This is not your father’s economy. And, yet, an EPIC-MRA poll commissioned in 2005 showed that only 27 percent of Michigan parents think advanced education is important to their children’s future. But the days of high-paying, low-skilled jobs are gone, and Michigan is falling behind nationally in terms of wages and education.

“Until recently, we had one of the highest per capita earnings, well above average, in Michigan, with a relatively not-well educated workforce,” noted Capital Area Michigan Works! (CAMW) CEO Douglas Stites. “Right now, we’re going through a transformation. We don’t like it, and people don’t want to talk about it, but now we’re just average.”

So Stites united with local business leaders, educators and local media—with absolutely no budget—to create the “Keep Learning … Our Future Depends on It” initiative to get the word out over the next decade that it is not just important to individuals but to the entire state’s economic well being.

“Historically, you could drop out of high school, go to work in a factory, and achieve a degree of success that afforded you an upper middle class lifestyle,” noted Michael J. King, vice president/general manager for WILX-TV and a member of the Workforce Development Board for CAMW. “Well, those days are over. Michigan is aggressively trying to recruit new industries and companies. One of the criteria those companies use in evaluating a new location is the educational attainment of the workforce. Without increased education levels, Mid-Michigan will simply be passed by.

“The Keep Learning campaign says it all: ‘Keep Learning … Our Future Depends On It,’” he continued. “By airing the public service announcements and reporting stories that focus on the new economy, our hope is that we can help keep the message in front of kids and their parents. The data is very clear; we can’t guarantee success with an education; however, we can all but guarantee failure without it.”

“’Keep Learning,’ is an excellent opportunity for our entire community to acknowledge and rally around the benefits of a quality education,” added Al Widner, superintendent of the Eaton Intermediate School District, who has now taken on a leadership role in the campaign. “Today it takes a well-educated, high skills workforce to maintain and attract jobs that pay a livable wage, provide healthcare, and have an opportunity for advancement. The Keep Learning initiative serves as an excellent reminder [of that] to all segments of our community.”

“An initiative like Keep Learning is extremely important to the chamber and its member businesses because we are talking about the workforce of tomorrow,” said Bill Sepic, president and CEO for the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce. “These are the people that will fill our rosters and make up the employees of the future. A better educated workforce [creates] a more flexible region.”

“Nearly 30 percent of the kids in the region are either dropping out of school or going into the workforce or to secondary education needing fundamental remediation,” said Stites. “There are no jobs for that group.”

As King noted, economic development and education go hand in hand.

“Companies are going to go where that workforce is,” said Stites. “You don’t see companies going to the lowest cost place. What they’re asking is where is the most skilled workforce. Almost 30 percent of our citizenry has a bachelor’s degree, whereas in places like Madison, Austin and Seattle, it’s 50 to almost 60 percent. If you’re going to invest capital, where would you put your money? Whoever has the best workforce wins.”

There are currently 300 to 400 information technology unfilled openings in the area, Stites noted, while CAMW has unemployed people filling its hallways. “I run the agency that tries to help [the kids who drop out], and I’m just saying that there are no jobs for them ever.

“What I keep saying is if you were going to drop out, stay in school,” he continued. “If you were going to get an associate’s degree, get a bachelor’s degree. If you were going to get a bachelor’s degree, get a master’s degree. We need more education, more math and more science. If we want to preserve the way it’s been, where there is lots of money in the region, you’ve got to have a workforce with a different set of skill sets. If you’re a parent, make sure [your children] have a plan and understand how tough and ruthless this economy is. Get them engaged, and it’s the community’s responsibility to support the parents. We need every business embracing this idea, because we need these kids. They are the workers of the future.”