The speed of change in the global economy almost guarantees that people in all walks of life will need to re-think the ways they interact with the world. The rapid pace can be frightening – and sometimes just downright inconvenient. As John Lennon once noted, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Those sentiments may be echoed by many in our region today. Downsizing, off-shoring, re-organizations, mergers, and many other factors have taken people in many directions they didn’t expect.

There are only two possible choices in responding to these changes: ignore them and hope they go away, or take action to stay in (or get back in) the game. All indicators inform us that the changes are here to stay. Globalization has taken hold with a vengeance, and we must act accordingly.

A January 2007 report by the North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development detailed key trends taking place in the state. In general, those trends indicate that
• manufacturing will continue to downsize
• traditional jobs in the middle class will disappear or require greater skills
• certain areas of the state will prosper while others struggle
• retiring Baby Boomers will leave a skills gap
• people moving in and out of the state’s workforce have the potential to be both good and bad for the economy, and
• future prosperity in the state of North Carolina will depend a great deal on higher educational attainment for all citizens.

To say that every job will require greater skill or more education would be untruthful. To say that every high-skill, high-wage job will require advanced skills is more accurate. Each worker will make his or her own choices about lifestyle and upward mobility – and “the good life” may well require a higher level of commitment than once thought necessary.

According to the Commission cited above, many dislocated workers have chosen to accept lower paying jobs in the last decade because they simply couldn’t qualify for new jobs with better (or the same) pay. Others have been unable to access educational resources, couldn’t afford to go back to school, or worse, lacked the will to return to school.

While numerous educational resources exist in the local region to help workers gain new skills and knowledge, the one thing all these organizations have in common is that they cannot provide the will to learn. And many people are frustrated because educators can’t give specific answers about which field of study to attempt, or which industries are likely to need workers in the future.

The answer is – there is no solid answer. The changes taking place today are absolutely unprecedented. Experts in numerous fields agree that much of what college students are learning today will be outdated by the time they graduate. So then, you may ask, what is the point? Why bother?

This answer is easier. Higher education isn’t just about becoming an expert in a particular field. The greater good of college is to learn how to think in new and different ways. Those who apply themselves to academic studies often surprise themselves by suddenly being able to present both sides of an argument and to draw a conclusion, or to be able to write a proposal for a new business strategy, or to stand in front of a crowd and lead them in a new direction. Those “critical thinking skills” are useful in any job and are often the reason a person can be hired for a position that doesn’t really match his or her college degree. As long as a person has the ability to think independently, creatively, or methodically, the requirements of specific jobs can be learned along the way.

Yes, change is coming – quickly! College campuses are filling with students, young and old, each choosing to act, rather than be acted upon. Which will you choose?