Summary
Middle-skills credentials (certificates and associate’s degrees) can lead to high-paying jobs—including jobs that pay more than most workers earn with a bachelor’s degree and similar job experience. In some occupations, there is ample opportunity available to workers with these middle-skills credentials. In fact, the demand in high-paying middle-skills jobs exceeds the supply of available workers in certain sectors and localities.
Missed Opportunities: Credential Shortages in Programs Aligned with High-Paying Middle-Skills Jobs in 55 US Metro Areas examines the production of middle-skills credentials that prepare workers for high-paying occupations nationwide and in metro areas with populations exceeding 1 million. It compares current credential production with the projected number of job openings for workers holding these credentials through 2032.
Alignment Metrics for High-Paying Middle-Skills Occupations in the 55 Largest US Metro Areas
What is a High-Paying Middle Skills Occupation?
High-paying middle-skills occupations are those in which more than half of early-career (ages 18–35) middle-skills workers have a job with annual earnings of more than $53,000. Early-career middle-skills workers in these jobs not only out-earn most young workers with a bachelor’s degree but also experience considerable earnings growth over time, with median annual earnings that rise to $80,000 by mid-career (ages 36–49).
CEW’s analysis reveals 107 high-paying middle-skills jobs in five occupational groups: blue-collar; healthcare; management; protective services; and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
Credential Shortages vs. Credential Surpluses
The blue-collar sector will have the greatest nationwide shortage of workers prepared for high-paying middle-skills occupations, and 52 of the 55 major metro areas will experience shortages. More moderate shortages are expected in high-paying management, protective services, and STEM middle-skills occupations. For example, in both management and protective services, 39 major metro areas are expected to face shortages of credentials aligned with high-paying middle-skills occupations. Healthcare is the only occupational group with a projected nationwide oversupply of credentials aligned with high-paying middle-skills occupations.
Conclusion
While not all metro areas will face shortages in programs aligned with high-paying middle-skills occupations, many are expected to, and in those communities, the anticipated shortages could be substantial. Over half of providers in metro areas that will face credential shortages in programs aligned with high-paying middle-skills blue-collar, management, and protective services occupations would need to more than double their credential production in those programs to meet local demand.
Resources
Missed Opportunities: Credential Shortages in Programs Aligned with High-Paying Middle-Skills Jobs in 55 US Metro Areas projects that most major metro areas will experience shortages of credentials aligned with many high-paying middle-skills occupations.
