The U.S. economy has undergone dramatic changes in recent decades. Jobs that required limited skills--but still paid a family-supporting wage--have disappeared and increasingly have been replaced with jobs that either require higher levels of education and skills "or" require little education and training but offer no pathways to careers…

In today's job market, middle and high skills jobs--jobs that require some education and training beyond high school--comprise the majority of job openings and typically provide the best wages and opportunities for advancement. And almost every day, there is an article or news story discussing the "skills mismatch" phenomenon, the…