The Need for a Human Capital (Education-Labor) Sector

Abstract

After accumulating USD 1.5 trillion, the US education sector educated 25 million Americans, or just over 15% of the workforce, that were ineligible for 1 million jobs for which it had to import labor. The Indian education sector spending 4-8 cents for every dollar the US sector spends per pupil, supplied 71% of the shortage, just over 66% of which were in computer related jobs alone, with double the median income and projected to grow 11% from 2019 to 2029, much faster than the 3-5% average for all occupations. Although the US education system is developing an overall better product, given the requirements of the US labor market, Indian workers are meeting that requirement at a lower cost. This demonstrates the lack of coordination between the education and labor sectors and the need for vertical integration between the two sectors to explore and expand horizons creating a highly skilled, agile labor pool. We explore the causes of the education-labor disconnect and open the discussion for policy recommendations.