New Report: More Than 2.7 Million 'Middle-Skill' Job Openings Projected for California by 2016

New Report: More Than 2.7 Million 'Middle-Skill' Job Openings Projected for
California by 2016

California's Economic Recovery Tied to Preparing Workers for Jobs Requiring
More than High School Diploma, Less than Bachelor's Degree; State Must Use
Economic Downtime to Invest in Training Time To Meet Future Demand

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In what will play a major
role in California's economic recovery, 2.7 million "middle-skill" job
openings -- those that require more than a high school diploma, but not a
Bachelor's Degree -- are projected for the state by 2016, according to a new
study released today by The Workforce Alliance (TWA), Skills2Compete and the
California EDGE Campaign. But to unleash the full economic benefits of these
jobs, California will need to invest in proper training and education for its
embattled workforce.

While the recession is stifling current employment growth, the report projects
that middle-skill jobs (including new and replacement jobs) would account for
43 percent of all California job openings between 2006 and 2016. Jobs that do
not require any post secondary education and jobs that require a Bachelor's
degree account for 25 percent and 35 percent respectively. While the report
illustrates that a Bachelor's degree will be a gateway to valuable employment
opportunities in California, it also demonstrates that those without a
Bachelor's degree will have ample opportunity for stable, rewarding
employment, if given adequate training.

The term middle-skill refers to the level of education required by a
particular job. It should not be confused with the actual competence and
capacity of workers and occupations. Many middle-skill occupations require
highly skilled trade and technical workers with several years of training and
on-the-job experience.

The report, which for the first time tracks California jobs at the
middle-skill level, notes that federal funds from the recovery bill are also
expected to create new jobs -- especially in industries dominated by
middle-skill occupations, like environment/energy, construction,
manufacturing, and transportation.

California's strong record of investments in postsecondary education and
workforce training has not kept up with demand for middle-skill workers. Prior
to the recession California business were struggling with shortages of middle
skill workers in crucial industries - a plight that is likely to recur once
the economy rebounds. Meanwhile, the state's structural budget deficit, which
has led to severe cuts in education and training programs, will hamper efforts
to prepare workers for these future job openings.

As of 2007, 49 percent of all California jobs are classified as middle-skill
but only 39 percent of the state's workers had the credentials to fill them.
That gap will return as jobs are created, inhibiting recovery efforts. The gap
will widen as more workers retire and if California's middle-skill educational
attainment continues to decline.

The report notes that with California staggered by severe unemployment, the
recession is the right time to develop a strong middle-skill workforce.

"Economic downtime in California must be used to invest in training time,"
urges Agnes Balassa of The Workforce Alliance, the convening organization for
the national Skills2Compete campaign. "If California seeks real economic
recovery and long-term prosperity, we must ensure our workforce has the
necessary education and training to meet the labor demands of the future. The
recession provides a time frame for businesses and the state to be
opportunistic: evaluate labor and skill needs and train and prepare for the
jobs that are expected to grow."

"We've experienced shortages in skilled workers for years, said Kellie
Johnson, CEO of ACE Clearwater Enterprises in Los Angeles. "And while the
current recession certainly limits our ability to grow, we know that when the
economy bounces back we are going to need a strong, ready and skilled
workforce to move our company ahead."

The analysis for the study was performed by TWA using data from the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, American Community Survey and
state labor market data supplied by the California Employment Development
Department. The analysis is based on the methodology developed for the
national Skills2Compete report - America's Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs - by
labor economists Harry Holzer and Robert Lerman.

The report yielded the following key findings:

-- Computer technicians, installation and repair workers, health care
professionals, and emergency first responders are among the
middle-skill
positions that will experience the largest number of job openings
between 2006 and 2016. Dental hygienists, respiratory therapists,
emergency medical technicians and industrial machinery mechanics are
four occupations where openings are expected to surge by 20 percent or
more.
-- The scarcity of middle-skill workers in California could hamper some
of
the nation's most strategically important industries. Policymakers
have
determined that a workforce with strong credentials in science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) is instrumental to U.S. global
competitiveness. But among California's STEM occupations, 44 percent
of
all jobs expected to encounter shortages are expected to reside in the
middle-skill tier.
-- Ironically, the state's shortage of adequately trained middle skill
workers is likely to be exacerbated by federal economic stimulus
spending. Much of the job growth associated with the federal Recovery
Act is expected to occur in the middle-skill sector, but training for
these positions remains under-funded in California.

