Philadelphia is home to more than 83 world-class institutions of higher learning, making it easy to attract many of the world's best and brightest. But when it comes to educating our city's own residents, Philadelphia has faced and is facing considerable challenges.

One in five students ages 16–24 are neither working nor in school. Twenty percent of our residents left high school without a diploma. Over 50% of working-age Philadelphians — approximately 550,000 people — do not have the literacy skills necessary to compete in our knowledge-based economy or complete a post-secondary degree. That means, more than half of adults struggle to follow written instructions or complete a form, such as a job application. And, only 23% of Philadelphians have a college degree.

Education is at the heart of our city's workforce challenges. Businesses demand workers with strong workforce literacy skills, including the ability to think critically, solve problems, locate resources, and work collaboratively. Because of its industry mix, more than two-thirds of the jobs in Philadelphia require intermediate levels of literacy proficiency or above. And, the majority of new jobs created require a post-secondary degree.

Tackling Philadelphia's low levels of educational attainment is critical to all facets of our community. For the city, it means a higher-caliber workforce to support economic growth, healthier children and greater overall wealth. For our businesses, it means a more productive labor force, increased employee retention and reduced recruitment and training costs. For individuals, it opens doors to better jobs, higher wages, and job security.

> Learn how the workforce affects Taxes & Living