Child care facilities generally have only a few job categories, such as center director, child care teacher, and child care teacher's aide. Child care workers can advance to higher paying jobs as Head Start teachers or elementary school teachers, but not without getting more education and training. Lack of college degree . Within health care, entry-level workers in larger institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes can advance into a variety of positions. Within child care, workers need a college degree and teaching certificate to advance into elementary school teaching positions.
Workers say that inadequate basic skills narrow their career choices and upward mobility.
Sometimes past failures in school make them afraid to take advantage of classroom-based training opportunities provided by employers. Lack of computer skills . Workers view computer skills as vital to career advancement, high paying jobs, and the ability to change fields. Hispanic workers reported that they needed English language proficiency to advance in jobs outside of their own community. These perceptions of entry-level workers are based on focus groups conducted in 1997 by the Urban Institute and funded by the Joyce Foundation.