I come here today to announce the President’s plan to nearly double the amount of commercial spectrum available in order to unleash the innovative potential of wireless broadband.

This initiative will catalyze private sector investment, contribute to economic growth, make revenue available to the Federal Government, and help to create hundreds of thousands of jobs.

That’s just what we need Lawrence (and Mr. President). But, before we can get there I think we need to look at something else. It’s the principle that buildings without solid foundations are not well built. While job creation plans and execution get underway for the third wave of the Internet’s development: mobile broadband, a serious education reform needs to be considered in the public school system across the nation.

The STEM program needs reinforcement, additional funding, and it needs a hefty PR/Marketing campaign to make interest in these careers sexier. Take some of that government mint green paint off of it and start a national PSA campaign with Scientists, Mathematicians, Surgeons, Engineers and those guys from Apple and Google talking to kids about how important and cool their jobs are.

–> Addition: Thanks to Rufus for pointing me to Connect a Million Minds. I have to ask Why isn’t this on TV everywhere?

How many people even know what STEM means?

K-12 is a feeder system for productivity in adulthood. Current education does not parallel the demands of the workforce today in in the US, let alone future forecasts. The July 1 NY Times article, Factory Jobs Return, but Employers Find Skills Shortage is a revelatory case in point.

Plenty of people are applying for the jobs. The problem, the companies say, is a mismatch between the kind of skilled workers needed and the ranks of the unemployed.

Baiju R. Shah, President & CEO of  BioEnterprise is concerned. His nonprofit group in Cleveland trying to turn the region into a center for medical innovation. The problem, according to him, is that the unemployed in Cleveland aren’t a match for the types of jobs that are open and growing.

While my recommendation from an economic and workforce development perspective is that organizations research local workforce preparedness and skill sets before locating a highly technical industry in any given area, this will only be a fix for a short period of time. The projected growth of STEM based jobs like the ones that will result from the President’s Spectrum Initiative, and those from the return of failed attempts at off-shoring, will require that all schools across the country inspire, engage and prepare youth for the new demands of the workforce.

There will always be a place for a liberal arts education — however, more emphasis needs to be placed on technical careers, math and science for us to regain and remain competitive in the global economy. What can you do if the schools in your community are asleep (and most are)?

Explore high priority occupations with your children.

Understand how standardized tests are used with children — ensure your children are tested and the results are disclosed to you so that you can help your child discover and develop a balance between interests and aptitudes.

Call your child’s school Superintendent, attend PTA meetings, and talk to the Math and Science teachers. Ask what the school’s STEM initiatives are and if after reading all the links in this post it doesn’t seem your child’s education is preparing them for the imminent needs of the workforce — identify other concerned parents and launch a local campaign in your county, region and state. Be relentless and demand a public school education for children that will provide them with a real opportunity for the future.

Remember it isn’t 100% up to the school to prepare children for adulthood. It takes a village to raise a child.

When compared to other nations, the achievement of U.S. pupils appears inconsistent with the nation’s role as a world leader in scientific innovation. ~ CRS Report for Congress 2008

I decided to put a spin on the event to provide added value.

You see, we have local chapters of some great professional associations that many of us belong to, but the truth is that HR, Recruiters (corporate and 3rd party), Workforce Development Pros, Employment Specialists and College Career Services, we never get together across disciplines to meet one another and network. It seems it’s always for a meeting, seminar or conference and it’s difficult in those environments to find time to establish rapport, build relationships and learn how we can help one another.

And, we can improve how we work together and share best practices and resources… we can have fun doing it too.

So, won’t you join me and the other enthusiastic employment professionals who have already jumped on this incredible opportunity for networking and a cash bar? You are welcome and encouraged to forward this invitation to your network – to your co-workers, peers, colleagues, bosses, reports, wherever they may be – if they can crawl, walk, drive, fly or row in they will be most welcome!

Join us Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at River Grille in Plains on the deck overlooking the river.

Please RSVP and if there is something you would like to add to the event, don’t hesitate to let me know!

In the US 7000 high school students dropout every day

Are you shocked? I have never brought this up here before because I generally blog about the HR side of my job not the workforce development side. Get ready for a ride with me.…… Here’s my hypothesis (same as professional 2 cents):

I think the reasons students drop out of school and employees leave jobs are the same.

Employee disengagement & student disengagement have the same root. Employees leave managers and students leave teachers. They are bored, feel disrespected, treated unfairly, unchallenged, patronized, lack rapport and have personality conflicts.  Both quit when they have seemingly insurmountable problems with peers or when the environmental drama is overwhelming.

People quit jobs when life gets in the way and they can’t figure out how to stop it from interfering with attendance policies, competing with  mental and emotional real estate, family obligations, etc. Students have the very same problems. They sometimes have to assume the role of sibling or parental caretaker and income earner. They have abusive families and significant others and they become parents themselves sometimes.

