Anyone who knows me well at all will tell you I can go on for hours about the value of education and training. (Just ask my five children.) It’s a well established dictum that education is a key determinant of income. The relationship is strong—whether for an individual, a neighborhood, a city, a state, a nation or a planet. The greater the average education or skill level, the better the quality of life. In the more than two decades I’ve been doing economic development work, I’ve seen so many communities who have benefited tremendously by improving education and training opportunities. It is also one of the highest priorities for Texas if we are to remain a leader in business expansion in the decades to come.
In today’s economy, it is imperative to acquire higher-level skills in order to obtain and hold a quality job. Businesses are more complex than ever before, with technology rapidly changing. In addition, technology and globalization enabled the automation or export of many lower-level and even high-skilled jobs. While the merits of such trends are a topic for another day, suffice it to say that it’s tough to stay a viable member of the workforce if you don’t have marketable skills.
From the other side of the coin, I’ve long been of the opinion that the only way for the US economy to succeed in the long term is to stay on the leading edge. Just last week in this space, I pointed out that the path to American economic prosperity is through innovation and embracing the technologies and methods that lead to high productivity and high value-added manufacturing. A crucial element of this is that we have a workforce ready, willing, and able to take advantage of the opportunities. (The others are basic research and development, investment, and opening markets for our sophisticated goods and services.)
And now, President Bush is touting a significant new initiative aimed at building skills and education at a national level. I found it to be one of the most important items emerging from this year’s State of the Union address. The potential gains from successfully accomplishing what the President is proposing truly cannot be overstated.
Essentially, the plan is a comprehensive effort to better prepare workers for today’s economy, both by improving high schools and post-secondary training and education. The President called for some $220 million for assistance for those struggling with reading or math in high school. At the post-secondary level, the Plan calls for better access to education to allow workers to get the job training and skills to compete in our dynamic economy and better fill jobs in emerging technologies. From financial aid to help good students stay in school to partnerships between community colleges and employers in high-demand job sectors, there are many elements of the proposal which stand to improve the situation both for individuals and the economy as a whole.
The US economy is poised to generate a large number of jobs in the months to come. The recovery is at the point where this is beginning to happen across many sectors. However, this is not to say that there will be new jobs in every single industry. Many of the positions eliminated over the past few years will never return. Even so, the new opportunities offer the potential for even better outcomes for workers. But only if they are prepared—through education and training—to take advantage of them. The President’s Plan, if implemented, represents a definite move in the direction of lasting economic health for the US economy.