Home » State releasing first-ever Kentucky Future Skills Report on workforce, education

State releasing first-ever Kentucky Future Skills Report on workforce, education

Heiner unveiling report today at state chamber summit

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan. 25, 2017) – Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC) Secretary Hal Heiner and Kentucky Center for Education and Workforce Statistics (KCEWS) Executive Director Kate Akers, Ph.D. will release the Kentucky Future Skills Report at 3:15 p.m. today at the Kentucky Chamber’s 2nd Annual Kentucky Workforce Summit held at the Hilton Lexington Downtown. The Kentucky Future Skills Report is the state’s first interactive report on workforce supply and demand.

“This report will provide much needed feedback to policymakers, practitioners, the business community and the public about the future of Kentucky’s workforce,” said Secretary Heiner. “It’s the first time in the Commonwealth and possibly the United States that a report has been this comprehensive when linking actual education and workforce data.”

The Kentucky Future Skills Report utilizes three components of education and workforce development in Kentucky: Historic Workforce Supply, Current Employment Outcomes and Future Workforce Demand.

Historic Workforce Supply displays the most current Kentucky credential data available from 2010-2014 by total number of people earning a credential and total number of credentials earned. Credentials are high school diplomas or equivalent, certificates, diplomas, associate degrees, bachelor’s degrees and graduate degrees.

“Kentuckians can now use an interactive tool to compare credential supply by State, Workforce Planning Region and Local Workforce Area,” said Akers. “The report represents more than 600,000 credentials from over 450,000 individuals over the past five years.”

Current Employment Outcomes analyzes wages and percent employed in Kentucky over time by secondary (high school graduates and career technical education) and postsecondary (degree level and majors) achievement for recent graduates and program completers over time.

“The Kentucky Future Skills Report is a tool that can be used by the Kentucky Department of Education and local schools and districts to make informed decisions regarding career pathway opportunities for students that lead to high-demand, high wage career opportunities,” Commissioner of Education Stephen Pruitt, Ph.D. said. “It will be a great resource as we continue to focus on the creation of regional career academies throughout the state.”

“The Kentucky Future Skills Report provides a window into the education and training of Kentuckians, and what our students can expect to make after graduation, and what the highest demand occupational areas are in the Commonwealth,” said Council on Postsecondary Education President Bob King. “The report will be a great asset for colleges and universities in Kentucky and the students they serve.”

Future Workforce Demand looks at the projected demand of jobs in Kentucky by State, Workforce Planning Region and Local Workforce Area over the next five years, including information such as job growth and replacement, potential earnings for general and specific occupations and skill level.

“There is no question that finding and retaining a skilled workforce is the top priority for many businesses. That’s why the Kentucky Future Skills Report will prove so valuable to our cabinet and to employers,” said Terry Gill, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. “Not only will it help fill current openings, but it also will help us prepare for future workforce needs, and will enable the state to encourage more students to go into professions in the greatest demand. This tool promises to be a significant asset for us in economic development.”

The Kentucky Future Skills Report addresses the “skills gap” in Kentucky by focusing on key sectors and occupations based on current and trend data while paying particular attention to high demand credentials by geographic region. Over 20 industries and 800 specific occupations are represented in the Kentucky Future Skills Report.

“The release of the Kentucky Future Skills Report will enable the Education Professional Standards Board (EPSB) to better project the needs of local workforce areas for educators in Kentucky’s schools and assist in determining the agency budget allocations,” said EPSB Executive Director Jimmy Adams. “The data provided in the report opens a window of conversation between EPSB and educator preparation providers across the state to determine and analyze general supply and demand needs. EPSB will also utilize this tool for policy and regulation development and to assist Kentucky’s educator preparation providers in preparing educators to meet the needs of Kentucky’s school workforce.”

“This report was built on the need of employers, the need of policymakers and the need of Kentucky to use real data to view the past, examine trends, and better prepare for our future workforce,” said Akers.

The data used in the Kentucky Future Skills Report came from the Kentucky Longitudinal Data System (KLDS) at KCEWS. JobsEQ powered by Chmura Economics provided online access to demographics, employment, wages, occupation and skill levels at the State, MSA, County, City and even down to the zip code level with many different reporting and mapping capabilities. Tableau is the software used for the report’s visualizations.

To use the interactive report in its entirety please visit http://kcews.ky.gov