According to the Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce Conference Board, 46% of 217 employer survey respondents reported that they provide remedial training to new employees to “compensate for remedial deficiencies among new entrants” (Casner-Lotto, et al., 2010, p. 5). The Advisory Board for this research believes most companies hold the national education system accountable for supplying workforce readiness, and that it is not cost-effective to provide this remedial training on the job. In other words, a ready workforce saves employers money and time; employers benefit when training comes from schools, not from them.
But what are these basic remedial workforce skills employers are seeking, specifically? There are ten. They are having basic knowledge and applied abilities in:
- Oral and written communication
- Diversity
- Creativity
- Social responsibility
- Collaboration
- Problem solving
- Leadership
- Professionalism
- Self-direction
- The application of information technology.
And while nearly 40% of surveyed employers reported that high school graduates were deficient in these remedial skills, 22% of employers also reported that graduates from two-year colleges held the same deficiencies, and 17% reported that students from four-year colleges were deficient as well (Casner-Lotto, et al., 2010). Specifically in regard to technology, employers desire employees who have the skills to “select and use appropriate technology to accomplish a given task”, and to “apply computing skills to problem solving” (Casner-Lotto, et al., 2010, p. 22). In fact, 24.5% of surveyed employers in this study report a high-need for training their new employees in information technology
Reblogged this on A Teacher's Portfolio by Layne C. Smith.