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Show imrA,!)' I h I nil a J The U. S. Bureau of the Census has taken a long look at the educational ed-ucational attainment of the population pop-ulation In the next two decades, and has come up with conclusions that are of far-reaching significance signifi-cance to the American economy and to its progress in the years to come. Outstanding in the Census Bureau Bu-reau projections are: The number of high school graduates will Increase by around 45 million, or close to 85 per cent, in the next 20 years. In 1980 this group is expected to add up to more than 95 million, the equivalent of well over half of the population 15 years old and over in that year, as against somewhat over 40 per cent currently cur-rently and little more than a third of this age group back in 1950. The number of college graduates gradu-ates will show a rate of growth almost as great in the next two decades. In 1980, the group which will have completed four or more years of college is expected , to total 15 million, about 7 million more than now and the equivalent of 10 per cent of the population 20 years old and over in that year. Currently the number of college graduates is equal to approximately 7 per cent of the 20 and over population group, while In 1950 the proportion was only 6 per cent. The educational attainment of the population has been thrown into sharp focus in the last few years by a number of developments develop-ments on the International and domestic fronts. The rapid growth of industrialization and the increasing in-creasing complexity of technology technolo-gy are of prime Importance in this respect with their increasing emphasis on skill and know-how. Accentuating this is the! lncreas-' ing pace of research and development develop-ment in business and Industry with Its need for scientific manpower, man-power, and the challenge of the spaceage in missiles and rocketry. rock-etry. Thus the intensive education and training of our manpower resources re-sources is a primary require- ment for the nation's future progress prog-ress and security. Evidence of this trend is already al-ready apparent in the changing shape of the working population, and particularly in the fact that the classification of professional, technical and kindred workers has outpaced all other groups in rate of growth in the last few years. Greater-than-ayerage growth also has been shown by the classification of non-farm managers, officials and proprietors, proprie-tors, the group containing administrative admin-istrative brains :on which the effective functioning of our complex com-plex economy depends. |