2. By the end of this decade, More than 60% of jobs will require college education.

3. http://www9.georgetown.edu/grad/gppi/hpi/cew/pdfs/fullreport.pdf Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018

4. Percentage of the Workforce by Educational Level

5. Percentage of Population with a Postsecondary Credential 55-64 45-5435-4425-34 Education at a Glance 2010: OECD Table A1.3a 40 44 54 58

6. http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21 st Century

7. “College for all” might be the mantra, but the hard reality is that fewer than one in three young people achieve the dream.... the United States now has the highest college dropout rate in the industrialized world. In Germany, for example, over 80% of young adults found jobs within six months of completing their education in 2007, versus just 48% in the U.S. Any effort to construct a more effective network of pathways to prosperity will require a sea of change in the role business.

8. Source: PISA 2006 Percentage of secondary schools where career guidance is formally scheduled into students’ time

9. Source: OECD—Education At A Glance—2008

10. Source: OECD—Education At A Glance—2006 Percentage of 15-year olds who expect to have a high-skilled blue collar job by age 30

11. Source: American Community Survey—2009

12. Source: The Georgetown University on Education & the Workforce—2010

13. Nebraska—2018 Projections  Between 2008 and 2018, new jobs in Nebraska requiring postsecondary education and training will grow by 56,000 positions.  Between 2008 and 2018, Nebraska will create 321,000 job vacancies both from new jobs and from job openings due to retirement.  207,000 of these job vacancies will be for those with postsecondary credentials, 89,000 for high school graduates and 25,000 for high school dropouts.  66% of all jobs in Nebraska (715,000 jobs) will require some postsecondary training beyond high school.  Nebraska ranks 17 th in terms of the proportion of its 2018 jobs that will require a bachelor’s degree, and 36 th in jobs for high school dropouts. Source: The Georgetown University on Education & the Workforce—2010

14. There’s still much more to do... Postsecondary opportunities must become the “norm” for all students both academically and financially. A greater emphasis must be placed on a “career orientation” in the P-16 educational system. How college is “packaged” needs to be examined by higher education leaders. Communities, local government, and the P-16 education system must collaborate by developing new and innovative partnerships. All Nebraskan’s are responsible for assisting in this effort! Doing nothing does not appear to be an option!