LANSING – The majority of the state’s jobs currently require no more than a high school diploma, but that will change in the coming years, a report by Business Leaders for Michigan said.

The report also said that average salaries for those lower skilled jobs are about half those for jobs requiring at least a two-year degree or certificate.

“We’re doing a fairly good job in the short term,” Tim Sowton, vice president for government affairs and public policy, said in his presentation to the Senate Commerce Committee. “Over the long term, we’re going to have to address some demographic challenges.”

He told both the Senate committee and the House Workforce and Talent Development Committee that the state can expect to lose 19,000 of the jobs that require up to a high school diploma over the next three years, while those requiring at least an associate’s degree will grow by 21,000.

He said it will be important to get that message to high school students. “I don’t think students are getting that message that there are good jobs out there that pay well,” he said.

Rep. Jim Townsend (D-Royal Oak) questioned whether the group’s goals on education and costs are at odds. “I think we have to focus on whether the relentless focus on cutting taxes and reducing business costs isn’t getting in the way of having the resources we need,” he said. “When you look at the places that are attracting talent, they’re not low cost states.”

Sowton said the goal is not low cost. “We need to be competitive on business costs,” he said. “You will not be able to grow jobs if companies find a better value for costs in other places.”

Coincidentally, given that Sowton preceded a presentation on adding coding to the state’s high school curriculum options, the report showed a surplus in computer programmers. But it showed substantial shortages for skilled trades like plumbers, electricians and machinery mechanics.

But the report also showed those surpluses and shortages could shift in the coming years given that Michigan has the 10th oldest workforce among the states and is in the bottom five states for its percentage of younger people entering the workforce (ages 25 to 34). That population also can expect to shrink in the future with the high school population dropping.

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