Harvard Report Calls for Focus on Job Training, Not Just College

Not everyone can or should go to college, so job training should get as much attention as the conventional path to a college degree, according to a report released today by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The report, “Pathways to Prosperity,” says Americans “place far too much emphasis on a single pathway to success: attending and graduating from a four-year college,” but only 30 percent of young adults attain that goal. The report also notes that of the 47 million American jobs expected to be created by 2018, only one-third will require a bachelor’s degree. One solution, the report says, is to place stronger emphasis on career-focused education and apprenticeships. The report also urges employers to expand opportunities for work-based learning by high-school students.