Career and Technical Schools Can Help in Filling America's Looming Skills Gap

America has people without jobs, but it also has jobs without people – about 6 million of them. Why aren’t these jobs being filled? This jobs gap exists because employers demand “job ready” employees and prospective employees are simply not able to bridge the skills gap without appropriate education and training.

The skills gap is substantial; a National Federation of Independent Businesses survey from December found that 54 percent of small businesses reported they were unable to find qualified applicants to fill job openings. A recent CareerBuilder survey showed that 68 percent of employers currently have open positions for which they cannot find qualified candidates.

Fortunately, private sector institutions are helping America fill the “skills gap” by directly connecting higher education to jobs.

The real-world training provided by proprietary career and technical schools enables students to be an immediate asset to employers looking for skilled workers. Schools in our sector allow graduates to enter the workforce fully trained and prepared for the challenges that may lie ahead in their careers. Perhaps most important, the jobs that these schools prepare students for are in some of the fastest-growing sectors today.

Skills-based education for careers in fields like nursing, allied health, construction trades, manufacturing, technology and more are an essential part of preparation for the future that is required to give all Americans a chance to succeed. According to first-year results from CECU’s Campaign to Create 5 Million Career Professionals in the decade ahead, career colleges and universities produced about 630,000 academic awards last year!

To learn more about our campaign to create 5 Million Career Professionals and how America’s postsecondary career education sector are helping meeting the nation’s growing workforce demands click here.