Between professors and pizza delivery
A class of middle-skill jobs has been ignored by the education system, according to a new report. Alisa Roth reports on work that requires more than a high-school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.
A job seeker looks at a job listing board in Oakland, Calif. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
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Doug Krizner: The job market has traditionally been split into two categories: Highly-skilled, requiring education beyond high school, and unskilled positions, where a diploma is enough. A new study suggests there might be a subtler picture. Alisa Roth reports.
Alisa Roth: Almost half of all American jobs today require more than a high-school diploma, but not a four-year college degree. So says a new report from two economists at the think tank Urban Institute.
Georgetown University professor Harry Holzer, one of the authors, says politicians and educators have been ignoring this group. He says high schools and colleges need to create programs for people who do what he calls middle-skill jobs.
Harry Holzer: Making it easier for all kinds of folks to go to community college, to get associates degrees, but also a whole range of post-secondary training certificates.
MIT economics professor David Autor says there are still middle-skill jobs in the U.S., but he thinks the study exaggerates the idea of a split economy.
David Autor: The way they construe it is meant to imply that there's, you know, only going to be professors or doctors and pizza delivery people.
The report was released to help introduce the Skills 2 Compete campaign, a program that's trying to encourage a broader approach to educating American workers.
In New York, I'm Alisa Roth for Marketplace.
