Educating the Workforce of Tomorrow Fall 2017 | Page 4

REGIONAL INITIATIVES
Growing employer need for a highly educated workforce makes the college readiness problem a workforce
development problem. Technological innovations that swept the manufacturing sector are spreading to
transportation, sales, and office administration. According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and
Community Development, an estimated 1.4 million jobs, representing 37 percent of workers’ wages in
Tennessee, are vulnerable to automation, with rural counties having the most to lose. [11] Many new jobs that will
replace existing occupations require a higher education level. To secure tomorrow’s workforce, regional and
community leaders are better coordinating education and workforce development, with a clear focus on student
postsecondary and career readiness.
What Does Postsecondary And
Career Readiness Mean?
Pathways Tennessee –
A Framework For Community Action
As the United States climbed out of the Great Recession,
In Tennessee, a postsecondary and career- a coalition of states and regions launched the Pathways
ready student is able to graduate K-12 to Prosperity Network to re-envision how K-12 and higher
education with the knowledge, abilities, and education partners and employers can collaborate to secure
habits to enter and complete postsecondary a ready workforce. In 2012, Tennessee became one of the
education without remediation and first