Prosperity 2020: Education Builds the Economy

"Students don’t drop out of school in their senior year. They start dropping out in elementary school if they don’t develop the basic skills they need."

By national standards they are young and they are smart. "They" are the individuals that make up Utah’s workforce. They are also Utah’s greatest strength and most competitive advantage in terms of economic development.

Could that strength one day become the state’s Achilles’ heel?

According to the Georgetown University study "Help Wanted: Projections of Jobs and Education Demand Through 2018," 66 percent of all jobs in Utah (1 million) will require some postsecondary training beyond high school by 2018. Currently, only about 50 percent of Utah’s workforce meets that criterion.

"We project a significant gap between the academic preparedness required by Utah’s business and what is currently being accomplished, "says Vicki Varela, advisor to Prosperity 2020 http://www.prosperity2020.com/ and president of Vicki Varela Strategic Communications, Inc. http://vvstrategy.com/

Full Story: http://www.utahpulse.com/featured_article/prosperity-2020-education-builds-economy