Education Sector Analysis: Using Data to Evaluate the Needs of Kentucky's Education Workforce

Overview & Synopsis

The Council on Postsecondary Education (Council) is charged with guiding the reform efforts envisioned by state policy leaders in the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act of 1997 and is Kentucky's statewide postsecondary and adult education coordinating agency. To gain better insight into economic conditions and workforce trends, specifically within three targeted sectors, the Council partnered with Emsi, a labor market analytics firm serving higher education, economic and workforce development, talent acquisition, and site selection. In this report, Emsi focuses on the Education sector by providing an overview of education occupations and industries through traditional labor market information and a job postings analysis, conducting a program demand gap analysis of Kentucky institutions' education program offerings, and analyzing migration patterns and other qualitative characteristics that help explain why Kentucky education alumni stay in or migrate out of the state. Emsi also provides an environmental scan of the state's economy to provide context for the Education sector. Data around the Education sector are provided for the state and, where pertinent, by region. The regions are based on Kentucky's Workforce Planning Regions (WPRs). In addition, data for the city of Louisville and its surrounding counties, which comprise the Kentuckiana Local Workforce Area (LWA), are shown distinct from the Central WPR.