Should more Illinoisans have a college degree or workforce credential? A new state group is figuring that out

Top officials from across Illinois’ education and workforce development agencies will be putting their heads together to figure out what degrees, certificates and other training Illinoisans need to be competitive in the workforce for the next 14 years.

Gov. JB Pritzker signed an executive order Friday that establishes a new state group that will work with experts to analyze the state’s changing labor market and workforce needs. And by Dec. 1, that group will let the governor know what share of Illinois adults they think should have a college degree, workforce credential or other post-high school training by 2040.

Those choices are meaningful: They can guide state investments, help colleges and trade schools decide what programs to offer and let high schools know what career prep courses are most likely to pay off.

“We're looking at where we are today and coming together with stakeholders from across the state — from governments, from the private sector, from our post-secondary institutions — to figure out a path about how to prepare our workers for the future,” Martin Torres, deputy governor for education, said in an interview.

The state convened a similar group, known as the Illinois P-20 Council, back in 2009, which set a goal that 60% of Illinois adults would have a degree, credential or other training by 2025.

Right now, around 57% of Illinois adults have a postsecondary degree or credential, according to data from the Lumina Foundation cited by the governor’s office. That’s slightly below the state’s goal, but still up from the 41% of adults that had a degree or credential in 2008.

In a news release, the governor’s office said that represented real progress, but officials noted there are still gaps in who has a degree or credential across the state. It will be critical to “address persistent racial, regional, and socioeconomic disparities in attainment,” the executive order states.

Illinois has some of the widest gaps in the country between the share of white adults and the share of Black and Latino adults who have a degree or credential, according to the state’s higher education board. Recent reporting by WBEZ found big gaps in who holds at least a two-year degree in Chicago, too.

Tackling that, the state has said, will require better supporting high schoolers and helping adults who started but didn't complete higher education cross the finish line.

The new state group will include representatives from Illinois’ higher education board, community college board, K-12 education agency and state workforce and employment agencies. Eventually they’ll hold meetings across the state and solicit input from colleges, employers, local workforce boards, labor unions and students.