21 Million Graduates: The Overlooked Workforce Pipeline
CT Turner, President of GED Testing Service
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For decades, the GED has been viewed as a second chance to finish high school. But with employers struggling to find talent and millions of Americans looking for a pathway to better work, that definition is increasingly outdated.
More than 21 million people have earned a GED since the program began, with another 150,000+ graduates each year. Many are working adults pursuing the credential for a very practical reason: they want access to a better job, career training or continued education.
At the same time, employers in healthcare, manufacturing, energy and the skilled trades are struggling to find talent. GED Testing Service President CT Turner argues those aren’t separate challenges. GED graduates represent an enormous, largely overlooked talent pipeline, and earning the credential should be the beginning of the pathway, not the end.
In this episode, we talk about today's GED earners, how AI enables personalized learning for individuals from every walk of life, plus new ways employers can get access to this talent pipeline.
In this episode:
- Meet the GED you didn't know (it's not just a symbolic credential!)
- One of the country’s largest potential talent pipelines employers are probably overlooking
- The pitfall of employers trying to recruit their way out of persistent workforce shortages
- Personalized learning, outcomes, and the next generation of education technology
3 Big Takeaways from this Episode:
1. America doesn’t just have a talent shortage. It has a talent access problem.
Employers continue competing for the same workforce while a largely overlooked pipeline of GED learners and graduates is ready to move into better careers. CT argues that industries like healthcare need to create new entry points and internal pathways, connecting GED graduates to roles such as phlebotomy or medical assisting that can become the first rung in a much longer career ladder.
2. The economic value of a GED comes from the career pathways it opens.
Earning the credential expands opportunity, but CT describes it as a “springboard” rather than the destination. GED Career Connect is putting that philosophy into practice by connecting graduates directly to career training, beginning with eight allied health certification pathways and plans to expand into additional industries.
3. AI in education should be judged by learner outcomes, not technological novelty.
GED learners using its AI tutor are spending twice as much time studying, and learners who previously failed a math test doubled their chances of passing on their next attempt after using the app and tutor. For CT, that’s the real promise of AI: using personalization to help more learners persist and succeed, rather than adding another layer of technology that doesn’t change the outcome.
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