FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 29, 2016
Governor Mary Fallin Establishes Goal to Increase Post-secondary Education, Training Attainment
OKLAHOMA CITY – Governor Mary Fallin
today announced a goal to increase post-secondary education and training
attainment for Oklahomans. The goal, named Launch Oklahoma, is for 70 percent
of Oklahoma’s residents, age 25-64, to complete a postsecondary degree,
certificate or credential by the year 2025. About 40 percent of the state’s residents now
have that level of education or training.*
“Projections show that in 2025, 77 percent of the state’s
new labor market will require greater than a high school diploma, highlighting
the critical need for higher education,” said Fallin, who authorized Launch
Oklahoma in Executive
Order 2016-41. “The workplace is changing rapidly with the growth of
technology, and it is vital that today’s students possess the skills to meet
this reality. Launch Oklahoma will help ensure Oklahoma has enough workers with
the right skills to enter and succeed in the workforce. In return,
Oklahoma will succeed.”
Launch Oklahoma was developed as a result of recommendations
by the Oklahoma Works Leadership Team, led by Secretary of Education and Workforce
Development Natalie Shirley. The team includes representatives from higher education,
CareerTech, the state Department of Education, the Commerce Department, the
Office of Workforce Development, and the Oklahoma Educated Workforce
Initiative.
“The state is facing a critical gap between the skills of
the current workforce and the skills that are needed to fill vital jobs,”
Shirley said. “Launch Oklahoma will address this issue by encouraging youth to
seek postsecondary education and training, and by helping Oklahomans who have
left the education system to get back in and upskill. Through these efforts,
Oklahomans will have the opportunity to get the higher wage jobs that are
critical to our economy.”
The statewide goal to increase the overall postsecondary
educational attainment of Oklahoma’s workforce from 40 percent to 70 percent
means nearly 600,000 more workers will need a postsecondary degree,
certificate or other high-quality credential in just eight years. The
need for this goal is outlined in a 2016 research study of Oklahomans who have
neither started nor completed postsecondary education. The study, commissioned by
the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development and paid for with funds from the U.S.
Department of Labor, will be released next month. Among other findings, the
report revealed that students and parents/guardians need more evidence of the
importance of a postsecondary certificate or degree.
“The state of Oklahoma must employ a globally competitive
workforce to attract companies with high wages to increase the wealth and
quality of life for all Oklahomans,” Fallin said. “To meet this challenge, I
created Launch Oklahoma to build upon my existing Oklahoma Works initiative. By
aiming for this ambitious postsecondary education attainment goal of 70 percent
by 2025, we will put Oklahoma on the path to meet labor demands, recruit new
and grow current businesses, and increase the opportunity for all Oklahomans to
achieve the American Dream.”
To meet this goal, state agencies, educators, businesses and
workforce partners will collaborate during the next several months to create a
strategic plan to increase overall educational attainment. This plan will be
due to the governor by Nov. 1, 2017.
“Governor Fallin’s ambitious Launch Oklahoma goal
demonstrates the vital role that postsecondary degrees and credentials play in
meeting Oklahoma’s current and future workforce needs,” said Higher Education
Chancellor Glen D. Johnson. “Oklahoma’s state system of higher education
strongly supports the Oklahoma Works initiative through our college degree and
certificate completion efforts in Complete College America. “Our public
colleges and universities continually collaborate with business and industry
partners to link our academic programs directly to employment needs in
high-demand occupations, including critical STEM disciplines.”
“Oklahoma CareerTech programs –
such as those in common education
6−12, in technology centers and the
skills centers programs in
correctional facilities – afford students the opportunity to earn certificates, industry-recognized
credentials, career readiness certificates, and college credit toward an
associate degree,” said Marcie Mack, director of the state Department of Career and Technology
Education. “These opportunities are solutions to both the workforce gap
and to meeting the established educational attainment goal. Oklahoma CareerTech
empowers middle school, high school and adult students to add workforce value
to their education, and our partnerships with business and industry are vital
to ensuring workforce needs are met in our state.”
Jennifer Monies, executive director of the Oklahoma Educated
Workforce Initiative, said: “Gone are the days where a high school diploma
alone will lead to a quality job for most Oklahomans. This ambitious goal will
put every Oklahoma student on a trajectory of life-long learning, while
encouraging students and adults alike to pursue career training or college no
matter their stage in life. I applaud Governor Fallin and the entire Oklahoma
Works team for setting high expectations for all Oklahomans with this education
attainment goal.”
To learn more about the goal, current research and data, visit the
Oklahoma Works website (http://oklahomaworks.gov/attainmentgoal),
or follow Oklahoma Works on Twitter
and Facebook.
* Data from the Lumina Foundation. For
more information, go to http://strongernation.luminafoundation.org/report/2016/#oklahoma
###
Web: www.governor.ok.gov Facebook: www.facebook.com/GovernorMaryFallin Twitter: www.twitter.com/GovMaryFallin
|