Executive Summary: The Role of Business in Promoting Educational Attainment

Today, U.S. companies face unprecedented competition from abroad and an economy that puts a growing premium on knowledge. To succeed, employers must make a stronger commitment to ensure that employees are prepared and afforded the opportunity to learn key skill sets through higher education and training.

To that end, CED’s research report, “A National Imperative: the Role of Business in Promoting Educational Attainment,” examines how employers in select metropolitan areas are supporting their employees in advancing postsecondary education and identifies barriers to those efforts.

All findings are based on focus groups and interviews conducted with representatives from small, family-owned firms and global Fortune 500 companies, as well as business-education support intermediaries.

The report, supplementary briefs, and infographic were all produced as part of Lumina Foundation’s “Goal 2025” effort to increase the proportion of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates, and other credentials to 60% by 2025.