Employees check out on the job and collect the check doing the minimum to get by until they stop showing up physically too… Others are performance managed out.  It’s the same for many students.

So what’s the lesson?

We know that good great companies, the ones with the hot employer brand, the ones people line up for at the career fairs and and try to network with on social media to get an “in” and have a candidate advantage — have great retention, career paths and prestige. They have reputations as innovative, fair, flexible and transparent. They give their employees autonomy and accountability, do employee satisfaction surveys and are prepared to hear the feedback — and act on it. They treat their employees as internal customers.

What if schools did that?

What if the public school model used best practices from exceptional companies in their organizational structure, policies and approach to education? What if it more closely mirrored (not that it does at all right now) corporate training departments? What if high school kids were treated a little more like individual learners and less like herded cattle?

Where are the work plans and clear expectations, team work and goal attainment as an indicator of performance metrics? If students have personal problems shouldn’t they have personal LOA or FMLA like plans that wouldn’t cause them to be held back?

Does it make sense to have disciplinary action that hurts students by out of school suspension that puts them further behind? Should school employees be allowed to verbally abuse students, belittle and berate them?

Motivation is unique to the individual. That’s another thing top employers understand. It’s not one size fits all.. shouldn’t motivators be assessed, recognized and developed in elementary school? It might be helpful to chart their learning and motivational style in their records. The next teacher that gets them wouldn’t have to reinvent the wheel.

Where is the S Sat Q12 survey? What forum or vehicle do students really have to provide feedback about their experience? Where’s the 360? Report cards are a one dimensional performance review.

We all hate supervisors and systems that operate like that… They never make employer of choice lists..

What’s your take?

The focus of my topic was to create awareness at an early age of the lasting impression of digital footprints, the importance of reputation management, personal brand building and how to use new media to advance one’s career goals.

Very few of the 40 or so students were familiar with anything other than Facebook, Myspace, YouTube and last.fm. The were not aware they could join niche industry groups, search blogs by professionals in the fields they’re interested in, create an online portfolio, host an internet radio show, be a citizen journalist.… so many things.

I applaud LIU18, Luzerne County Community College, the Tech Prep team and the sincere remarks made by President Tom Leary about how the college will be ready and welcoming to each and every student in the auditorium today when they are ready. I know it’s true, I am an alum.

I have a heavy heart however. There were students who had no clue, had no guidance, had no role models. It was so apparent. Some nodded off no matter how animated I was and how many questions I asked. Some filled out the evaluations saying the presentation was “stupid”. I can only imagine these students have no one encouraging them to stretch their imagination, be innovative or explore how technology can benefit them.

I’m asking you to become involved in your school system & community based groups that deal with youth. Offer your expertise to young people who may not have anyone at home to give them the guidance they need to the obtain an education that will enable them to attain employment at a wage that will be family sustaining. Mentor them, be their friend and role model.

Volunteer.… it takes a village. Tomorrow I’m going back. What will you do?

For all the Microsoft woes some may spew, there exists a FREE Digital Literacy Certificate via their Corporate Citizenship program. It began in October 2007 and you don’t here much about it in the for profit world. They probably didn’t call it a DSL certificate because Bill didn’t want it confused with connectivity. But, I think that was a mistake because it has everything to do with connectivity and opening doors.

The Digital Literacy Certificate you can earn comes after 12–16 hours of study. It can be completed alone or facilitated by an instructor in those fortunate communities that offer it. The curriculum consists of subject matter you and I could teach in our sleep yet millions of people have no clue about. They are not tapped into the vast knowledge base and resources digital literacy provides. 

One Laptop Per Child is an awesome program I don’t want to stop. Learning and putting an end to digital literacy inequality is a very honorable goal indeed. I want more where I live too though.

The local Area Agency on Aging has a fantastic program that places older workers in non-profit jobs and pays the salary. My place of employment has had a “Senior Aide” for 2 years. When I came on-board in April I wondered who the woman always reading a Romance novel was. I learned she was there to work but in an effort to go green and reduce costs, envelope stuffing had been largely eliminated and there wasn’t much for her to do.

I spoke with our nice reading is fun under utilized office gnome and asked about her computer skills. She was wide-eyed and mortified. I called the Agency and spoke with the placement specialist. He told me something I already knew. Older Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation largely lack in the area of digital literacy. They offer voluntary programs to address it but participation is low.

Could that be due to lack of promotion and incentives for participating, I asked rhetorically? He offered to find a client with basic computer skills. I have yet to hear back.

I’m going to start using DSL in my signature and I’m recommending you do too. Even though we run in the digital world it’s a skill not to be taken for granted.

Karla Porter, DSL

Oh, and since I found that fancy ™ custom character, I’m using it on every original term I coin even if it’s just for tracking purposes and to feel important.