The Limited Career Prospects for High School Graduates Without Additional Education and Training

Tuesday, September 11, 2012Printer-friendly version

In an effort to identify low skills jobs, opportunities for advancement within and out of those low skills jobs, and the skills most required across those jobs (compared to those skills required for middle skills jobs), Achieve commissioned an original analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics/O*NET data. The Future of the U.S. Workforce: The Limited Career Prospects for High School Graduates Without Additional Education and Training uncovered that while there are a good proportion of jobs that require only a high school diploma or less, they typically pay less; offer fewer opportunities for advancement, leadership, and prestige; and require far fewer skills than middle skills jobs, suggesting individuals really do need additional education/training across skills areas to advance.