“The report also states that by 2018, Tennessee will have 967,000 job vacancies, and that 516,000 of those jobs will require post-secondary credentials,” she said. “We must have a sense of urgency in addressing the need for higher education if the state is to continue attracting business and industry. We must let our young people know the value of a college education and how it can improve their chances for higher paying jobs.”
Apple said the highest salaries among students earning associate degrees or certificates are earned in select fields, including nursing, engineering, technology, law enforcement, business computer programming, medical laboratory technology, emergency medical technician, and mechatronics.
The unemployment rate for high school graduates with no college was 9.4 percent, and for workers without a high school diploma, 14.1 percent – more than twice the unemployment rate of workers with an associate’s degree.
