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The report identifies five high-paying occupational groups and 107 occupations, highlighting shortages where demand for aligned credentials is projected to outpace supply. It analyzes racial/ethnic and gender disparities across these fields, from protective services and STEM to healthcare. It concludes with policy and practice recommendations to improve transfer pathways, strengthen equitable credential attainment, and close workforce gaps.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/bridging-the-middle-skills-gap-connecting-a-diverse-workforce-to-economic-opportunity-through-certificates-and-associates-degrees/585133/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/bridging-the-middle-skills-gap-connecting-a-diverse-workforce-to-economic-opportunity-through-certificates-and-associates-degrees/585133.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":44},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What middle-skills pathways and credential types does the report focus on?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The report centers on middle-skills credentials, emphasizing certificates and associate’s degrees, as pathways to economic opportunity for early-career workers.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How many high-paying middle-skills occupations and occupational groups are identified?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"The report identifies 107 high-paying middle-skills occupations across five occupational groups.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What disparities does the report examine in high-paying middle-skills occupations?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"It examines racial/ethnic and gender disparities, including how men, women, and specific racial/ethnic groups are represented across blue-collar, STEM, protective services, management/professional office, and healthcare occupations.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},585133,1792425557,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":44,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","Bridging the  \nMiddle-Skills Gap  \nConnecting a Diverse Workforce to Economic Opportunity Through Certificates and Associate’s Degrees  \nEmma Nyhof McLeod Kathryn Peltier Campbell Zachary Mabel  \nJeff Strohl  \n2025  \nREPRINT PERMISSION  \nThe Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce carries a Creative Commons license, which permits noncommercial reuse of any of our content when proper attribution is provided.  \nYou are free to copy, display, and distribute our work, or include our content in derivative works, under the following conditions:  \nATTRIBUTION  \nYou must clearly attribute the work to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce and provide a print or digital copy of [the work to](the work to cewgeorgetown@georgetown.edu)[ ](the work to cewgeorgetown@georgetown.edu)[cewgeorgetown@georgetown.edu](the work to cewgeorgetown@georgetown.edu).  \nOur preference is to cite figures and tables as follows:  \nSource: McLeod, Emma Nyhof, Kathryn Peltier Campbell, Zachary Mabel, and Jeff Strohl.  \nBridging the Middle-Skills Gap: Connecting a Diverse Workforce to Economic Opportunity Through Certificates and Associate’s Degrees. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, [2025.](2025. cew.georgetown.edu/bridging-middle-skills-gap)[ ](2025. cew.georgetown.edu/bridging-middle-skills-gap)[cew.georgetown.edu/bridging-middle-skills-gap](2025. cew.georgetown.edu/bridging-middle-skills-gap).  \nNONCOMMERCIAL USE  \nYou may not use this work for commercial purposes. Written permission must be obtained from the owners of the copy/literary rights and from Georgetown University for any publication or commercial use of reproductions.  \nNO ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS  \nIf you are using one or more of our available data representations (figures, charts, tables, etc.), [please visit our website at](please visit our website at cew.georgetown.edu/research)[ ](please visit our website at cew.georgetown.edu/research)[cew.georgetown.edu/research](please visit our website at cew.georgetown.edu/research).  \nFor the full legal code of this Creative Commons license, [please visit](please visit creativecommons.org)[ ](please visit creativecommons.org)[creativecommons.org](please visit creativecommons.org). Email [cewgeorgetown@georgetown.edu](cewgeorgetown@georgetown.edu) with any questions.  \nACKNOWLEDGMENTS  \nWe would like to express our gratitude to JPMorganChase for the generous support that made this report possible.  \nWe would also like to extend our sincere appreciation to Anthony P. Carnevale, the founding director of the Georgetown University Center on the Education and the Workforce, for his leadership and guidance in this work.  \nThe staff of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce was instrumental in the production of this report from conception to publication. In particular, we would like to thank  \n• Nicole Smith, Ban Cheah, and Artem Gulish for quantitative and methodological feedback;  \n• Catherine Morris and Martin Van Der Werf for editorial and qualitative feedback;  \n• Will Lowthert for research assistance; and  \n• Katherine Hazelrigg, Fan Zhang, Johnna Guillerman, and Maryam Noor for communications efforts, including design development and public relations.  \nMany others contributed their thoughts and feedback throughout the production of this report. We are especially grateful to our talented designers and editorial advisors, whose efforts were vital to the report’s successful completion. Finally, we thank Lumina Foundation and the Gates Foundation for supporting prior work that informed this research.  \nThe views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of JPMorganChase or any ofits officers or employees. All errors and omissions are the responsibility of the authors.  \nCONTENTS  \nIntroduction  1  \nPart 1. Opportunity for Early-Career Workers on the Middle-Skills Pathway  5  \nFive high-paying middle-skills occup","cbCaisFNDkDQPVjd","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaisFNDkDQPVjd","pdf",7029665,86,"English","# Introduction\n# Part 1. Opportunity for Early-Career Workers on the Middle-Skills Pathway\n## Five high-paying middle-skills occupational groups are sources of opportunity for workers with middle-skills credentials.\n## There are 107 high-paying middle-skills occupations, falling into five occupational groups.\n## Demand for workers with aligned credentials will outpace current supply in four of the five occupational groups.\n## Shortages represent opportunities for workers and could lead to greater racial/ethnic and gender equity in education and employment.\n# Part 2. Racial/Ethnic and Gender Disparities in High-Paying Middle-Skills Occupations\n## Men dominate employment in high-paying blue-collar occupations.\n## Women account for less than one-third of workers in high-paying middle-skills management and professional office occupations.\n## Women account for less than 15 percent of workers in high-paying middle-skills STEM occupations.\n## White men account for nearly two-thirds of workers in high-paying middle-skills protective services occupations.\n## Women account for more than 80 percent of high-paying middle-skills healthcare workers.\n## Shortages represent an opportunity for men and women of all racial/ethnic backgrounds to obtain high-paying jobs.\n# Part 3. Policy and Practice Recommendations\n## Better transfer pathways to the bachelor’s degree would help healthcare workers move from high-paying middle-skills occupations without credential shortages to occupations with high need at the bachelor’s-degree level.\n## Achieving equitable increases in high-paying middle-skills credentials will require new policies and practices to address long-standing disparities in credential attainment and field of study choice.\n## Beyond improving equity in credential attainment, more action will be necessary to close gaps in the workforce.\n# Conclusion\n# References\n# Appendix A. Data Sources and Methodology\n# Appendix B. High-Paying Middle-Skills Occupations by Occupational Group","[{\"question\":\"What middle-skills pathways and credential types does the report focus on?\",\"answer\":\"The report centers on middle-skills credentials, emphasizing certificates and associate’s degrees, as pathways to economic opportunity for early-career workers.\"},{\"question\":\"How many high-paying middle-skills occupations and occupational groups are identified?\",\"answer\":\"The report identifies 107 high-paying middle-skills occupations across five occupational groups.\"},{\"question\":\"What disparities does the report examine in high-paying middle-skills occupations?\",\"answer\":\"It examines racial/ethnic and gender disparities, including how men, women, and specific racial/ethnic groups are represented across blue-collar, STEM, protective services, management/professional office, and healthcare occupations.\"}]","Bridging the Middle-Skills Gap - Connecting a Diverse Workforce to Economic Opportunity Through Certificates and Associate’s Degrees | PDF",1792053780,217]