npc_graduatesIt’s a simple fact. Go to college, and you can expect to do much better in the labor force. A recent study by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce confirmed that of the 11.6 million jobs created after June 2009, 8.4 million went to those who had earned at least a bachelor’s degree. An additional 3 million jobs went those who had an associate degree or some college education.

2016 marks the first year that college-educated workers, who make up about 36 percent of the workforce, surpassed those with a high school diploma or less. The northeastern Arizona job market follows the national trend. NPC graduates are marketable because employers increasingly want workers with at least some college education or vocational training.

Mark Vest, NPC vice president for Learning and Student Services, says, “College education substantially boosts career opportunities. Area employers benefit from having skilled, intelligent NPC graduates in the workplace. We
are meeting market needs by training those people.”

Nearly half of Americans in the 25-64 age range now possess an associate degree or higher, according to The College Payoff: Education, Occupations, Lifetime Earnings, a 2011 report by Anthony Carne-vale, Stephen Rose and Ban Cheah. That percentage is on the rise, with 42 percent of young adults ages 18 to 24 enrolled in higher education.

Job candidates who studied on a college campus are landing the lion’s share of positions paying more than $50,000 a year. These jobs are going to the college educated by a ratio of nearly 20:1!

When the economy goes bad, the less educated also pay a greater cost. During the last recession, those without any college background lost 78 percent of the jobs eliminated. Over the last six years, only 1 percent of those jobs have been recovered.

Career advancement is not the only advantage gained by studying at NPC. A college education can help you land and keep a job. NPC’s Office of Career Services and academic advisers can help you decide on the right educational path for you.       

www.npc.edu/CareerServices