-- Immigration trends are likely to do little to offset middle-skill
attrition. Most workforce growth resulting from in-migration is
projected to occur at the low and high ends of the skill spectrum (for
example, engineers brought in from overseas through H-1B visas).

The report also finds that 58 percent of the people who will be in
California's workforce in the year 2020 were already working adults -- long
past the traditional high school to college pipeline -- in 2005. The
Skills2Compete campaign says this finding underscores the importance of
investments in training and re-training the current adult workforce to closing
the skill gap. And while the nation's overall K-12 education system also needs
significant repair that alone won't solve this problem.

Echoing a vision put forward by the national Skills2Compete campaign,
President Obama first challenged every American to commit to at least one year
of postsecondary education or training in February 2009. He has continued to
signal that investing in a range of skills for America's workforce -- "be it
at a community college or a four-year school; vocational training or an
apprenticeship" -- will be a priority for his Administration.

But efforts to meet that goal are threatened by California's structural budget
deficit. Declining tax revenues caused by the slumping economy have been
accompanied by escalating expenses, leading the state to inflict sharp cuts on
programs including education and training.

"Like all economic cycles, our current recession will end -- but when our
recovery does occur, we will need adequately trained workers to take advantage
of the job opportunities," said Virginia Hamilton, Executive Director of the
California Workforce Association, representing the California EDGE campaign.
"But our structural budget gaps could outlive the recession, forcing cuts to
job training at precisely the moment when it is absolutely imperative to our
economic well-being."

The Skills2Compete campaign is calling on state leaders to embrace a new
vision to guide its economic and education strategy that would allow residents
to meet or exceed the President's challenge: Every Californian should have
access to up to two years of education or training past high school -- leading
to a vocational credential, industry certification, or one's first two years
of college -- to be pursued at whatever point and pace makes sense for
individual workers and industries. It is essential that system and policy
reforms focus on inclusion and equity in access, but also on completion, so
that all Californians can succeed and be a part of the state's economic
recovery. An education strategy guided by this vision would give California a
competitive edge for recovery and long-term growth.

The study notes historical precedents for such an initiative at the federal
level including universal high school for U.S. students in the mid-nineteenth
century and the GI Bill, which boosted post-war prosperity in the 1940s. The
report also looks at state-level precedents such as Michigan's "No Worker Left
Behind" initiative, launched in August 2007, which promises to train up to
100,000 state residents in jobs in high-demand occupations and emerging
industries.

Representatives of EDGE, a non-partisan, statewide nonprofit coalition working
to propose policy to prepare Californians for the high-wage, skilled jobs that
will drive the state's economic recovery, will meet the state's congressional
leaders in Washington, DC on November third to review the study's findings and
discuss further federal efforts to ensure all workers can get the skills they
need to play a role in economic recovery. The California EDGE campaign will
brief state policymakers on the report's findings and begin to explore ways to
make California a leading state in addressing the middle-skills gap.

The report is funded by the Ford Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, Charles
Stewart Mott Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

Skills2Compete is a non-partisan campaign to ensure the U.S. workforce has the
skills needed to meet business demand, foster innovation, and grow broadly
shared prosperity. The campaign's diverse and growing list of endorsers
include national and local leaders from business, labor, education and
training, community and civil rights groups, and the public sector. The
Skills2Compete Vision: Every U.S. worker should have access to the equivalent
of at least two years of education or training past high school -- leading to
a vocational credential, industry certification, or one's first two years of
college -- to be pursued at whatever point and pace makes sense for individual
workers and industries. Every person must also have the opportunity to obtain
the basic skills needed to pursue such education. For more information visit
www.Skills2Compete.org and www.Skills2Compete.org/California.

TWA's mission is to advocate for public policies that invest in the skills of
America's workers, so they can better support their families and help American
businesses better compete in today's economy. The Workforce Alliance is a
national coalition of community-based training organizations, community
colleges, unions, business leaders, local officials, and leading technical
assistance and research organizations. This alliance of stakeholders, who have
not previously come together, ensures that our efforts are not in the self
interest of a particular group, but are instead in the broader public interest
of the nation. For more information, visit www.workforcealliance.org.

SOURCE The Workforce Alliance

Mike Truppa, Valerie Denney Communications, +1-312-408-2580 ext. 12, office;
+1-312-286-5077, mtruppa@valeriedenney.com, for The Workforce Alliance