The next generation of American workers faces challenges almost completely unknown to those who preceded it. My career in banking and my public service in education have convinced me of this.

When I was of school age, Americans took for granted that there was very little foreign competition for jobs. This has changed dramatically. By 2030, China will account for 30 percent of the world’s new college-educated workers, according to a study by McKinsey Global Institute, compared with 5 percent for the United States. That’s six times as many college-educated workers for China, which has only four times our population.