Want to know a thought that keeps business leaders up at night?
“We will not have enough good workers to meet our needs.”
Unfortunately, that exact scenario is becoming a reality in Pennsylvania, where a “skills gap” threatens the strength of our future workforce.
In the simplest terms, a skills gap exists when there aren’t enough qualified workers to fill available job openings. Research highlighted by the nonpartisan business-leader group ReadyNation shows just how dire the situation is in Pennsylvania: We’re facing a shortfall of over 150,000 workers during the current decade. That shortfall will make our economy less competitive, disrupting businesses when open positions can’t be filled.
As the vice president of a specialty refining company, I know first-hand that the skills gap is particularly severe in “STEM” fields — science, technology, engineering, and mathematics — sectors where jobs are growing the fastest.
STEM jobs and positions in other emerging fields require specialized skills. These skills are often learned in career and technical education (CTE) programs. If we cannot prepare students to fill these available positions, we will pay a heavy price down the line.
By contrast, widespread use of educational models that improve student achievement can create a positive economic impact. “It Pays to Improve School Quality,” a recent article by a prominent coalition of economists, underscored the point that improving academic performance can be so profound as to be a key in tackling a state’s long-term fiscal problems. They concluded that the skills of today’s students are directly linked with the skills of tomorrow’s workers.
We must be able to help students access the skills they need to go on to succeed in high-demand, specialized jobs.
The good news is that there’s a research-supported pathway that can do just that.
It can provide them with the “executive-functioning skills” that the modern workplace demands — skills like the ability to collaborate, to incorporate feedback in their work, to know and master core academic content, to think critically, to communicate effectively, and to problem-solve.
This bundle of skills can be taught through innovative education models known as “deeper learning.”
Deeper learning gives students real-world know-how through practical, work-based experiences and project-based learning that create classroom connections to the workplace. It is often supported by industry and community partners who have a vested interest in seeing students become the productive employees of the near future. Deeper learning helps teach students to be self-directed and to develop the academic mindset necessary for learning.
Some promising research bolsters the case for deeper learning. A study of deeper-learning-centric “career academies” across the country showed that participating students were twice as likely as students who didn’t participate to be working in the computer, engineering, and media technology sectors eight years after graduation.
Deeper learning models have already taken root in a few places around our state. For example, the acclaimed Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia provides project-based, deeper-learning instruction that focuses on college and career readiness, particularly in STEM fields.
That’s why supporting deeper learning efforts like these is important. Doing so gives more kids the opportunity to access innovative models that better prepare high-school students for postsecondary education and future careers, ultimately leading to that stronger, economically-advantageous workforce business leaders desire — and need.
That’s also why one of the most important things we can do to make that workforce a reality is to bolster these types of programs through the reauthorization of the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.
Perkins reauthorization should stress educational partnerships that align secondary and postsecondary institutions, employers, and career and technical education programs to meet the labor needs of today and tomorrow. The reauthorized Perkins Act needs to strengthen career pathways at the state and local level by integrating rigorous academics, CTE, and work-based learning opportunities — all of which enhance deeper-learning approaches to education.
Pennsylvania’s economy needs workers who have the abilities that deeper learning helps teach. We must do more if we want to close Pennsylvania’s skills gap and ensure the future stability and competitiveness of our workforce. We urge Congress to reauthorize Perkins CTE in a way that emphasizes strategic partnerships, addresses the needs of local labor markets, and supports work-based learning opportunities to create a deeper learning experience for the next generation of workers.
The future of Pennsylvania depends on it.
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(Esch is the vice president of external affairs for American Refining Group Inc. and a member of ReadyNation.)
