California’s Future Depends on the Skills and Creativity of Its Citizens
Californians have thrived both economically and socially
because of the creativity and skills people have developed in our higher
education systems. But California is losing ground, with other states and
nations surpassing us in terms of both traditional four-year degrees and
focused technical training beyond high school.
This lack of a skilled workforce is already beginning to undermine the
potential for a strong economic recovery in California.
Sixteen respected business leaders and mayors from across
California have joined together to form the California Competes Council, a
nonpartisan effort to ensure that the state has college graduates with the
skills needed to drive the future California economy. I am serving as the lead staff person for the
Council.
The Council’s task is to analyze the well-documented gap
between emerging human capital demands and the projected number and quality of
graduates of California’s college and occupational training programs. By
bringing together leaders from both industry and government, the California
Competes Council will develop recommendations for improvement of the state’s
higher education systems to reinvigorate our pool of human talent and restore
it once again to be the envy of the nation.