In order to meet the demands of employers and assure the United States will be able to participate in a global economy, the well-known standardized test ACT proposed implementing a new system to strengthen the U.S. workforce.

ACT recommended the development of a national plan to deal with the misalignment between the skills of workers and the expectations and demands of employers.

Approximately half the U.S. workforce faces one or more education, training or language skill barriers while employers are becoming more demanding about the level of skill workers must have in areas such as critical thinking and communication, a statement released by ACT said.

Katie Wacker, ACT spokesperson, said the report identified a shortage of qualified candidates for “middle-skill jobs,” jobs that require more than a high school education but less than a four-year degree.

There is also a misalignment between the courses of study students are choosing to pursue and the available job opportunities, Wacker said.

The system ACT proposed developing would be a national credentialing system, the statement said.

A national credentialing system would develop an evidence-based hiring process by which new hires would be qualified and ready to work without needing additional training, Wacker said.

It will create a common language for work-related skills and guide individuals to the fastest-growing job fields in order to address the specific needs of employers, Wacker said.

“ACT believes such a system has the potential to transform workforce development strategies,” Wacker said in an e-mail to The Badger Herald.

She said higher education educators were the key stakeholders in the discussion about developing the idea for the system.

All levels of education are ideally going to be involved in the system, but community colleges and technical colleges are uniquely positioned to play a central role in fulfilling the training and education required for such a system, Wacker said.

Jocelyn Milner, an associate provost at the University of Wisconsin, said UW is geared toward preparing students for the workforce even though each degree program varies in its requirements.

She said employers look for communication and critical thinking skills, which the university pushes with internships and study abroad programs.

“The world is changing, communication is changing, and so education needs to too so we can help students move forward,” Milner said.