Report: Nearly one-third of manufacturing workers have a bachelor’s

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Dive Brief:

  • About one-third of manufacturing workers holds a bachelor’s degree in 2016, up from only 8% in 1970, according to a new report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Meanwhile, the share of workers with a high school degree or less shrunk from 79% to 43% over the same time period. 
  • Manufacturing employs about 12.6 million workers, down from a high of nearly 20 million in 1979. Automation has displaced millions of workers and taken over many routine tasks, causing more manufacturing positions to require or degree or credential. 
  • The center projects that the sector will shed 2% of its workers with a high school diploma or less by 2027. There will be 200,000 fewer “good jobs” — or those that make at least $35,000 — for those with bachelor’s degrees, but 300,000 more good jobs for workers with middle skills.  

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Dive Insight:

The research further supports two well-documented trends: the dramatic narrowing of the job market in manufacturing and the growing need for postsecondary training for industry jobs – particularly through associate degrees and credentials.

However, even the number of good manufacturing jobs available to workers without a bachelor’s degree has been dwindling, from 7.2 million in 1991 to 4.8 million in 2016. Meanwhile, middle-skill jobs, or those where workers have more than a high school education but less than a bachelor’s degree, account for some of the biggest growth in the sector. For example, the number of associate degree-holders with good manufacturing jobs grew to 1 million in 2016.

The center notes that nondegree credentials also boost the chances that manufacturing workers will get a good job, regardless of their level of education. Having a certification or license, for example, improves the chances that workers with a high school diploma will find a good manufacturing job by 18 percentage points.

Many have lauded credentials a way to quickly upskill workers for the ever-changing needs of the job market. And indeed, research from the Lumina Foundation and the Strada Education Network found that those with nondegree credentials are more likely to report having a full-time job than those without credentials.  

As such, the credential marketplace have been growing, with even soft skills on offer at some universities. There’s also been a growing call for universities to embed certifications within their degree programs. That way, the thinking goes, colleges can keep their curriculum current and give students proof of in-demand skills before they graduate. 

The Lumina Foundation has found value in the approach but notes that such efforts haven’t been closely monitored for their effect on labor market outcomes. It may, however, prove to be one way for colleges to better meet the needs of U.S. employers, who often voice their difficulty with finding skilled workers.

Source: www.educationdive.com

Comment: Likewise, technical and vocational graduates or commonly known as TVET in Malaysia, should pursue a Bachelor or Masters degree in order to be able to scale higher in their career or business. It’s no more a dream for TVET graduates, despite not having SPM or poor SPM results, to further their studies beyond Diploma (whether it’s Diploma Kemahiran Malaysia (DKM) or Diploma Vokasional Malaysia (DVM)).

There are now 5 public technical universities that’s officially accepting TVET diploma holders.
Many may not be aware that some private universities have also been accepting these TVET diploma holders (without or with poor SPM results) but soon (perhaps another month or so), an official announcement would be made to provide a second chance to these group of technically inclined graduates who may not excel academically.

If you want to know more about the opportunity available for you to pursue a Bachelor or Masters Degree as a TVET graduate, you may APPLY HERE

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