With the presidential election just weeks away, it's clear that
unemployment will be one of the top issues for American voters
as they head to the polls—and with good reason. With
unemployment still at 8.1 percent, there is serious concern from
the Federal Reserve that it may not fall below 7 percent until
the year 2015. There is some discussion about the reasons there
is such a high unemployment rate nearly four years after the
Great Recession. Some point to a lack of jobs, but many believe
the real culprit is a shortage of skilled workers. In the past,
this skills gap has consistently been in the areas of
healthcare, information technology, and engineering—exactly the
skills that are required to fill many of the jobs emerging first
during this continued financial recovery. Yet statistics now
show that there is also a shortage of electricians, plumbers,
and medical technicians. Other surveys show that in certain
industries, there is only one active job seeker for every three
open positions. For example, The