The Modifiers Matter: The Myriad Meanings of “Workforce” in our Economic and Education System

Sarah Ancel

14 hours ago

4 min read

What Do We Really Mean When We Say “Workforce”?

“We need to do more around workforce.” We hear this phrase often among education leaders and practitioners. In these conversations, it's become increasingly clear that “workforce” means many different things to many different people, and can serve as shorthand for a shocking number of wildly different things.

In this piece, we will examine the many uses of the word “workforce” in an effort to cultivate a more nuanced understanding of the word, while encouraging our colleagues to use greater specificity in their own conversations to more precisely convey their meaning and avoid misunderstanding or dilution of how they are talking about “workforce.”

Starting With the Definition

Let’s start with the actual dictionary definition from Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster provides two definitions of the term: (1) the workers engaged in a specific activity or enterprise, e.g., the factory’s workforce, and (2) the number of workers potentially assignable for any purpose, e.g., the nation’s workforce.(1) According to the dictionary, “workforce” just means a group of workers.

Having taught many semesters of Principles of Macroeconomics, when someone says “workforce,” I instinctively hear “labor force,” the economic term for the full set of adults in a geographic area who are working or willing to work. This matches closely to the dictionary’s definition, though it is even more specific. But outside of the walls of that econ classroom, the use of the term “workforce” takes many forms.

With those definitions as our foundation, we will now create our own dictionary with the myriad other meanings and uses we hear in our field for this ubiquitous term.

The Many Meanings of “Workforce”

Workforce Alignment: a stated goal of many education systems, as they strive to ensure their academic offerings prepare students for the available jobs in the economy overall, or within their specific state or service area.

Workforce Placement, as a synonym for career or job placement: direct efforts of high schools, colleges, and employment agencies to match willing workers and/or graduates to available job opportunities.

Workforce Outcomes, as an aggregated measurement of success: Use of employment data for groups of students to evaluate the impact of an academic program or educational institution. The Economic Mobility Index is a prime example. Another is the Gainful Employment rule, which requires higher education institutions to demonstrate a minimum acceptable job placement rate to continue participating in federal financial aid programs. States and accreditors also often examine workforce outcomes during their review and approval processes for institutions and academic programs.

Workforce Credentials, as a synonym for sub-associate-degree credentials: Used to describe education and training that is shorter-term than a two-year associate degree with a focused goal of preparing graduates for specific jobs. The curricula that lead to these credentials are often called Workforce Programs, though that phrase could be used in a lot of different ways.

Workforce Pell: a component of a larger financial aid program in which students may use federal grants to pay for education. “Workforce” in this case refers to the expansion of the program to include short-term credentials previously excluded. (In this case, however, “eligible workforce programs” are a subset of all workforce programs that have met the conditions of the new law.)

Workforce Development, as a synonym for Economic Development or Job Creation. This generally refers to efforts to attract and retain a broad base of employers and ensure sufficient availability of jobs. It may include incentives like tax breaks and efforts to market a community to potential employers.

Workforce Agencies/Boards, as a multi-faceted bureaucracy: State agencies with names like Department of Workforce Development work alongside a system of state and local Workforce Innovation Boards (WIBs) to, among other things, administer the federal Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act (WIOA).

WIOA dedicates over $5 billion annually to “get Americans, including youth and those with significant barriers to employment, into high-quality jobs and careers and help employers hire and retain skilled workers.”(2) In most cases, these workforce agencies and boards are created by and exist to carry out state and federal legislation.

When “Workforce” Is Used to Mean “Not Higher Education”

Workforce, as an antonym to Higher Education. This is the one we would like to be able to remove from the list. Ever heard someone say: “Not everyone needs a bachelor’s degree; workforce is just as valuable.” Sometimes, “workforce” is used to mean “not colleges and universities,” and that's problematic for many reasons.

First, it’s inaccurate. America’s labor force is not composed solely of non-college graduates; in fact, the Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that there is a near-even split between workers in the U.S. with higher education credentials and those without.(3)

Second, it undermines the important role colleges and universities play in preparing the talent pool that drives economic growth and innovation, while simultaneously downplaying their potential to improve individuals’ lives. It can be used to imply that the “workforce path” guarantees a job while “higher education” does not, even though data show lower unemployment rates and higher wages for college graduates.

Third, it can pit “workforce” and “higher education” agencies against one another as they both work to maximize their own influence and budget. This runs counter to achieving the goal these agencies are both working toward: a strong talent pool of well-trained workers.

Three Ways to Make Workforce Conversations More Meaningful

Here is my request:

Be precise when using the word workforce. Instead of saying something like, “Does your organization do anything with workforce?”, try “Is your organization able to help my institution strengthen our efforts to place students into meaningful careers?” or “Do you know how to use employment data to measure the success of my academic program?” At minimum, you can use the modifier: “Does your organization do anything with Workforce Credentials?”
Avoid using the word workforce as an antonym of higher education. As mentioned, it’s both inaccurate and harmful to the shared goal of creating a strong talent pool to fill meaningful career opportunities.
Share this piece with others! Our goal is to facilitate more specific and thorough discussions that use the term workforce. The more people can see this expanded dictionary, the easier those conversations will become.