Working as a sales clerk at a retailer such as Target (TGT) or the Gap (GPS) may not seem like an auspicious career beginning. But new research suggests such “middle skill” jobs could lead to much better opportunity than many Americans realize, and perhaps even represent the missing link in a lackluster economic recovery.
Researchers at Harvard Business School, consulting firm Accenture and analytics group Burning Glass have published a new report that helps explain a strange new paradox of the U.S. economy: employers are struggling to fill many key openings even as an unusually large number of workers are underemployed or sidelined completely.
An Accenture survey from earlier this year, for instance, found that 56% of firms have trouble filling middle-skill jobs, which are typically jobs that require some training beyond a high-school diploma but not a four-year college degree. Shortages of such workers are most acute in fields such as finance, insurance and healthcare. Accenture also found that 73% of employers expect their need for middle-skills jobs grow in the next two to three years.
Yet there are still nearly 3 million people who have been unemployed for more than 6 months, and the average duration of unemployment, at nearly 33 weeks, remains close to record levels. The percentage of adults working or looking for work has been falling for eight years and has dropped to levels from the late 1970s.
No college degree required
Workers who are un- or underemployed don’t necessarily have the skills to fill the jobs that are open. But another reason for the mismatch between people looking for work and companies looking for workers may be the neglect of middle-skill jobs that are more important to the economy than most people realize.
“There’s a big push right now for employers to begin to invest more in building these skills,” David Smith of Accenture tells me in the video above. “Our data shows that more than half [of companies] are saying they can’t find the experience or the training among middle-skill workers.”
With career experts repeatedly highlighting the importance of a college degree, middle-skill jobs such as sales reps, technicians and various types of assistants often have little appeal to young workers. Yet many such jobs can lead to promotions, raises, new opportunities and salaries of $60,000 or $70,000. A capable sales clerk, for instance, could rise through the ranks of a retail operation into inventory control, logistics and even management.
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Smith and his fellow researchers want employers, educators and policymakers to put new emphasis on preparing high-school students for middle-skill jobs and making it easier for high-school graduates to get relevant training. In the meanwhile, workers who take the initiative, seek additional training on their own and find ways to differentiate themselves from peers are the ones most likely to get ahead. “Take some certification programs,” Smith advises. “Put some things on your resume. When you do that, you begin a cycle where the employer will show more interest in you.”