At a National Journal policy summit sponsored by the Society for Human Resource Management, one of the hot topics was the lack of workers with skills needed by companies. Hilda Solis, U.S. Labor Secretary, commented in her address that this mismatch is one of the reasons for the high unemployment rate.
Most businesses that are hiring right now have experienced the disconnect between the skills they are looking for and the types of applications they receive. There are so many people out of work that they are flooding the system with their resumes whether they are applicable or not. A statistic quoted by Secretary Solis is that more than 4.7 people typically apply for the same job.
One of the reasons given for this problem is the lack of relevant curriculum provided via our educational systems. Even as I write, local universities and community colleges are soliciting input from employers to better meet their needs, but there is a ways to go. Students need the motivation to enroll in these new programs – and we are told that many students lack the science and math skills to complete the programs and qualify for new jobs.
A second reason for the problem is the Workforce Investment Boards of the Department of Labor seem to be out of touch. The system is perceived as antiquated and irrelevant to the current crisis. Older laid off workers who are not highly skilled are not going find their jobs returning in the current market. The need to retrain is crucial for these workers.
One problem that is difficult to solve is that many high school graduates don’t have basic skills needed to hold a job, such as good communication skills, the ability to keep to a schedule, or how to behave appropriately in the work place. These are issues that require a whole different type of training that hasn’t been routinely addressed in our current systems.
There are multiple sources for the retraining or updating of job seeker skills if we can improve the quality of information on the real job market and the skills required. Community colleges, unions, universities, businesses and government training programs can all help. Visionary efforts include a “Helmets to Hardhats” program to help veterans transition to construction jobs in the civilian world. In addition, retiring employees in some organizations are being encouraged to impart their wisdom to the newer employees in their organizations. Intern programs also help companies evaluate potential employees, and give job seekers an opportunity to learn about a particular industry.
Responding to an ever-changing work environment by educational systems that aren’t by nature flexible and able to redo entire curricula in a short period of time is a challenge for the education industry. Most successful programs come as a result of intense involvement by the business community. In many cases where the company has unique products or processes, on-the-job training is just part of the orientation for new hires.
We need to do better in preparing people for the world of work. There are good jobs begging, and great folks wanting to do them.
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Minding the Gap « Reasonablist
on Dec 15th, 2011
@ 2:15 pm:
[...] in her address that this mismatch is one of the reasons for the high unemployment rate.” (Source.) The CEO from Siemens said as much in a recent Huffington Post article. He reported that his [...]