Strengthening America's economy by expanding educational opportunities for working adults: policy opportunities to connect the working adult to today's economy through education and credentials

America's middle class has lost a lot of its strength in recent decades due to a rapidly changing economy. The well-paying jobs of yesterday - those that could easily be accessed by someone with just a high school diploma - have been disappearing. Today's economy does offer opportunity for good jobs with solid pay, but those opportunities are requiring a higher level of skill and credential than ever before. Focusing on education at the [kindergarten to twelfth grade] K-12 level is not enough to provide the needed skills and credentials. As the United States continues to compete in the...  [+] Show more

America's middle class has lost a lot of its strength in recent decades due to a rapidly changing economy. The well-paying jobs of yesterday - those that could easily be accessed by someone with just a high school diploma - have been disappearing. Today's economy does offer opportunity for good jobs with solid pay, but those opportunities are requiring a higher level of skill and credential than ever before. Focusing on education at the [kindergarten to twelfth grade] K-12 level is not enough to provide the needed skills and credentials. As the United States continues to compete in the global knowledge economy, moving the needle on education and training for the adult worker and student becomes more and more important. Creating better education and training opportunities for adult workers who have been left behind in the present economy will be critical to America's progress. This paper presents the challenges to the success of adult learners in postsecondary education and some policy opportunities to help the disconnected worker who has been disengaged from the domestic, and the global, economy.

Excerpts from publication.