Preparing students for the knowledge economy: what school counselors need to know - Special issue: career development and the changing workplace

Professional School Counseling, April, 2003 by Anthony P. Carnevale, Donna M. Desrochers

Prior to advising the upcoming waves of high school students, there are three things that every school counselor should know. First, high school graduates who do not receive at least some postsecondary education and training will face increasingly limited economic opportunities. Second, the only thing more costly than going to college is not going to college at all. And third, the demand for people with education and training beyond high school will increase, both because of increasing skill requirements on the job and massive retirements of the baby-boom generation (Aspen Institute, 2002; Employment Policy Foundation, 2001).

Steering students back to the academic basics will not be enough to get ahead in the knowledge economy. To be sure, everyone will need a solid academic foundation. But at some point, students will need to put an occupational point on their academic pencil. They also will need a set of soft skills such as problem solving and interpersonal communication that were formerly required only of senior managers and professionals (Cappelli et al., 1997; Marshall & Tucker, 1992; U.S. Department of Labor, 1992). Economic and technological change has upped the ante on academic skills, occupational preparation, and soft skills as well as positive "cognitive styles" that allow workers to cope with this accelerating pace of change (Katz & Murphy, 1992; Krueger, 1993; Murnane & Levy, 1996; Seligman, 1998).

The challenge for America's school counselors is to help students develop education strategies that will allow them to meet academic requirements and, at the same time, develop soft skills and attitudes that are typically learned in applied contexts. In order to succeed, school counselors will need to advocate high academic standards for all students as well as new formats for learning both in and outside the classroom. The cultural and political reasons for advocating high academic standards are straightforward: an educated citizenry is needed continue to defend and promote America's democratic ideals. But school counselors should also realize there is a strong economic justification for a broader education strategy. School counselors who understand how changes in the economy affect skill requirements on the job can help ensure that all students receive the educational preparation and guidance they need to both access postsecondary education and training and participate in the labor market.

WHERE THE JOBS ARE

Early in this country's history and, in fact, pretty much through its first 200 years, a job was easy to find--especially an entry-level, low-skilled job. Throughout history, the American dream and the American reality were that people could start at the bottom and, without much formal education, work their way to the top. Even in the modern industrial era beginning in the early 20th century, when college became a requirement for the growing numbers of professionals, getting through high school and then working hard and playing by the rules were enough to secure good jobs for most.

But in the past 40 years, the rules have changed because the nature of the global economy has changed. Data from the decennial Census and the Current Population Survey show that the concentration of jobs in the United States was radically different in 2000 than it was in 1959 (see Table 1). In the new economy, the number of high-paying, blue-collar jobs available to workers with high school diplomas is shrinking, largely as a result of productivity improvements. The shares of farm and factory jobs have each declined by about one half, while the share of jobs in low-skilled services has remained relatively stable at about 1 in 5. And farm and factory jobs have not only lost employment shares, but have suffered actual job losses.

New job creation has been concentrated in "knowledge jobs" rather than production jobs or natural resource jobs like farming and mining. Tracking the share of total employment shows that jobs in hospitals and classrooms have grown substantially, but white-collar office employment has grown the most--accounting for almost 40% of all jobs in 2000. The overall number and share of technology jobs also have grown, but they still do not represent a large share of all jobs.

The changes in the kinds of jobs available and the skills required to get them have been dramatic. Today, if the competition for jobs were a track meet, one might think of entering the job market as competing in the pole vault. The bar is very low for entry-level jobs with low pay; all a person needs is a high school diploma, at most. The bar is set quite a bit higher for jobs in the middle tier of the economy that require at least some college and preferably an associate degree. And for the really good jobs, the bar is far above one's head--and the only way to vault it is with at least an associate degree and preferably a bachelor's degree.

In 1973, only 28% of prime-age workers had any postsecondary education (see Table 2). In 2000, 59% of prime-age workers had at least some college. In fact, the proportion of workers with an associate degree, certificate, or some college has more than doubled from 12% to 28% of the workforce--10% hold an associate degree, while 18% have a certificate or some college coursework but not a degree. The proportion of workers with bachelor's degrees also has more than doubled, from 9% in 1973 to 20% in 2000, while graduate degree holders have increased at a slightly slower pace, increasing from 7% to 11% over the same period.