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More Michiganders are getting college diplomas, skill certificates

Andre Hunter
/
Unsplash

A state effort to put a skill certificate or college diploma in the hands of more Michiganders is making progress.

The Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential is working to have 60% of working-age Michigan residents earn a skill certificate or college degree by the year 2030. As of today, it says nearly 52% of state residents have reached that goal.

Courtney Brown is Vice President of Impact and Planning at Lumina Foundation, a private Indianapolis-based organization that compiled the data. She said the improvement is “pretty remarkable,” and younger people are doing even better.


“More interesting is if you look at the younger population — the 25 to 34 year-olds. As of the most recent data, they’re at 53%” she said.

When the state's Sixty by 30 program began in 2019, the latest available data showed that 45% of state residents had earned a post-high school certificate or degree.

Brown said education is more important than ever for those entering the workforce.

“Georgetown Center on Education in the Workforce says by 2030, about 72% of jobs are going to require some sort of post-secondary education, whether that’s a degree or a certificate or a certification,” she said.

Reacting to the data, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer called the improvement "just the beginning" in a press release.

"We’ll keep working to lower barriers to postsecondary education across Michigan," she said.

Copyright 2025 WKAR Public Media

Ed Coury
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