A 2017 report from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has given additional insight into the rising demand for skilled labour across the US. Among those surveyed by the Chamber of Commerce, roughly two-thirds of employers said that they will be hiring new employees over the next month, but approximately 95% noted difficulty in finding skilled workers for their existing job openings in the Q2 2017.
This dearth of eligible applicants comes as the Trump administration seeks to make good on its promise to spend USD 1 trillion on infrastructure in the U.S. Bob Pitts, Senior Policy Advisor, Associated Builders and Contractors Greater Tennessee Chapter, summed up, "The economy has gotten stronger, the demand for construction and new building has expanded significantly and it doesn't show any signs of declining," Pitts stated. "It's going to take additional people that the industry does not have to meet the demands of the next couple of decades."
Many analysts suggest that vocational education programmes and related EdTech opportunities could serve as a solution to this labour shortage, and the EdTech industry is flourishing as a result. Earlier this year, Research and Markets forecast a compound annual growth rate of around 7.2% for the global EdTech market over the next decade, with the sector reaching USD 325 billion by 2025.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
