College & Workforce Readiness

Report Warns of Less Skilled Workforce After 2020

By Bess Keller — April 23, 1997 2 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

The nation’s future prosperity depends on reversing trends toward a shrinking, less skilled workforce after 2020, and public schools are not up to the task, a new report declares.

The report from the Hudson Institute warns of an economic “train wreck” if the nation doesn’t fend off the effects of an aging population.

“Put simply, when the baby boomers retire, beginning in about 2010, we’re in big trouble, unless something changes,” said Carol D’Amico, a co-author of the report and a senior fellow at the conservative Indianapolis-based think tank. “The boomers are a statistical anomaly, and the next generation is smaller in number and poorly prepared to replace them.”

The report, “Workforce 2020,” is a sequel to Hudson’s 1987 “Workforce 2000.” The earlier study, which highlighted the entry of members of minority groups into the workforce in growing proportions, became a runaway best seller in business circles.

The new report, released last week, points to two major challenges in the next decade and a half: the growing scarcity of workers prepared to make the most of accelerating technological change and the dearth of younger workers to replace retiring baby boomers.

Workers will find themselves in an environment full of danger and opportunity, where the premium on skills, flexibility, and foresight will be greater than ever, the authors say.

Those with a good education and skills “will join a global elite whose services will be in intense demand.” Those without “will face declining real wages or unemployment, particularly in manufacturing,” according to the report.

America’s prosperity, in turn, will depend on the number of workers on each side of the divide.

To meet the challenges, the authors counsel a revised immigration policy that gives greater preference to skilled workers and more flexible work arrangements to encourage parents and older workers to stay on the job.

Emphasis on Schools

But even more crucial, the report argues, are good K-12 schools. Public schools must set high academic standards and dole out rewards and punishments related to meeting them.

The authors are critical of President Clinton’s effort to make the first two years of college universal, arguing that early education is more cost-effective than adult education and that college too often fails to provide students with the skills they need in the workplace.

Many of the report’s conclusions seem sound, said John H. Bishop, who heads the department of human resource studies at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y.

But he disagreed with the idea that postsecondary education should be de-emphasized. Mr. Bishop said it is a proven winner in the marketplace, where a year of college means an average of 5 percent to 10 percent higher earnings on the job.

“An investment in a 24- or 25-year-old will start paying off immediately,” he said, “and could well be more cost-effective than something done earlier.”

For More Information:

Copies of “Workforce 2020: Work and Workers in the 21st Century” are available for $20.95 each, prepaid by credit card, from the Hudson Institute, (800) HUDSON0.

Events

Ed-Tech Policy Webinar Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in Schools
AI in education: game-changer or classroom chaos? Join our webinar & learn how to navigate this evolving tech responsibly.
Education Webinar Developing and Executing Impactful Research Campaigns to Fuel Your Ed Marketing Strategy 
Develop impactful research campaigns to fuel your marketing. Join the EdWeek Research Center for a webinar with actionable take-aways for companies who sell to K-12 districts.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
Navigating Cybersecurity: Securing District Documents and Data
Learn how K-12 districts are addressing the challenges of maintaining a secure tech environment, managing documents and data, automating critical processes, and doing it all with limited resources.
Content provided by Softdocs

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

College & Workforce Readiness A FAFSA Calculation Error Could Delay College Aid Applications—Again
It's the latest blunder to upend the "Better FAFSA," as it was branded by the Education Department.
2 min read
Jesus Noyola, a sophomore attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, poses for a portrait in the Folsom Library on Feb. 13, 2024, in Troy, N.Y. A later-than-expected rollout of a revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, that schools use to compute financial aid, is resulting in students and their parents putting off college decisions. Noyola said he hasn’t been able to submit his FAFSA because of an error in the parent portion of the application. “It’s disappointing and so stressful since all these issues are taking forever to be resolved,” said Noyola, who receives grants and work-study to fund his education.
Jesus Noyola, a sophomore at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, stands in the university's library on Feb. 13, 2024, in Troy, N.Y. He's one of thousands of existing and incoming college students affected by a problem-plagued rollout of the revised Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FASFA, that schools use to compute financial aid. A series of delays and errors is resulting in students and their parents putting off college decisions.
Hans Pennink/AP
College & Workforce Readiness How Well Are Schools Preparing Students? Advanced Academics and World Languages, in 4 Charts
New federal data show big gaps in students' access to the challenging coursework and foreign languages they need for college.
2 min read
Conceptual illustration of people and voice bubbles.
Getty
College & Workforce Readiness Learning Loss May Cost Students Billions in Future Earnings. How Districts Are Responding
The board that annually administers NAEP warns that recent research paints a "dire" picture of the future for America's children.
6 min read
Illustration concept of hands holding binoculars and looking through to see a graph and arrow with money in background.
Liz Yap/Education Week and iStock/Getty
College & Workforce Readiness The New FAFSA Is a Major Headache. Some High Schools Are Trying to Help
High schools are scrambling to help students navigate what was supposed to be a simpler process.
5 min read
Image of a laptop, and a red "x" for a malfunction.
IIIerlok_Xolms/iStock/Getty