Skip to main content

Goals and Objectives

60% of adults with a postsecondary credential by 2030

There aren't enough Michiganders with the skills necessary to fill high-skill jobs-we need to meet our Sixty by 30 goal to boost incomes and improve long-term outcomes for working families.

Graphical user interface, application, WordDescription automatically generated

The data is very clear - higher median wages are directly correlated with higher education. A person with a bachelor's degree earns more than twice the person with a high school degree five years after leaving school. 

According to the latest data, only 49.1% of Michigan's working age population has a credential higher than a high-school degree. 

To achieve 60% by 2030, Michigan will have to increase its population and the amount of people getting bachelors, associates, and industry-recognized credentials through community colleges, customized job training and apprenticeships.  

WHY IS THIS GOAL AMBITIOUS, YET ATTAINABLE
  • Ambitious: We still lag behind the national average (49.1 vs 51.9%) and also lag behind every other state in the Midwest except Indiana for credential attainment. In Michigan, there are significant disparities in educational attainment that must be addressed. These gaps persist in Michigan, largely because of structural barriers. Because educational attainment after high school is now the key determinant of economic opportunity and social mobility, we must end these disparities. We've seen about a 4 percentage point increase in attainment among Black Michiganders over the last 10 years - In 2009, 22.3% of African American Michiganders had attained a postsecondary degree - and today that number is 26.2% However, during that same time period the attainment rate gap between White and Black Michiganders only widened. Today our overall attainment rate is 41.7% -- but it is 43.5% for White Michiganders and only 26.2% for Black Michiganders (which is lower than every other race/ethnicity group in Michigan).
  • Attainable: Michigan has made significant progress in increasing educational attainment. Over the last 10 years, Michigan's postsecondary educational attainment rate has increased by 13 percentage points, and in just the last two years since the goal was adopted we've seen an increase 4.1 percentage points. If we can continue our progress with annual increases of 1.2 points - we'll hit that goal. It's important to remember that the goal includes certificates and certifications which can lead to high-wage jobs but can be earned in a relatively short time period. And with our historic investments in Michigan Reconnect and Futures for Frontliners, we are helping a new set of working-aged adults pursue these credentials at community colleges.