Are you in the education game yet?
By Raymond A. Kulwiec -- Modern Materials Handling, 11/1/1998
Half of the United States' workers are not literate enough to work in a modern economy. That finding, published earlier this year, came from a study conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. It also found that between one-third and one-half of the work force in the world's main industrialized states likewise cannot read well enough to work in a modern economy.Obviously those are dismal findings. At a time of strong growth and low unemployment, what industry can do rests more on availability of qualified workers than on technology. The situation is so difficult in some areas-namely high-tech-that Congress has looked at ways to grant more temporary visas to foreign skilled workers to fill the void.
At best, the latter is a temporary stop-gap solution. What is needed is greater education and training of our domestic work force, and manufacturing companies are finally realizing that they must play their part. As the president of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Jerry Jasinowski, stated recently, "Manufacturers are realizing they can no longer afford to be spectators in the education game. It is an economic necessity that we start to develop our work force of the future."
One initiative that will help is the formation of a grant-funded school-to-career program awarded to a group of major business trade associations, including NAM. The project will focus on building links between the work place and schools. The idea is for young people to understand and master the skills needed for exciting career opportunities in manufacturing.
Another approach designed to promote a manufacturing career path is based on a program developed by Siemens Energy & Automation. Modeled after an apprentice system followed by the company's German parent, the program covers students and adult employees, and provides specific, manufacturing-work-related skills.
Both private and government initiatives are emerging. It is most important that manufacturing companies get started soon. It would be unfortunate if a lack of qualified people becomes a bigger factor in limiting economic growth than the Asian and Russian crises or other global problems.
There are no other articles related to this article.Talkback
Related Content
Related Content
Sponsored Links
View All Blogs
