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The U.S. Overqualification Crisis

Why the United States is looking to Germany for answers on higher education.

April 14, 2013

Credit: Hxdbzxy (Shutterstock.com)

1. With a push in recent decades to increase the number of college graduates, the result is now that the U.S. labor force is overqualified.

2. Almost half of Americans with a college degree are in jobs that do not require one.

3. Fifteen percent of taxi drivers in the United States have a college degree, up from 1% in 1970.

4. Likewise, 25% of sales clerks in the United States are college graduates, compared to 5% in 1970.

5. While more than 40% of Germans become apprentices, moving into the vocational education stream from the age of 16, only 0.3% of the U.S. labor force does.

From Why the US is looking to Germany by Edward Luce (Financial Times)

 

 

Takeaways

More than 40% of Germans become apprentices, while only 0.3% of the U.S. labor force does.