Education and its Link to the Economy

The authors agree with Cremin’s position(page 36, last paragraph) that schools should not be made scapegoats for the nation’s economic problems: “As Cremin noted, the attempt in recent years to blame alleged educational decline for the nation’s woes is irresponsible. The argument that poor schools produce poor workers and that improved schools would solve economic ills has two major defects: it scapegoats educators; and it blurs understanding of a labor market in which the largest proportion of new jobs are relatively unskilled and millions of skilled workers are jobless.”
If the largest portion of new jobs are for unskilled workers, doesn’t that suggest that we are not an economically competitive nation? And if millions of skilled workers are jobless, doesn’t that suggest that workers that are skilled don’t have the right skills? If this is the state of our economy, perhaps it could be said that our educational system is not keeping pace with the needs of a changing economy.
As Chairman Ben Bernanke noted in his speech on Education and Economic Competitiveness http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/bernanke20070924a.htm
at the U.S. Chamber Education and Workforce Summit in Washington D.C. last September, the demand for more-educated workers with technical skills has been increasing rapidly, partly because of the advances in information and communication technologies, while the supply of highly educated workers has also risen. Nevertheless, the supply of educated workers has not kept pace with demand. He further asserts that from a macroeconomic standpoint, education is directly linked to productivity, which, in turn, is a critical determinant of the overall standard of living. He states that continuing advances in technology, as well as baby-boomers leaving the market and increased globalization, will put a premium on education. And while its difficult to predict which jobs will be most affected by technology, better educated workers will be better prepared to adapt. Ultimately, Bernanke contends that lifelong learning, particularly in light of advancing technological change, is an excellent investment for individuals and society as a whole.