Most of the time, when people talk about giving underemployed workers access to the education they need to get a better job, it’s considered a good thing to do for workers. But research keeps coming in that tells us it’s crucial for California’s economy as well.
A new survey by Gallup shows that “California’s workforce is facing a growing skills gap, with employer demand for college-educated workers outpacing current completion levels.” In other words: Businesses need more educated and skilled workers if they’re going to keep growing.
“By 2031,” the Gallup survey notes, “67% of California’s jobs are projected to require some form of postsecondary education or training. However, just 56% of California adults hold a degree or credential.”
If education, workforce, and policy leaders can’t fix that ratio, the economy will slow down.
That fits with earlier research showing a job training crisis in California and across America.
“Nationwide,” a 2025 report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce says, “there is an annual shortage of nearly 712,000 certificates and associate’s degrees aligned with high-paying middle-skills occupations, projected to last until at least 2032.”
A 2022 article called that:
“a big problem for employers who need to fill jobs made even more essential by the pandemic, and in fields where there are already shortages. These include health care, cybersecurity, information technology, construction, manufacturing, transportation, law enforcement and utilities.
“‘Not having people engaged in community and technical colleges means we’re taking the fuel out of the engine,’ said Stephen Pruitt, president of the 16-state Southern Regional Education Board.”
It turns out that helping people access jobs in the economy is good for the economy. Creating more opportunities for the people traditionally left out of access to education and workforce training creates more opportunities for everyone.
Barriers to Education are Barriers to the Economy
The good news is that California’s working-age adults are eager to upskill and continue their education. According to Gallup, 62% of adult Californians without a college degree have considered pursuing higher education in the past two years.
Given an opportunity, Californians are ready to embrace education and improve their careers but barriers too often remain.
The Gallup survey also shows that one in three enrolled college students without a degree have considered dropping out of their program in the past six months. For students who are working full time, that number increases to 45%. Students who are caretakers, like parents, are 50% likely to have considered leaving their college program.
What are the obstacles that push Californians who have the talent and work ethic to succeed out of school?
According to Gallup:
- 62% of adults who left their college programs cited cost as the most important factor in whether they could stay in their program.
- 60% said it was the inflexible nature of their education – it couldn’t fit around their work or childcare schedules.
- 58% said their programs took too long.
Location also matters. Among students who had not enrolled but wanted to, 23% said there were no programs near where they lived, while 22% said a lack of affordable student housing was keeping them from enrolling.
Workers being forced to stop their education is the worst case scenario for students and businesses alike, Gallup said. “(W)hen students face challenges and must stop out (or are unable to enroll in the first place), they miss out on the job or career development they first went to school for, often incurring debt in the process,” the survey notes.
“More broadly, California’s businesses lose out on the talent needed for an educated, thriving workforce. Identifying and reducing the barriers to accessing postsecondary education is crucial to persistence and obtaining a good job in California.”
These are serious obstacles. Fortunately California is proving they are solvable.
Making Education Accessible To Workers Benefits Businesses Too
Seven years ago, the California legislature created Calbright, the first statewide online community college. Calbright was specifically designed to support “stranded” workers – adults without a college degree who wanted to upskill to improve their careers but who found the traditional higher education system inaccessible.
Calbright developed a unique model – a Competency-Based Education model – specifically designed to make programs and learning accessible to adults who work or are caregivers.
Calbright is currently free for Californians, so it removes the barrier of cost.
Calbright is flexibly-paced, with classes offered on the students’ schedules. They can study first thing in the morning, on breaks at work, or late at night. Education and skills training fits their lives. Students can also take as much time as they need to complete a program, without penalty. This removes the barrier of inflexibility.
Calbright doesn’t offer traditional degrees, but rather certificates in industry-valued skills that companies are actively looking to hire for good jobs. These certificates can be earned much faster than a four-year or two-year degree. Because Calbright is flexibly-paced, students can take as long as they need to finish their courses, but every Calbright program is designed to be completed in less than a year. Some students finish their programs in just a few months. This removes the barrier of program length.
Because all Calbright programs are online, they are accessible anywhere across California’s 58 counties. And if students don’t have easy internet access, Calbright can loan them a laptop and wifi hotspot free of charge. This removes the barriers of location.
Calbright helps solve California’s skills gap by making the education and economy 21st century companies and workers alike want and need available to everyone – and that creates a virtuous cycle of prosperity that everyone can benefit from.
