Area Development News Desk (10/17/2007)
A preliminary report from the Conference Board concludes that the most
vital course of action currently needed on work force readiness is for
business, education, and community groups to work together toward
developing a shared sense of responsibility. Corporate Voices for
Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society
for Human Resource Management joined the board in making this
recommendation. The four organizations met
after releasing a work force readiness report in the fall of 2006, "Are
They Really Ready to Work?" That report concluded, "The future work
force is here and it is ill-prepared." The new report is based on
comments collected at a two-day session attended by representatives of
groups involved in improving work force readiness: Fortune 100
companies, nonprofit organizations involved with educational
improvement, and elementary and secondary school teachers and school
superintendents. Suggestions for improvement offered by the meeting's
attendees included the following: stakeholders must work toward changes that are sustainable, not "quick fixes"; "soft skills" (e.g., ability to communicate, to think creatively) are now considered essential; school success must be redefined to include assessments for teamwork,
civic involvement, professionalism, communication, and analytical
thinking; stakeholders must foster a love of life-long learning; schools need to continue reinventing and re-educating themselves in a world of fast-paced economic change.
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