The Fleetwood Area School District Guidance Department is working, along with guidance departments across the state, to revise its career education program in light of the changing career opportunities in our country. Last month, some of our guidance counselors and I attended a Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) program that provided up-to-date information on the skills needed for various careers. This information will help students as they decide their post-secondary education options.
We have known for a number of years that there is a need for more individuals to receive specialized training to be eligible for competitive jobs following high school. In 2007, the Workforce Alliance completed a review of jobs available in the next decade (America’s Forgotten Middle-Skill Jobs: Education and Training Requirements in the Next Decade and Beyond, Holzer & Lerman, 2007). The study concluded that nearly half of the employment available in the United States will involve middle-skill occupations. This compares with 33 percent of the anticipated job openings in high-skill occupations and 22 percent in service occupations.
Middle-skill occupations require specific training and education beyond high school but do not require a four-year college degree. Examples of these jobs include health care technicians, clerical workers, construction, transportation, production and mechanical technicians. Over the past few years, many middle-skill occupations, particularly in the health care field, experienced significant increases in the number of employees needed.
At the PDE program, we learned that seven two-year degree careers have job growth rates above 20 percent with starting annual salaries ranging from $37,000 to $57,000. These careers included physical therapy assistant, web designer, electronic engineering assistant, registered nurse, computer support specialist, administrative assistant and dental hygienist (payscale.com, 2015).
A four-year college degree does not always provide what employers are seeking. There are increasing numbers of students who attend community college to learn a specific skill or job related certificate after graduating with a four-year college degree. More than half (56 percent from the publication Success in the New Economy) of all college graduates are underemployed, meaning that the jobs they secured did not require the degree that they earned.
The US News and World Report identified the top 18 jobs in the United States in 2015 based on growth in the profession, salary, the balance between the time required in the job and time for other activities (known as the work/life balance) and job security. Five of these jobs required a two-year college degree or less. These were software developer, dental hygienist, registered nurse, web developer and diagnostic medical sonographer. The top profession on their list was dentist, followed by nurse practitioner. The third profession was the software developer.
As evidenced by the information above, there are good careers that do not require a traditional bachelor’s degree that students and their families should consider as they weigh options for post-secondary education.
Fleetwood Area School District has several upcoming events. On Feb. 12, there is a teacher in-service and no school for students. Feb. 15 will be a snow make-up day for closure on Jan. 25. Finally, the Board of School Directors will hold meetings on Feb. 9 and 16, both at 7 p.m. in the high school board room.
