• There will be 20,000 new job titles in the U.S. by the year 2000. America is creating more high-skill jobs, but turning out more low-skill labor.
  
  
• In Texas alone, 89% of the jobs available require additional training and education after high school.
  
  
• Only 11% of projected new jobs in Texas will require no more than a high school diploma. Only 4 out of every 100 new jobs can be filled by people with minimal skill levels.
  
  
• In Texas alone, 89% of the jobs available require additional training and education after high school. One out of four Texans does not complete high school.
  
  
• Schools with strong Tech Prep programs report decreasing dropout rates and improved scores on achievement tests.
  
  
• Only 1 out of every 4 high school graduates enrolls in a four-year university; only 50% of students who elect to pursue a bachelor's degree earn one within 10 years.
  
  
• Community, technical, and junior colleges are now the fastest-growing and largest single segment of American higher education. However, American business is reporting a serious shortage of associate-degree graduates to meet the growing demands of employers.
  
  
• Big business locates near high-tech labor pools.
  
  
• Texas' continued economic health requires graduates who are "work-ready." To be work-ready requires a different kind of preparation than that offered to students in traditional classrooms.

* Sources: US Dept. of Labor; Texas Workforce Commission; Center for Occupational Research & Development.