Ana Mari Cauce, president of the University of Washington, Kirk Schulz, president of Washington State University, and Jan Yoshiwara, executive director of the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges, call on the Legislature to make increasing investments in the state's institutions of public higher education a priority when the Legislature convenes in January.
"The timing is critical," they write in an opinion piece for The Seattle Times. "The Washington Roundtable, a nonprofit organization of senior executives from major employers, reports that more than half of the 740,000 job openings predicted by 2021 will require education beyond high school.
"In June, the Roundtable cautioned that our state isn’t moving fast enough to prepare students to land these jobs."
The writers add, "Reinvesting in our universities and community and technical colleges will open the doors wider for Washingtonians to get well-paying jobs and become well-rounded members of strong communities. It will give employers the chance to fill Washington jobs with Washington talent rather than relocating elsewhere or importing so much of their talent."