Skilled-Worker Shortage Coming Soon

A stark new warning from Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce crystallizes a problem that leaders have long felt: The US is on track to face a deep shortfall of skilled workers unless education and training expand quickly. In its report, Falling Behind, the Center on Education and the Workforce projects that between 2024 and 2032, some 18.4 million experienced workers with postsecondary credentials will retire while only 13.8 million similarly credentialed younger workers will enter the labor market. Factoring in the increase of new jobs, that will create a net shortfall of roughly 5.25 million workers, 4.5 million of whom will need at least a bachelor's degree.

The report also predicts that the economy will add approximately 685,000 new post-secondary-requiring jobs over the same period, further compounding the gap.

The Center on Education and the Workforce flags nine occupational groups—from nurses and engineers to accountants and teachers—that will feel disproportionate strain. The causes are structural: a demographic wave of retirements, slower growth in degree attainment among younger cohorts, and accelerating demand for higher-order technical and hybrid human and technology skills. Employers that rely on traditional hiring pipelines will soon find them run dry, according to the report.

Similarly, the World Economic Forum's The Future of Jobs Report 2025 notes that employers expect roughly 39 percent of core skills to change by 2030 and lists skills gaps as the top barrier to transformation.

Solutions come in many forms, particularly for younger workers who will still be in the workforce when the shortfall comes to fruition. To close gaps faster, LinkedIn Learning's 2025 Workplace Learning Report advises talent development leaders to implement practices that promote agility, including tracking skills gap data, creating skills-based career paths, collaborating with executives and talent colleagues, and using skills assessments. The report also recommends large-scale upskilling initiatives but cautions that they can move slowly.

"Partnerships among businesses, educational institutions, and industry associations to develop specialized training programs can help bridge the gap between the demand for skilled workers and the available supply," Falling Behind notes. "By providing employees with the opportunity to acquire new skills and enhance their capabilities, businesses can ensure a steady supply of skilled workers who can meet their current and future needs."