Postsecondary Skill Fact or Fiction?

FICTION: Washington State does not supply enough baccalaureate (BA) degrees.
FACT: Washington is supplying the number of BAs needed by employers in the state. However, there is a mismatch between the fields of study and the occupations that are in demand.
" There is an under-supply of BAs in health, engineering, computer science, and certain fields of education. Source: A Skilled and Educated Workforce, December 2005.

FICTION: Washington ranks near the bottom of states in BA attainment.
FACT: Washington ranks 28, about in the middle among all states for BA attainment if including BA graduates beginning at community colleges and out-of-state students.

• A middle ranking is the ideal, because some states produce more than they need and some produce less than they need.
  
• If Washington aims for "Number 1" in BA attainment, it would be supplying the rest of the country with people who have BAs.

FICTION: Washington State's economy needs more people with BA degrees.
FACT: Washington State needs more people with postsecondary training, particularly mid-level; i.e. more than one but less than four years of postsecondary training.

• We are currently supplying only 83 percent of employer needs through our community and technical colleges, private career schools, or apprenticeship programs.
  
  • Job openings for new workers in Washington with between one and four years of postsecondary education or training is expected to reach 28,600 in 2007 and 29,700 in 2010.
    
  • To close the gap by 2010, the state will need more than 22,400 additional students FTEs than in current workforce education programs and produce over 6,000 more completers per year.

FICTION: Most employers have difficulty finding job applicants with a BA degree.
FACT: More employers have difficulty finding job applicants with a postsecondary vocational credential than have difficulty at the BA level.

• In 2003, 67 percent of Washington employers who recently attempted to hire workers with postsecondary vocational training reported difficulty finding qualified job applicants.
  
  • This shortage of vocationally trained workers affected over 17,000 employers - more employers than at any other education level.
    
• Employers most frequently reported difficulty finding job applicants with occupation-specific skills (e.g., they wanted to hire a registered nurse but had trouble finding one.)