Decision day for many prospective college freshmen was last week, the deadline for admitted students nationwide to enroll for the fall semester. But the number of people doing so in Washington was probably far below average. Half of the high school seniors here do not pursue further education after graduation.
This is not just an aspiration problem, this is a five-alarm fire. Within seven years, 72% of all jobs in the state (including trades) will require a degree or certificate demonstrating advanced knowledge.
In fact, Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce predicts that Washington will be among the five states with the highest percentage of jobs that require some form of postsecondary education. (The others are Minnesota, Massachusetts, Colorado, and the District of Columbia.)
Put another way, by 2031, only 28% of Washington jobs will go to workers with less than a high school diploma, ranking Washington state 47th in the nation.
Not all high-paying jobs will be in technology. But technology-enabled companies will need more skilled workers than ever before. This trend is no secret. The nonprofit Partnership for Learning has been issuing dire warnings for years.
Nevertheless, part of the problem lies in a failure to communicate. The Washington State Legislature funds perhaps the most generous college scholarship program in the nation, but parents of low- and moderate-income students need to know that the Washington University Grant guarantees financial aid to a wide range of families. I don't know that it's happening. Families with annual incomes of more than $100,000 can still qualify for full coverage of college tuition and career training programs.
A big part of the reason may be tradition. Despite its global reputation as a hotspot for bright innovators, Washington has never had a particularly high rate of college admissions, consistently lagging behind the national average. Instead, employers imported large numbers of workers with advanced degrees, and while the proportion of residents with graduate qualifications has nearly doubled since 2000, the percentage of local children completing higher education has essentially It remained flat.
For a while, the nation seemed to be moving forward. In 2009, 63% of high school students went on to study elsewhere after graduation. Now is the time to regain that momentum. This is one of those efforts where everyone has to pull the same rope: students, families, and school guidance counselors. Teachers, legislators, nonprofit organizations.
“Postsecondary education is no longer just the preferred pathway to middle-class jobs,” Georgetown analysts wrote. “It's becoming the only way.”
