Job/Employment Outlook for Career College Students

America's impending job market will affect today's students. By 2014, two of the fastest-growing industries will be health and education and the information sector. Good news – students can find training for these jobs at career colleges. Already anticipating the increase in these areas, many career colleges have added the necessary programs.

A 13% increase in employment is expected by the year 2014, according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Outlook Handbook 2006-07. That is 18.9 million new jobs. Six million, or about three-quarters, of those jobs will be professional and related occupations. This includes computer and mathematical occupations, healthcare practitioners and technical jobs, education, training, and library occupations. Two of the fastest wage and salary employment growth industries from 2004-2014 will be educational support services and private and home healthcare.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics: www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm

The education and health services industry is projected to grow faster and add more jobs than any other sector. Some of those jobs include home health aides, medical assistants and physician assistants. This increase is due to the demand for healthcare and social assistance because of the aging population and longer life expectancies. In 2014, about 23% of the labor force will be 55 years and older. By 2014, well over half the U.S. labor force will be 35 years and older.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov/emp/home.htm

Other popular jobs in the future include the information sector, which is expected to increase by 11.6%. In the top ten fastest-growing occupations, network systems and data communications analysts will increase by 54.6% and computer software engineers, applications will increase by 48.4% (see Chart 2). Software publishers will be one of the industries with the fastest wage and salary growth, with a 67.6% change from 2004-2014 (see Chart 1).

What does this mean for your students? When students choose their career path, they should keep in mind that some of the fastest-growing jobs will be in professional and related occupations, specifically education and health services. Almost all of these occupations will require some form of education and technical training. Career colleges have the ability, structure and curriculum to meet these needs. Therefore, for the most up-to-date information and training, attending a career college is a great choice.