Governor Fallin recently announced her goal to raise the Launch Oklahoma educational attainment of Oklahomans.  She hopes to inspire citizens of our state to increase their education in order to create the workforce needed for a strong state economy.  The specific goal is to raise the proportion of the population with a degree or certification from 40% to 70% by 2025.  I currently serve as a Key Economic Network (KEN) champion for the south central region of Oklahoma.  The purpose of this role is to better connect business and education for the purpose of building a stronger workforce.

So when Governor Fallin announced this goal, I began to look at the proportion of the state citizenry closest to me.  I surveyed my employees to determine our level of educational attainment.  I plan to use my business as a pilot program to evaluate the goal and how we might work to achieve it.

When I surveyed the employees, we discovered that HSI is fairly representative of the state regarding educational attainment.  Our survey found that 36% of our employees have earned a degree or certification of some kind compared to 40% for the state.  While 51% have some education beyond high school or GED, only 36% achieved certification.

I then asked the question: How well does the education align with their actual job?  I was surprised to learn that of those employees with certifications, only 41% of those certifications applied directly to the position they now hold.  I find the evaluation of certifications most interesting regarding this goal because certifications are faster and more affordable to obtain.  I also know from the data provided by the State of Oklahoma that the major educational attainment gap lies in associates degrees and certifications.

That is where we work next.  Let’s look at what programs are available to HSI and our employees.  Plus, I wonder how applicable they will be to our manufacturing business?