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NSC releases report, presents at SGA meeting.

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August 22, 2011

National Skills Coalition Releases New Report,
Meets with Southern Governors to Address Closing the South's Middle-Skill Gap

On August 21, NSC State Policy Director Eric Seleznow led a panel discussion on Closing the South's Middle-Skill Gap at the Southern Governors' Association (SGA) 2011 Annual Meeting in Asheville, NC. The panel discussion focused on the shortage of qualified middle-skill workers critical to Governors' efforts to support the region's innovation economy. The panel included Fred Dedrick, Executive Director, National Fund for Workforce Solutions; Keith Bird, Senior Policy Fellow for Workforce and Postsecondary Education, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce and Chancellor-Emeritus, Kentucky Community and Technical College System; and James M. Wiseman, Chief Communications Officer and Group Vice President, Corporate Communications, Toyota Motor North America.

The session highlighted data presented in Driving Innovation from the Middle: Middle-Skill Jobs in the American South's Economy, a report prepared by the National Skills Coalition for SGA that examines the role of middle-skill jobs in the American South’s economy and in key innovation industries, assesses current and future skills gaps, and explores policy strategies to close those gaps.

The report, which was released during the Annual Meeting, found that middle-skill jobs account for 51 percent of the region’s jobs today and will account for 44 percent of job openings in the next decade, making them the engine of the American South’s economy. But while 51 percent of current jobs are middle-skill, only 43 percent of the region’s workers are currently trained to the middle-skill level, a gap that threatens to undermine economic growth and innovation efforts.

Sunday's panel discussed the role of middle-skill jobs in the American South’s economy and in key innovation industries, and urged Governors to adopt a three-part policy framework drawing on a set of core strategies—strategic sector partnerships, competency based career pathways, and counting middle-skill credentials.

SGA Chairman, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue, hosted the meeting of state chief executives, which explored the connections between innovation, job creation and workforce development, and discussed policy indicators impacting the ability to innovate.

Click here to read the full report.