Technology fuels need for new skills

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz
Posted 4/10/2013

  

There are many ideas about what we can do to boost the economy-investing in infrastructure, controlling inflation, improving access to capital and getting our national debt under control are just some of the proposals being considered. However, I believe there is something else we should tackle first. 

We are experiencing a global technology revolution. It is a revolution that is going to have as far-reaching impacts as the printing revolution which transformed the way we communicate and the industrial revolution which reengineered manufacturing. 

What is the technology revolution changing? Everything. Whether it is genomics, cloning, bioengineering, smart manufacturing, nanotechnology, big data, or how we watch TV, there isn’t anything that isn’t being impacted by technology. Every product, every transaction and every service is changing.

Previous revolutions took 50 to 60 years. This one is happening seemingly overnight. Every day there are new business doing new things and needing people trained and ready to fill the new jobs. 

The technology revolution is also changing what job skills businesses need. Many lower skilled jobs are being eliminated and higher skilled jobs are being created requiring retaining for older workers and a better educated youth workforce.

We have known for some time that high unemployment and education are related. In 2012, individuals without a high school diploma had a 12.4 percent unemployment rate and a median annual salary of $24,400. Employees with an Associate’s Degree had a 6.2 percent unemployment rate with a median annual salary of $40,800. The technology revolution will increase this education gap.

A few week ago Encino Advisors, LLC, an economic consulting firm based in Davis, CA released a report entitled “Left Out, Left Behind: California’s Widening Workforce Training Gap.” The report was commissioned by Corinthian Colleges, Inc., based in Santa Ana, CA.

The report concluded that “increasingly individuals need post-secondary education and training to secure and maintain employment. New jobs especially in the primary growth industries require new skills. Further there will be an insufficient number of skilled workers to fill the available jobs.”

This seems like the perfect role for community colleges. While CCs are well positioned for providing skill based training, the study found that there is a “significant gap between demand and supply for career education in California.” They concluded that more than two million Californians will go unserved by the state’s community colleges in the next decade. 

Last Sunday this newspaper ran a story on how difficult it is to get a community college degree. Kelly Puente reported that “the traditional two-year (community college) stint has ballooned into six years and beyond as they struggle to transfer and graduate.”

Think about what this means. Millions of Californians looking for work while good positions go unfilled. Building our economy recovery plans around fixing these education gaps is a path for success.