The report is based on a detailed survey of 431 human resource
officials that was conducted in April and May 2006 by The Conference
Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st
Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management. Its
objective was to examine employers’ views on the readiness of new
entrants to the U.S. 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,” concludes the 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.
A VULNERABLE AMERICAN ECONOMY
“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,” says Richard Cavanagh, President and CEO of The
Conference Board. “Less than intense preparation in critical skills can
lead to unsuccessful futures for America’s youth, as well as a less
competitive U.S. workforce. This ultimately makes the U.S. economy more
vulnerable in the global marketplace.”
NOT EVEN THE BASICS
Business leaders report 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.
Nearly three-quarters of survey participants (70 percent) cite
deficiencies among incoming high school graduates in “applied” skills,
such as professionalism and work ethic, defined as “demonstrating
personal accountability, effective work habits, e.g. punctuality,
working productively with others, time and workload management.”
More than 40 percent of surveyed employers say incoming high school
graduates hired are deficiently prepared for the entry-level jobs they
fill. The report finds that recent high school graduates lack the basic
skills in reading comprehension, writing and math, which many
respondents say were needed for successful job performance.
Furthermore, when asked how their hiring practices will change:
- 28 percent of employers project that their companies will reduce hiring of new entrants with only a high school diploma over the next five years. 49.5 percent said the percentages of two-year college graduates they hire would increase.
- almost 60 percent said their hires of four-year college graduates would increase. 42 percent 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 U.S. economic
competitiveness that we may be facing a skills shortage," said Susan R.
Meisinger, President and 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
organizations and the U.S. to be successful."
WRITING SINGLED OUT
The findings show an especially big gap in writing skills. Nearly
three-quarters (72 percent) 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 percent of survey
participants say their high school graduate hires were deficient in
written communications.
Poor writing skills also continued to be a problem among both two-year
and four-year college graduates. Nearly half of all survey participants
(47 percent) report that two-year college graduates are deficient in
this skill.
“The basics plus an array of applied and social skills – from critical
thinking to collaboration to communications – defines workforce
readiness in the 21st century,” says Ken Kay, President of the
Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
For example, over half (58 percent) of responding employers say
critical thinking and problem solving skills are “very important” for
incoming high school graduates’ successful job performance, yet nearly
three-quarters of respondents (70 percent) rated recently hired high
school graduates as deficient in critical thinking.
“Clearly, business has a stake in the problem and can play a role in
helping to solve the problem,” says Donna Klein, President and CEO,
Corporate Voices for Working Families. “Many business leaders across
the country are already actively engaged in efforts to address the
skills gap through a variety of initiatives including efforts to
improve academic outcomes through partnerships with schools, partnering
with schools or community based organizations that run mentoring
programs, providing internships, job shadowing programs and summer job
opportunities. Through these and other initiatives, business can help
ensure that the workforce of the future has the full range of skills
needed to be successful as they enter the workplace of the 21st
century.”
CREATIVITY IS IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE WORKPLACE
Looking toward the future, nearly three-fourths of the 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 U.S. workforce. When asked to project the changing
importance of several knowledge and skill needs over the next five
years, 63 percent 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 percent
selected “understanding of global markets and the economic and cultural
impacts of globalization.”
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 percent) 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.
A FEW BRIGHT SPOTS
Interestingly, workforce readiness of high school graduates was
reported as adequate by a majority of survey participants in three
areas considered critical for current and future workplace needs:
- information technology
- team work
- diversity
“The adequacy of preparation in these areas is encouraging, as all
three – diversity, teamwork and technology – are areas where business
leaders, educators and communities have focused unified energy and
resources in recent years,” says Klein. “These results suggest that
when a particular skill is viewed uniformly as critical and is
targeted, success and progress is possible.”
In addition, incoming two-year and four-year college graduates are much
better prepared for the entry-level jobs they seek to fill, but
relatively small percentages meet standards of excellence. Overall, as
might be expected, survey participants considered graduates of both
two-year and four-year colleges as much better prepared for their
entry-level jobs, with relatively small percentages of two-year and
four-year
college graduates (11 percent and 9 percent respectively) considered
deficiently prepared. While the majority of employers said that both
two- and four-year college graduates are adequately prepared,
relatively few rated two-and four-year college graduates as excellently
prepared (10 percent and 24 percent) respectively.
“One message of this study to educators, policy makers and those
concerned with U.S. economic competitiveness is that new entrants to
the U.S. workforce are not demonstrating levels of excellence necessary
to compete successfully in the face of rising global labor market
challenges,” emphasizes Meisinger. “The importance of learning to
communicate in writing and orally is paramount. Communication is a
critical skill in the workplace, and one that many new entrants lack.”
Attached is a Workforce Readiness Report Card, which assesses the
readiness of new workforce entrants in skills deemed very important by
a majority of the employer respondents to the survey on which this
report is based. The report card includes the percent of employer
respondents that report new entrants to their workforces demonstrate
deficiency in or show excellence at each skill.
Linda Barrington, Research Director at The Conference Board and one of
the report’s authors, concludes: “This report card makes it clear that
as competitive pressures from globalization continue to mount,
America’s youth must be more intensely prepared for employment if
reality is going to match expectations.”
Financial underwriting for this report was contributed by the Annie E.
Casey Foundation (AECF), Dell Inc., the Ford Foundation, Microsoft,
Pearson Education, Philip Morris USA Youth Smoking Prevention, SAP, and
State Farm.
Read the report in full.
Source: Are They Really Ready to Work?
Employers’ Perspectives on the Basic Knowledge And Applied Skills of
New Entrants to the 21st Century Workforce, The Conference Board,
Corporate Voices for Working Families, Partnership for 21st Century
Skills, Society for Human Resource Management
ABOUT THE CONFERENCE BOARD
The Conference Board creates and disseminates knowledge about management and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better serve society. Working as a global, independent membership organization in the public interest, The Conference Board conducts research, convenes conferences, makes forecasts, assesses trends, publishes information and analysis, and brings executives together to learn from one another. The Conference Board is a not-for-profit organization and holds 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.
www.conference-board.org
ABOUT CORPORATE VOICES FOR WORKING FAMILIES
Corporate Voices for Working Families is a non-partisan non-profit corporate membership organization created to bring the private sector voice into the public dialogue on issues affecting working families. Collectively our 52 partner companies employ more than 4 million individuals throughout all fifty states, with annual net revenues of $1 trillion. Over 70 percent of our partner companies are listed in the Fortune 500, and all share Leadership positions in developing family support policies for their own workforces. This experience is the primary asset Corporate Voices brings to the ongoing dialogue with policy makers and other stakeholders.
www.cvworkingfamilies.org
ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP FOR 21st CENTURY SKILLS
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has emerged as the leading advocacy organization focused on infusing 21st century skills into education. The organization brings together the business community, education leaders, and policymakers to define a powerful vision for 21st century education to ensure every child’s success as citizens and workers in the 21st century. The Partnership encourages schools, districts and states to advocate for the infusion of 21st century skills into education and provides tools and resources to help facilitate and drive change.
www.21stcenturyskills.org
ABOUT THE SOCIETY FOR HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) is the world’s largest association devoted to human resource management. Representing more than 210,000 individual members, the Society’s mission is to serve the needs of HR professionals by providing the most essential and comprehensive resources available. As an influential voice, the Society’s mission is also to advance the human resource profession to ensure that HR is recognized as an essential partner in developing and executing organizational strategy. Founded in 1948, SHRM currently has more than 550 affiliated chapters within the United States and members in more than 100 countries.
www.shrm.org
