Oregon board sets new adult education goal

The Higher Education Coordinating Commission, in partnership with the Workforce and Talent Development Board, on Thursday approved a new educational attainment goal for adult working-age Oregonians that it said is specifically targeted to meet current and projected job opportunities.

The new adult educational goal for the state is intended to foster economic mobility, supporting Oregonians in preparing for family-wage jobs of the future, the organization said. The goal also recognizes the necessity to reduce attainment gaps for underserved populations through broad, inclusive approaches to skills and talent development.

The new goal, approved by the HECC at its November 8 public meeting, is stated as follows:

“Oregon anticipates more than 120,000 additional jobs requiring post-secondary training or education between now and 2030. In order to meet this need, 300,000 additional adult Oregonians should earn a new degree, certificate or credential valued in the workforce during that time. Because Oregon has substantial attainment gaps among minority, low income and rural Oregonians, the state will also commit to reducing those attainment gaps by half during the decade.”

Without new interventions, Oregonians are on pace to earn approximately 200,000 additional degrees, certificates and credentials by 2030. The goal of increasing credential production by approximately 100,000 is designed to prepare Oregonians for the 120,000 new jobs that are projected to open up in occupations that require postsecondary education or training to be competitive.

The most recent projections from the Oregon Employment Department show that over the next decade (2017-2027), over 90 percent of job openings that pay more than $40,000 per year will require postsecondary education to be competitive. The new adult attainment goal, in conjunction with Oregon’s 40-40-20 educational attainment goal for Oregon youth in the educational pipeline, is designed to guide progress in Oregon’s educational and workforce systems.

Ben Cannon, executive director of the HECC, said, “This goal will galvanize our statewide efforts to prepare Oregon working-age adults to take advantage of projected growth in family-wage jobs, to be resilient when the economy changes, and to ensure that our work is laser-focused on reducing attainment gaps for those who do not have equal opportunity today.”

The goal is the culmination of a nearly year-long work group process that began following the passage of House Bill 2311 in 2017, which directed the HECC and WTDB to establish a statewide educational attainment goal for adult Oregonians. The adult attainment workgroup that developed the goal was chaired by Neil Bryant, chair of the HECC, and by Ken Madden, chair of the WTDB, and included representatives from Oregon public and private institutions, as well as workforce and business partners.

Neil Bryant of Bend, chair of the HECC, said, “This is not just a postsecondary education system goal ― this is a goal that will touch every community and every family in this state. Thanks to the Oregon Legislature, and the rigorous work of the workgroup and statewide experts, Oregon now has a meaningful, applicable goal for the postsecondary success of working adults. We thank all who contributed, and we look forward to moving forward to make this goal a reality.”

The work was informed by the Governor’s Future Ready Oregon policy agenda, the recently finalized Oregon Talent Assessment, the Oregon Employment Department projections, industry input at the 2018 Talent Summit, and research and analysis by the HECC and WTDB. Dr. Amy Cox, director of research and data for the HECC, presented an overview on the goal development and background data, prior to its approval. The HECC plans to track and report annual progress for the state as a whole, for underrepresented groups, by type of credential. and by educational sector.