Advances Workers must Know skills and Knowledge past High School

For seniors in high school it can be difficult deciding what they want to do with the rest of their lives. Many people have mixed opinions on whether or not it is necessary for students to go to college straight out of high school. While some people find that having a career after high school is an appropriate choice, most believe that pursuing a higher education by going to college leads to more and better opportunities in the 21st century workplace.

Schools believe that students must continue their education past high school. Most jobs will require more training due to technological advances than in the past. In order to compete for these jobs, students must have more than a high school diploma even if that is all that is required. In an unknown author’s article, “Future of the U.S. Workplace”, they highlight the fact that “in nearly every state, the workforce and labor demands are mismatched” (2). This is caused by a lack of education options for students.

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There are not enough middle skills workers to fill middle skills jobs. If schools do not align their education options with what is needed in the workforce than “by one estimate, the U.S. will fall short by at least 3 million middle and high skills workers by 2018” (Future of the U.S. Workforce 2). This can be fixed if schools work towards constructing a strong K-12 foundation that will ensure that all students receive the education they need as well as ensure their success in the workplace for the future.

The bottom line is that “employers are demanding more education and training” (Future of the U.S. Workforce 3). Therefore, in order for highschool graduates to be successful in the workplace it is necessary for them to seek a higher education. This will lead to more job opportunities as well as higher paying careers.

In order for students to succeed in the rigor of the 21st century workplace they must have certain skills that can only be obtained through a higher education. There is “a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they would need to compete in typical 21st century communities and workplaces (Rivitz 1). The problem begins with schools. Some schools continue to have narrow perspectives on intellectualism. The article, “College vs Career a false choice for students” suggests that schools offer more than the basic academic pathway in order to prepare students for the workplace. Today many schools are “reinventing the traditional Voc-Ed learning model and redefining the intersection between education and workforce” (Rivitz 2). An intersection will make the transition between school and work easier. These schools will not only achieve academic success but will also provide graduates with the necessary skills needed to survive in the workforce (Rivitz 2). Before most schools were still very narrow minded. There are many different ways of being intelligent. Schools primarily see people who are street smart as anti-intellectuals. Schools and colleges severely overlook the intellectual potential of street smarts. Through “distancing themselves from anything as enjoyable and absorbing as sports...schools missed the opportunity to capitalize on an element of drama and conflict that the intellectual world shares with sports” (Graff 3). Schools fail to parallel the interests of the students with the academic world. In the excerpt from They Say/I Say, “Hidden Intellectualism”, the author asserts that there are many different types of intellectualism and book smart is just one of them. He does this by offering a real life, personal example. Graff cared only for sports and thought most of his life that he was an anti-intellectual. He realized that his “preference for sports over schoolwork was not anti-intellectualism so much as intellectualism by other means” (Graff 1).

Graduates fail to see the importance of going to college after high school. They make up invalid excuses for not going. In the article, “The 10 Most Common Excuses for NOT Going to College and Why They’re All Wrong!” the author explains how most excuse graduates make for not going to college are wrong. The first excuse is “nobody in my family has ever gone to college before” (10 Most Common 1). It can be a scary thing being the first of the family to go to college, however, it is a tradition that can and should be broken. Another common excuse is that their grades are not good enough. Colleges look at extracurricular activities and volunteer work besides grades. The most common excuse is excuse #3 “I can’t afford it” (10 Most Common 1). Many high school graduates do not go to college because they cannot afford it. Although this is a valid excuse there are many ways around it such as getting financial aid. Another really common excuse is excuse #10 “I just want to get a good job and make lots of money” (10 Most Common 3). The reason many graduates choose having a career over going to college is because they want to make money. However going to college can help with that. College allows you to earn more money in the future. A higher education will lead to higher paying jobs and opportunities.

While there will always be people who believe pursuing a career after high school is a viable option there are also many people who see that going to college leads to more opportunities. Students develop the skills needed in order to survive and be efficient in a 21st century work setting. Gone are the days students could be successful in the workforce with simply a high school diploma. Nowadays thanks to newer technological advances workers must know skills and knowledge past high school. Through a higher education graduates can obtain higher paying jobs.