In business today, no competition is tougher than the global race for talent. In every industry, every employment sector and every part of the world, employers are asking the same question: how are we going to find, train and retain the best workers?

Ninety percent of the fastest growing jobs in America require at least two years of post-secondary education. Over the next few years, the U.S. Department of Labor predicts that there will be about four million new job openings in healthcare, education, and IT alone. At the same time, nearly seventy-eight million baby boomers are heading for retirement. Yet the country’s young people are still unprepared to replace these workers or take on new roles in high-growth areas today, with one-third of students failing to complete high school. Up to half of those who graduate lack the advanced literacy and math skills they need to succeed in post-secondary education and the job market.

Moreover, with the accelerating pace of technological change in the workplace and the growing demand for flexible, highly skilled employees in all sectors of the economy, even the most experienced workers cannot afford to rely on existing skills. To remain competitive, companies must invest not only in preparing and recruiting new talent, but also in the continuous development of workers at all stages of their careers.

Unless America makes dramatic improvements in the education and training of the workforce, it will exact a terrible price, risking its place as an economic superpower and its identity as a democracy of the middle class.