Bringing jobs to Lawrence and to the state has been a topic of much conversation recently, but finding the jobs is only half the equation. The other half is finding the people with the skills and training to do those jobs.

Last week, when federal officials toured two potential Kansas sites for a new $450 million biodefense laboratory, they said one of the key factors in deciding where to locate the lab would be the availability of a high-quality work force. That likely will include some highly educated researchers, but it also will involve many people with specialized technical skills that may not involve a university degree.

In a column she wrote for the Journal-World, Rep. Ann Mah, D-Topeka, last week gave a couple of striking examples of how important trained workers are to a state’s economic well-being. Oklahoma, she wrote, has more than 500,000 high school students and adults enrolled in technical education. That is attractive both to high-tech employers and to students who don’t intend to seek a university degree but might stay in school to receive training that leads directly to a good-paying job. Any of those jobs that go to Oklahoma, won’t be coming to Kansas.

By contrast, Mah said, when aircraft industry officials in Wichita recently announced the need for 4,000 trained machinists over the next two years, Kansas technical schools couldn’t respond. There was no central point of contact to a technical education system that already has long waiting lists for students. Mah cited these examples to push for passage of legislation to establish a Technical Education Authority under the Kansas Board of Regents. The goal of the new group would be to do long-range planning and position the state’s vocational-technical schools to respond better to the employment marketplace.

In one more plea last week for more commitment to education, three former governors spoke at the Dole Institute of Politics at Kansas University. One of the governors noted that a third of American students who enter ninth-grade won’t finish high school and another third will graduate but won’t be adequately prepared either for college or for a job.

This is a dismal commentary on American education. In an effort to “leave no child behind,” we seem to be trying to shove all children into a single box, a box that doesn’t suit many of them. All students should meet basic educational requirements, but not all will or should go to college. There is high demand for workers with technical training that doesn’t involve a university degree and plenty of people who could be trained for those jobs.

Placing universities, community colleges and vocational-technical schools all under the auspices of the Board of Regents was an attempt to make the state’s higher education system more efficient and responsive to education and work force needs. It’s unfortunate that the state seems compelled to add a layer of administration under the regents to deal with vocational-technical schools, but it may be necessary to provide the additional training to prepare Kansas workers for the jobs that will drive the state economy.

Without a new look at tailoring education and job training to better suit the needs of students and employers, the nation, as well as the Lawrence area, is destined to have far too many people who are dragging down rather than contributing to our economy vitality. Jobs are the key – both attracting them and providing the trained work force to fill them.