Marketing High Demand Degrees to Washington's Secondary School Students The Issue Every year thousands of science, engineering and technology jobs in Washington state are taken by people from out of state because Washington's universities are not graduating enough people with the necessary degrees to compete for them. As a result of Senate Bill 5731, passed last year by the Washington State Legislature, remedying this issue has become an official goal of state higher education policy. Creating these opportunities at the higher education level requires that K-12 students are prepared for and interested in studying those subjects that will help them get the jobs Washington's economy is creating. As University of Washington President Dr. Mark Emmert pointed out at the Prosperity Partnership November luncheon, we are beginning to see this trend among current students. "Over the past ten years, nationally we've seen a pretty sharp decline in science, math, and engineering interest across the nation, but looking at the survey data that we get from our entering freshmen… their intention and interest in majoring in the high demand degrees has spiked, so they are hearing the message. They may not be as prepared as we'd like them to be, but they hear that this is important."
The Challenge Washington ranks among the top ten states in scientists and computer specialists employed per capita, and leads the nation in engineers employed per capita. In 2007, for job openings that require a bachelor's degree, 47% are in the fields Prosperity Partnership has identified as high demand and high impact. However, only 14% of the students receiving a bachelor's degree in Washington each year get their degree in one of these fields. And Washington ranks 37 out of 50 states in overall degree production, down one slot from last year. Washington has to import people with bachelor's degrees to fill the jobs created by its growing economy. Other states are working to retain their college graduates, many of whom end up being the people Washington imports to fill jobs. In Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are among the most actively engaged communities in the country in this effort. But Kentucky, Ohio, Maine, Texas, Wisconsin, Indiana, and others are all taking steps to keep their graduates at home. As theses states keep more of their talent, it will become even more important that Washington continues to invest in helping its students understand the opportunities. Inaction could cause the state's entire economy to suffer due to lack of talent and the skills gap could grow wider.	High Demand Fields Bachelor's Degrees Computer Specialists and Scientists Engineers Life Scientists (biochemists, biophysicists, etc.) Medical Researchers Nurses Secondary Teachers Associate's Degrees Diagnosing & Treating Practitioners (RN's, radiation therapists, respiratory therapists) Life Science Technicians (biological technicians chemistry technicians and environmental science technicians)
The Next Steps To improve Washington's competitiveness in higher education, we must ensure that students are prepared upon high school graduation to participate in Washington's economy. To get this message out, our state needs to make sure that middle and high school students understand the types of family wage jobs available, the types of high demand degrees available to land those jobs, and the prerequisites needed to get into these types of degree programs. This year, the Prosperity Partnership is supporting the creation of a pilot communications initiative to do just that. SB 6392/HB 3207 will help students, teachers, and parents understand what classes a student needs to take in high school or earlier to prepare for 21st century jobs. Students who know how to prepare for careers ahead are better served by our system at the K-12 level and beyond. SB 6392 and HB 3207 are the beginning of meeting the next challenge! back to top