AS THE baby boom generation gradually exits the workforce, the incoming generation is sorely lacking in much needed workplace skills – both basic academic and more advanced “applied” skills, according to a US report
AS THE baby boomer generation gradually exits the workforce, the incoming generation is sorely lacking in much needed workplace skills –both basic academic and more advanced “applied” skills, according to a US report.
The findings reflect employers’growing frustrations over the preparedness of new entrants to the workforce. Employers expect young people to arrive with a core set of basic knowledge and the ability to apply their skills in the workplace – and the reality is not matching the expectation.
The report, based on a survey of 431 US HR professionals, examined employers’ views on the readiness of new entrants to the US workforce, recently hired graduates from high schools, two-year colleges or technical schools and four-year colleges. “The future workforce is here, and it is ill-prepared,” the report concluded.
“It is clear from the report that greater communication and collaboration between the business sector and educators is critical to ensure that young people are prepared to enter the workplace of the 21st century,” said Richard Cavanagh, CEO of The Conference Board, which conducted the survey in conjunction with The Society for Human Resource Management, Corporate Voices for Working Families and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
“Less than intense preparation in critical skills can lead to unsuccessful futures for America’s youth, as well as a less competitive US workforce. This ultimately makes the US economy more vulnerable in the global marketplace.”
Business leaders reported that while the three “R’s” are still fundamental to every employee’s ability to do the job, applied skills such as teamwork, critical thinking and communication are essential for success at work.
In fact, at all educational levels, these applied skills trump basic knowledge skills such as reading and mathematics in importance in the view of employers. In order to succeed in the workplace of the 21st Century, high school and college graduates need to master basic academic skills as well as a complement of applied skills.
The survey also found though that too many new entrants to the workforce are not adequately prepared in these important skills.
Seventy per cent of HR professionals cited deficiencies among incoming high school graduates in applied skills, such as professionalism and work ethic, defined as “demonstrating personal accountability, effective work habits, such as punctuality, working productively with others, time and workload management”.
More than 40 per cent of employers said incoming high school graduates hired are deficiently prepared for the entry-level jobs they fill. The report found that recent high school graduates lack the basic skills in reading comprehension, writing and maths, which many respondents say were needed for successful job performance.
When asked how their hiring practices will change, almost 60 per cent said their hires of four-year college graduates would increase and 42 per cent said their hires of post-graduates would increase over the next five years.
“This study should serve as an alert to educators, policy makers and those concerned with US economic competitiveness that we may be facing a skills shortage,” said Susan Meisinger, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management.
“In a knowledge based economy a talented workforce with communication and critical thinking skills is necessary for organisations and the US to be successful.”
The report found an especially big gap in writing skills. Nearly three-quarters (72 per cent) of incoming high school graduates are viewed as deficient in basic English writing skills, including grammar and spelling.
And, when asked about readiness with regard to applied skills related to the workplace, the greatest deficiency was reported in written communications (memos, letters, complex technical reports), and in professionalism and work ethic. Eighty-one per cent of survey participants say their high school graduate hires were deficient in written communications.
Looking to the future, nearly three-quarters of survey participants ranked “creativity/innovation” as among the top five applied skills projected to increase in importance for future graduates.
In addition, knowledge of foreign languages, cultures, and global markets will become increasingly important for future graduates entering the workforce. When asked to project the changing importance of several knowledge and skill needs over the next five years, 63 per cent of survey participants cited foreign languages as increasing in importance more than any other basic knowledge area or skill.
And, in separate questions about emerging content areas, half of the respondents noted the use of “non-English languages as a tool for understanding other nations, markets, and cultures”, while 53 per cent selected “understanding of global markets and the economic and cultural impacts of globalisation”.
Making appropriate choices concerning health and wellness is the number one emerging topic considered most critical for future graduates entering the workforce. More than three-quarters of survey participants (76 per cent) say that “making appropriate choices concerning health and wellness, such as nutrition, exercise, stress reduction, work-life effectiveness” is an emerging content area that will be most critical for future graduates.
