Is the occupational demand for college graduates being overhyped?
Sept. 30, 2010 The other day we wrote about a disconnect between two forecasts that bear on the future demand for college graduates. The state Labor Department’s occupational projection through 2018 indicates that about one-third of the openings will require post secondary degrees. But a projection by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (“Help Wanted,” a 50-state study) that suggests that fraction should be closer to two-thirds. The Georgetown numbers (the state figures are in Appendix 2, which you can see here) were adduced by the Lumina Foundation to argue that Vermont has to step up its production of college graduates. The disparity in the two forecasts raises the question, however: Is the future demand for college graduates being overhyped? We’re frequently told that the fastest growing occupations, in Vermont and nationally, require post-secondary degrees. Even the Vermont Labor Department’s forecast bears that out, as we noted in the previous post. Wha
