Study predicts national rise in jobs requiring postsecondary education

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce released a study stating that 55 million jobs will open up by the year 2020 because of a combination of current workers retiring and new jobs being created.

The Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce released a study stating that 55 million jobs will open up by the year 2020 because of a combination of current workers retiring and new jobs being created.

In Oregon alone, 694,000 jobs will become available by 2020.

Nicole Smith, a senior economist with the CEW, explained that what the center does is look at workforce competencies and requirements and how things have changed over time. They connect that information to education requirements on a state-by-state basis.

The CEW wants students to know what will be available to them when they finish their schooling. Smith compared it to jumping off a diving board.

“If I’m jumping off this diving board into the ocean, I want to know the depth of the water. I want to know how far down I should expect to go. I want to make sure there’s a soft landing,” Smith said. “And I want to make sure that I am as best prepared as I can be.”

The report stated that 70 percent of the jobs in Oregon will require at least some postsecondary education, whether that be through certification, some college, or an undergraduate or graduate degree. This is 5 percent higher than the national average.

Greg Flores, the associate director of career services at Portland State, said this is mainly because Oregon’s largest employers—Intel, Oregon Health and Science Institute and other hospitals—are in the high technology or health care fields, which are industries that already require further education.

Flores explained that the benefit of these reports is that they offer students the ability to learn about all the different industries that exist.

“The more students know what’s out there—what’s available to them, what jobs exist—they’ll have a better chance of finding a job that they want,” Flores said.

Flores pointed out that this report allows students to look at what’s available in their
local area or in the area they plan to settle in. This helps when planning where to live and where to look for potential jobs.

Flores also said that it’s important for students to be thinking about this throughout their entire academic career, so they can gauge how their education is serving them.

In their first year at PSU, most students report that they are in college to better their career opportunities.

“Both education and experience are important to employers,” Flores said, “so coursework is going to be important. But so [is] learning about careers and figuring out ways to get experience.”

Flores said that when employers are asked what they look for in a new
college graduate, experience is the first thing they say. Even if education is a requirement, they’ll look at experience first.

Gaining experience through a job, an internship, a job shadow or even volunteer work will not only greatly improve their chances of getting a job, but will also help students get an idea of which fields and industries they want to work in.

Smith said the report is meant to help students plan for what they are going to do with their education by showing them which job categories are growing the fastest and educating them about the opportunities available within those jobs.