By Carol Sadtler and Simona Covel
Some Encouraging News
Signs point to an economic turnaround. The job openings rate has trended upward since the end of the recession in June 2009, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) report released in mid-February. Though the number of job openings remained below the 4.3 million openings when the recession began in December 2007, openings have increased 45 percent since June 2009–an addition of 200,000 jobs per month for three months in a row.
In mid-February, a National Federation of Small Businesses survey showed that confidence among U.S. small-business owners rose for the fifth straight month in January. According to the survey, many small businesses are having trouble filling vacant positions, adding to indications that the economic recovery is progressing.
Healthy Growth in Health Care–and Related Fields
According to BLS labor market projections through 2020, one-third of the fastest-growing occupations are related to health care. With the Baby Boomers heading into retirement and requiring more medical care, 2 million more health care practitioners and 1.4 million who will work in health care support roles will be needed by 2020, the BLS predicts.
Growth is expected in professional jobs with good salaries across the health care spectrum, and civic and educational institutions are working to meet that demand. For example, DePaul’s College of Science and Health, which opened in 2011 and launched a health sciences degree program, is designed to mix science education with traditional liberal arts education.
“Students in the health sciences program declare a concentration in either biosciences or in health care policy and practice, but also take some courses in the other concentration. We expect the curriculum to broaden students’ knowledge bases and potential employment opportunities,” says Jerry Cleland, interim dean of the college.
With a knowledge base such as this, students will have the background to enter or to pursue further education in professions with a projected double-digit growth rate and good salaries. From 2008 to 2018, according to BLS projections, job growth will increase for physicians and surgeons by 26 percent, physician assistants by 41.3 percent, registered nurses by 23.4 percent and counselors by 22.6 percent.
An expanding health care sector will create 22.5 percent growth in related professions, and DePaul is finding ways to educate students to take advantage of those opportunities. The College of Communication, for example, launched a Master of Arts program in health communication last fall that combines critical and theoretical courses in organizational and multicultural communication with courses in public relations and communication. The Kellstadt Graduate School of Business offers an MBA concentration in health sector management.
As in other DePaul programs, students will have opportunities for internships, hands-on research and instruction from working professionals to give them the skills–and the networks–that increase employability after graduation.
Moreover, these skills are grounded in critical thinking–a hallmark of the education DePaul provides.
BLS projections for growth between 2010 and 2020 in other sectors contain some good news. Here are just a few examples of projected job growth in areas one typically enters with a bachelor’s degree: actuaries - 26.7 percent; accountants - 15.7 percent; secondary and grade school teachers - 14.6 percent; database administrators - 30.6 percent; financial analysts - 23.0 percent; HR managers - 12.9 percent; and market research analysts/marketing specialists - 41.2 percent.
Demographic Shifts and the Workplace
Job opportunities are changing, and the makeup of the workforce that will fill them also is undergoing a major shift. As the population bulge of Baby Boomers moves into retirement, the Latino population is burgeoning. The Latino population will rise from 14 percent of the national population in 2005 to 29 percent in 2050, according to Pew Hispanic Center projections.
In 1970, one in 20 people in the Chicago region was Latino. Now, that figure is one in five, according to U.S. Census data. In the seven-county Chicago area, more than one-quarter of public school students are Latino. Latinos are progressing from low-wage jobs–the historical entry point for immigrant populations–to professional careers. “Right now, when you have immigrants coming from impoverished backgrounds, they’re coming to do the more working-class labor,” says James Wolfinger, associate professor of history and education, who specializes in labor history. “That doesn’t mean that’s the way it’s going to be.”
The Latino community and its partners are working hard to ensure their children have access to education and jobs. As Latinos gain more access to education and good jobs, there may be changes not just in workforce dynamics, but in city politics as power centers move. And that can be a good thing, says Curran. “The U.S. has been successful because we let immigrants shake up the system. It shakes up assumptions.”
DePaul has a history of serving immigrant populations, including those that other universities sometimes turned away, so that students could acquire a professional education that led to a better life. That mission continues today. The recently created STEM Center coordinates and contributes to the development, implementation and management of science and mathematics programs aligned with the mission of the university–which includes providing opportunities to high-achieving students from low-income families and those who may be the first in their family to go to college. The College of Communication’s Latino Media and Communication program, which prepares graduates to work in this rapidly growing area, is another example.
New Skills for a New Marketplace
As the demographics of the workforce change and the marketplace demands innovation, sophisticated technical skills and adaptable professionals, DePaul is responding. The university looks for opportunities and creates the programs and experiences that offer students the skills to fill new jobs–in tandem with a theoretical background that fosters critical thinking and analysis.
The following pages include success stories of DePaul students, alumni and the people who help them get to work–and that is encouraging news.
Simona Covel is a writer and editor based in Chicago. She has written extensively about finance and business, including specialized coverage of leveraged finance and entrepreneurship. Her work has appeared in many national publications, including The Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur.
Links
National Federation of Small Businesses Survey
U.S Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics - Selected Occupational Data