A recent study released by the National Skills Coalition (NSC) predicts that by 2016, Massachusetts will produce more than 396,000 “middle-skill” job openings, which include jobs requiring more than a high school diploma but less than a 4-year degree. Massachusetts’ Forgotten Middle-Skills Jobs recommends investments in workforce training and education to close the skills gap.
NSC developed the report in partnership with SkillWorks, a $25 million investment partnership to improve workforce development in Boston and Massachusetts, and The Workforce Solutions Group, a statewide coalition of employers, unions, workforce boards, education providers, and community groups. The study projects that middle-skill jobs will account for 38 percent of all openings between 2006 and 2016.
Despite the commonwealth’s strong investments in post-secondary education and workforce training, preparation for middle-skill jobs has not kept up with demand, the authors contend. The study estimates that 45 percent of all jobs are classified as middle-skill, but only 32 percent of Massachusetts workers have the credentials to fill them.
For more information and to download the full report, visit http://tiny.cc/NSCreport.
Reaction. “As Massachusetts looks to remain a strong competitor in the global economy, it’s critical that we prepare workers for the jobs of the future,” said Alan Macdonald, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable. “We look forward to developing and implementing this economic and education strategy that would better help Massachusetts residents to obtain higher skills and higher wages in middle- and high-skill jobs and careers.”
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino said, “We are proud to be a founding partner of SkillWorks and a number of other initiatives that are aimed at helping more youth and adults gain the kinds of middle-skill credentials that will position the city for growth in the years to come.”
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