Local view: CORE 24 will put students on road to top jobs

Clark County is the fastest-growing county in Washington, thanks in no small part to our role as the emerging “Silicon Forest” of the Northwest. Our area is a hub for semiconductor materials and computer chip manufacturing — industries that require a more highly trained work force than manufacturing jobs of the past. To be hired at one of our semiconductor facilities today, an applicant must have a minimum two-year degree, including coursework in higher math. But this industry, which is experiencing the challenges of replacing an aging work force, is having trouble finding qualified, younger workers.

That’s because too many Washington students are graduating from high school unprepared to succeed at college or in the work force — a situation that must change.

And that’s why I encourage everyone who cares about our children and their future to support CORE 24, a comprehensive revision of the state’s high school graduation credit requirement framework.

With input from teachers, students, parents, community and business leaders and others, the Washington State Board of Education developed and approved CORE 24. Subject to funding by the Legislature, CORE 24 will increase the number of credits students are required to take in English, science and foreign language, among others.

As president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council, I enthusiastically endorse CORE 24 because an educated work force is vital to attracting and retaining business investment in Southwest Washington. Our schools must do a better job at preparing our children with the knowledge and skills they need to be competitive in a global economy. Elevating graduation requirements is the right thing to do not only for our children — the work force of tomorrow — but also as an investment in our community.

Far too many two- and four-year college students are required to take remedial coursework before they are even eligible to enroll in the courses required for their degree. This additional coursework slows down the student’s educational progress and puts a crimp in the pipeline of workers available to businesses, especially those in the technology manufacturing industries already experiencing a shortage of workers. Manufacturing jobs represent 10 percent of the employment in Clark County.

To continue to make Washington attractive to international businesses seeking to locate here, it is imperative that we meet or exceed the educational standards of our foreign business competitors and investors. For a company to decide to locate its business here — providing more jobs in our community — it expects to find a trained work force when they arrive. One foreign business manager with whom I recently met told me that finding skilled workers was his No. 1 consideration for selecting the location of his company’s U.S. branch. If businesses cannot find the skilled work force they need here, those businesses may go elsewhere or look to recruiting workers from other areas.

Our schools must provide students with the knowledge and skills that the global job market demands. They need to have the ability to write and communicate effectively. They need to have at least a working familiarity with a foreign language, rather than relying on their foreign business counterparts to be fluent in English. And they will need a high-level math and science competency whether they plan to enter the technology sector or another field.

The growth industries of the future are knowledge-based and that includes not only high-tech, but information tech and financial services as well. CORE 24 will require students to take more coursework in each of these areas.

I hope everyone from this community will let the Legislature know how critical it is to provide funding to implement CORE 24, a long overdue and much-needed update to high school credit requirements which have not been revised since 1985.

CORE 24 is an investment we need to make in our kids, our economy and our community.

BART PHILLIPS is president of the Columbia River Economic Development Council.