SKILL DEFICIENCIES - PROBLEMS, POLICIES, AND PROSPECTS

What evidence points to a shortage of skills, a condition that keeps the U.S. economy off its ''optimum '' path ? First, the literacy of job seekers, as surveyed by the Educational Testing Service, is inconsistent with acceptable alternative growth paths as projected in Workforce 2000. Second, data on specific jobs show skill requirements increasing. Third, employers are paving more for higher education and workers with less education are being paid less. Integrating school and work, by applying the findings of the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS), is a way to lessen the shortage, an opportunity likely to be favored by the new administration.