Adult Literacy's Role in the Skills Gap via ProLiteracy

Adult Literacy's Role in the Skills Gap

ProLiteracy Blog: 11.15.2017 by Jennifer Paulding

What is the skills gap?

There is a gap between what employers want or need their employees to be able to do, and the skills employees possess. Good, high-paying jobs are unfilled while American workers lack the skills to fill them. This keeps many workers in the dark and unable to enter or remain in the middle class. Their lack of advanced skills means they are constantly faced with low wages and the incapacity to accomplish financial stability.

The skills gap is somewhat of a controversial topic. A number of public officials have blamed unemployment rates on skills shortages. Some educators find that many workers are either overeducated for these jobs or undereducated in the areas that fall into the skills gap. And many employers claim that it is difficult to hire employees without skills that adapt to new, evolving technologies.

The Middle Ground

The term “skills gap” often refers to the lack of “middle skills.” Middle skills are the skills that require some specialized training or certification—more than a high school equivalency degree but not necessarily a four-year college education. Because of the ongoing development of new and old technologies, a growing number of employers require workers with middle skills.

In 2015, the National Skills Coalition analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and found that “middle-skills jobs account for 53 percent of United States’ labor market, but only 43 percent of the country’s workers are trained to the middle-skill level.” Employers have trouble filling these middle-skill positions because there is a lack of sufficiently trained workers.  READ MORE >> Facts & Research

Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs: State by State Snapshots

National Skills Coalition

Middle-skill jobs, which require education beyond high school but not a four-year degree, make up the largest part of the labor market in the United States and in each of the 50 states. All too often, key industries in our country are unable to find enough sufficiently trained workers to fill these jobs. As the fact sheets show, this skill gap keeps states' economies from growing and employers from hiring.

States can close their middle-skill gaps by adopting policies that support sector partnerships and career pathways, and by making job-driven investments. States policymakers can also use data to better align workforce and education investments with employer skill needs. NSC works with state coalitions and policymakers to promote these strategies.  READ MORE >>