out of the labor force because of dismal job opportunities.
According to a Harvard University study, by 2018, 57 percent of America’s jobs will require skilled workers while 33 percent will require a four-year degree or higher, and just 10 percent will be available for unskilled workers.
Part of this phenomenon may be due in part to the “college for all” mentality in U.S. homes and high schools. In the past few decades, high schools have shifted from preparing students for trades and vocational school and focused on readying them for university educations.
While a four-year or graduate degree may be a noble ambition, the more students who achieve these degrees are in turn intensifying the mismatch of potential employees’ skills to the demands of the job market.
This widening gap will present interesting opportunities for educators and students in the coming years. Now, more than ever, certificates and two-year degrees are presenting graduates with a wealth of employment options.
Some colleges are beginning to take note of the evolving job market. LDS Business College, for example, has prepared students with certificates and degrees in skilled trades since 1950.
Now, as market demands shift, the college has refined its course offerings to those in highest demand. These include network engineering, database engineering, computer programming, server administration and social media marketing — something you might see in traditional universities soon.
Keeping an ear to the beat of the current market is an important part of preparing students to be successful in those careers that are most widely needed. The face of the “skilled laborer” has changed dramatically over the course of the last several decades.
While traditional skilled occupations — like electrical repair, machinery maintenance and welding — are still in high demand, other exciting trades have burgeoned in recent years. These include careers in the business, legal, medical, design and technology fields.
As the face of U.S. employment continues to evolve, becoming successful means that U.S. students — and the colleges they attend — will need to evolve with it.
A journalism graduate from Brigham Young University, Kristen has experience writing in a variety of fields, including art and culture, health and fitness and financial and real estate services. Kristen has written for USA Today, SFGate and the Knot.
