Educational Attainment - Louisville and its surrounding counties have made great progress in educational attainment in recent years; however, there are still significant challenges ahead for our communities to successfully compete and thrive in a Global Economy. Despite our progress, the area's educational statistics rank relatively low in comparison to our metropolitan peers. The low rate of college attainment is exacerbated by Kentucky's continuing struggles with high school dropout rates, adult literacy issues, and uneven access to postsecondary resources, and correlates tightly with the relatively low earnings of area workers.

Postsecondary institutions in this area need to raise enrollments collectively by 20% per year over the next decade in order for Louisville to move to the midpoint of college attainment ranks among our competitor markets. In addition, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education estimates that during the next 20 years an additional 80,000 students must access higher education for Kentucky to remain competitive with benchmark states, and predicts that approximately 50,000 of those students will access higher education through a local two-year college like Jefferson Community and Technical College.

Workplace Competency - Employers are faced with rapidly changing technology, the needs of a diverse workforce, and training issues associated with moving toward high performance work systems. Yet, the knowledge and skill level of many Kentuckians is simply not adequate for the high-tech jobs of the future. In fact, a survey conducted by KentuckianaWorks identified more than 13,000 job openings in skilled job categories (including information technology, health care, skilled trades, and insurance/financial sectors) that have gone unfilled in this area because of employer dissatisfaction with the skill level of available workers. And to add to the problem, the US Department of Commerce estimates that the demand for workers in high-tech occupations requiring an associate degree will increase by 57 percent by the year 2006.

Earning Power - The per capita income of Kentuckians is only 81 percent of the national average. Without education or training beyond high school, most workers can expect to earn little more than subsistence wages. Sadly, single-parent households, usually headed by women, remain the poorest of the working poor.

Globalization - Competing in a global economy presents an enormous challenge for our communities to find workers with an understanding of the business methods, economic systems, and cultures of their international counterparts. Breaking down cultural and educational barriers is imperative if we are to develop new avenues of economic prosperity for the citizens served by the college. Expanded access to postsecondary education and training is essential to maintain the quality of life we enjoy and to continue to grow strong and vibrant communities.