America's skills gap: why it's real, and why it matters

At the start of 2019, 7 million U.S. jobs remained unfilled, and American employers consistently cite trouble finding qualified workers. While some liberals insist a 'skills gap' doesn't exist, all evidence points to the contrary. These gaps are moreover made worse by a higher education system that ill-equips graduates for the workforce. Those who haven't ever worked in the private sector might be forgiven for being skeptical about the existence of a skills shortage. But employers know that America has a significant skills gap - one that is growing with each passing month. And you won't find many skill gap skeptics among underemployed workers, particularly Millennials. America's economy has digitized over the past decade and our legacy infrastructure - postsecondary education institutions and workforce development boards - have not come close to keeping up. Moreover, the digitization of the economy has also changed hiring practices, with real implications for our workforce. In this whitepaper, I attempt to explain to the skeptic crowd that the skills gap is real, why we haven't closed it, and why it matters.

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