ABSTRACT
The call for a better-skilled workforce in the United States has focused attention on the role of postsecondary education and training in facilitating low-skilled adults’ economic mobility. Economists have noted that adults at all skill levels, particularly those with a high school diploma or less, have an increasingly diffi cult time negotiating labor markets. The numbers of working poor in this population are high and their prospects for upward mobility are low and falling (Osterman, 2005). Over the past 40 years, the trends in family income of adults ages 30 to 39 have shown that the income of those with a college degree has grown by 46% compared to a growth of 76% by those with an advanced degree. In contrast, the family income of adults with less than a high school diploma has declined by 6% (Haskins, Holzer, & Lerman, 2009). According to recent projections, nearly two-thirds (63%) of the 46.8 million job open ings expected by 2018 will require workers with at least some col lege education. A bachelor’s degree will be necessary for approximately one-third of the jobs, while 30% will require some college or a two-year associate’s degree. Only 36% of the jobs will be available for workers with a high school diploma or less (Carnevale, Smith, & Strohl, 2010).
