Walter E. Williams: What Will They Learn?

Corporate Voices for Working Families, in conjunction with three other organizations, released a comprehensive study of the business community in 2006 that asked the question: “Are They Really Ready to Work?“

The answer, quite simply, was no. Employers confirmed that new entrants into the workforce lacked both the basic and applied skills needed to succeed in the 21st century workplace.

The results of that study still resonate with educators and business leaders. As evidence: Walter E. Williams, a nationally syndicated writer and a professor of economics at George Mason University, uses one key survey result — “that only 24 percent of employers thought graduates at four-year colleges were excellently prepared” — as a foundation for a recent column that is gaining national attention.

Here’s from his column, as printed in the online edition of the Santa Rosa Press Gazette:

When parents plunk down $20, $30, $40 and maybe $50 thousand this fall for a year’s worth of college room, board and tuition, it might be relevant to ask: What will their children learn in return? The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) ask that question in their recently released publication, “What Will They Learn: A Report on the General Education Requirements at 100 of the Nation’s Leading Colleges and Universities.”

ACTA conducted research to see whether 100 major institutions require seven key subjects: English composition, literature, foreign language, U.S. government or history, economics, mathematics and science. What ACTA found was found was alarming, reporting that “Even as our students need broad-based skills and knowledge to succeed in the global marketplace, our colleges and universities are failing to deliver. Topics like U.S. government or history, literature, mathematics, and economics have become mere options on far too many campuses. Not surprisingly, students are graduating with great gaps in their knowledge — and employers are
noticing.”

As students return to classes this fall, workforce readiness remains an important and challenging issue. And it is an issue that links the ability of young people to succeed — and of our businesses to remain competitive in today’s global economy.

The Corporate Voices’ Web site has additional information, research studies and policy recommendations on workforce readiness issues.

Breast-Feeding — Protecting Against Swine Flu

Anna Portela has an interesting and informative post on empowher – a source for women’s health online and described as “dedicated to EmpowHer’ing women’s health and well-being.”

Her lead: “Breastfeeding definitely protects infants from getting the Swine flu, or the H1N1 virus, according to Cacilia Kim, commentator on the Womensenews website.”

And Portela includes this perspective:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is presently telling mothers to protect their babies against the swine flu by breastfeeding them, and the agency maintains that one of the “best things” mothers can do for infants who become ill is to continue to breastfeed them. If the mother gets swine flu, it is recommended that she still continue to breastfeed, unless she is taking some form of medicine that could be passed on to the baby.

Six months of exclusive breastfeeding is recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, along with one year of continued breastfeeding.

Corporate Voices has been a strong supporter of and advocate for workplace lactation programs and earlier this year produced a comprehensive guide for businesses in the form of a Workplace Lactation Toolkit. A copy is available on the Corporate Voices’ Web site.

Corporate Voices: A Scary Reality from Bob Herbert

For an insightful and timely look at why corporate and public policy efforts aimed at enhancing workforce readiness are important, consider the views of New York Times op-ed columnist Bob Herbert. Herbert wrote yesterday about “A Scary Reality” — and he really focuses on the problems we face as a nation as we struggle with the recession today and possibly long-term structural unemployment in the years to come.

Herbert writes:

Some 247,000 jobs were lost in July, a number that under ordinary circumstances would send a shudder through the country. It was the smallest monthly loss of jobs since last summer. And for that reason, it was seen as a hopeful sign. The official monthly unemployment rate ticked down from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent.

But behind the official numbers is a scary story that illustrates the single biggest challenge facing the United States today. The American economy does not seem able to provide enough jobs — and nowhere near enough good jobs — to maintain the standard of living that most Americans have come to expect.

Some 247,000 jobs were lost in July, a number that under ordinary circumstances would send a shudder through the country. It was the smallest monthly loss of jobs since last summer. And for that reason, it was seen as a hopeful sign. The official monthly unemployment rate ticked down from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent.

But behind the official numbers is a scary story that illustrates the single biggest challenge facing the United States today. The American economy does not seem able to provide enough jobs — and nowhere near enough good jobs — to maintain the standard of living that most Americans have come to expect.

And among the implications, according to Herbert:

Two issues that absolutely undermine any rosy assessment of last week’s employment report are the swelling ranks of the long-term unemployed and the crushing levels of joblessness among young Americans. More than five million workers — about a third of the unemployed — have been jobless for more than six months. That’s the highest number recorded since accurate records have been kept.

For those concerned with the economic viability of the American family going forward, the plight of young workers, especially young men, is particularly frightening. The percentage of young American men who are actually working is the lowest it has been in the 61 years of record-keeping, according to the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston.

Many public and private organizations — including Corporate Voices for Working Families — are working to address these issues through research, advocacy and developing and implementing programs that benefit individuals and working families.

And as Herbert writes: “This is, by far, the nation’s biggest problem and should be its No. 1 priority.”