Professional-Based Public Policy

Jeff Livingston’s career-focused policy talk asserts that public policy makers and educators have not been serious enough about career planning for young people. Livingston asserts that more young people will forgo post-secondary education in favor of going straight into the workforce. The differences between these two paths have not nearly been explored enough by policy enforcers. He calls for more attention to be paid towards technical and middle-level jobs, the areas in which most job growth is happening and where there is an employee deficit already happening.

Livingston’s first order of business is to issue more apprenticeships, which are already a mainstay in European education systems.  Apprenticeships are an opportunity that offer paid academic and technical training to pursue a career. At the very least, policy makers need to dedicate themselves to making sure individuals who enter the workforce directly get the most out of their education.