HIGHER EDUCATION, “TO MAKE OUR SKILLS BETTER”

Higher education in general has grown greatly. Census data shows that in 1980, only 32% of US adults under 25 had earned a degree or completed any college coursework. By 2000, this number had jumped to 52%. Prosperity has played a role in this growth: as median incomes have risen over the past several decades, more people have been able to afford to send their children to college. Political support for putting people into college education, via Federal funding such as Pell Grants and loans, has also helped increase access to higher education.

However, the main driver behind the increase in higher education is the huge change in the overall economy of the US over the last fifty years. Changes in technology and globalization of the economy means the once-large manufacturing base of the United States has dwindled. Those jobs accounted for 40% of workers in 1950, but by 2000 had shrunk to include only 18% of the workforce. Most workers are now employed by the service sector, where more specialized skills are often a necessary requirement for finding a job. As a result, some post-secondary education is now seen as critical for workplace viability by a majority of the population.