Maryland is expected to face shortages of workers to fill jobs requiring more than a high school diploma but less than a college degree - mid-skill jobs in Maryland that will make up the biggest share of openings over the next several years, according to a national study.

According to the Baltimore Sun, Maryland has a widening gap between work force credentials and the so-called “middle skills” needed for jobs that will account for 42 percent of all openings by 2016, reported the Washington-based National Skills Coalition, a worker training advocacy group.

The coalition projects more than 434,000 job openings in that category by then.

So what jobs classify as middle skill jobs? They are police officers, firefighters, medical technicians and therapists, electricians and mechanics. Nearly half of the jobs in Maryland are classified as “middle skill,” but just over one-third of Maryland workers likely have the minimum credentials to fill them, the report said.

The coalition has reported similar findings in each of the handful of states it has studied since 2007, when it released a national study that mirrored training versus job growth patterns.

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