Corporate Voices for Working Families

This post is the second of a four-part response by Corporate Voices for Working Families to the recent NPR series, “The Skills Gap: Holding Back the Labor Market,” which explores unemployment in America, the ill-prepared workforce and workforce readiness training.

As the United States continues to navigate through a tough economic climate with consistently high unemployment rates, it is important to note that there are still about 3 million job openings throughout the country.  In a recent story titled, “To Fill Job Skills, Firm Brings Training in Hours,” NPR examines the impact the skills gap is having on businesses and how some are attempting to combat the problem.

According to the story, one of the major problems facing employers is that “technology is outpacing the country’s current approach to educating and training workers.”  Custom Group, a manufacturing company outside Boston, realized the problem it was facing and decided to start its own training school.  At the Center for Manufacturing Technology, students gain experience cutting metal parts in the school’s own machine shop, where they learn to use state-of-the-art computer-controlled equipment. And just about all of the students have been hired by Custom Group or other local companies, many before they even graduate.

It is not surprising to find business providing training to compensate for the lack of a skilled workforce.  After extensive research, Corporate Voices along with national partners published “Are They Really Ready to Work” in 2006.  The research found that employers are not satisfied with the level of preparedness of their entry level hires.  As a follow up to this research, Corporate Voices published a “The Ill-Prepared Workforce” in 2009, which highlighted employers compensating for the lack of prepared workers by providing in-house training, similar to the Center for Manufacturing Technology.   However, many of the employers participating in the research reported limited success with their training initiatives and little knowledge of the cost of these endeavors.

To address this issue, Corporate Voices has recently partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to bring the business perspective to the postsecondary completion agenda. It is widely acknowledged that the completion of at least one year of education and/or training beyond high school has become the minimum necessary for workers to successfully enter the workforce.  This puts Corporate Voices for Working Families at the nexus of an issue critical to the future of the American economy—ensuring a skilled talent pool for a competitive future.

As part of the recent partnership with the Gates Foundation, Corporate Voices’ member company Northrop Grumman Corporation was featured in a set of micro-business cases spotlighting business contributions to postsecondary completion and progressive talent development.

Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding (NGSB), part of Northrop Grumman Corporation, is the sole designer and maintainer of the U.S. Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and requires a highly skilled, technical workforce. To ensure the availability of this workforce, particularly in light of the number of retiring skilled workers, NGSB has made significant investments in The Apprentice School.

The Apprentice School fills the “mission critical” role for NGSB of providing a reliable source of skilled talent and future leaders in shipbuilding and repair. Through its World Class Shipbuilder Curriculum, The Apprentice School offers academic instruction in 19 registered apprenticeship programs critical to shipbuilding. Apprentices can choose from in-demand careers such as pipefitter, heavy metal fabricator, maintenance electrician, welder and more. All programs are registered with the Virginia Apprenticeship Council, recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Apprenticeship. Apprentice School graduates receive state government-issued journeyman credentials in their chosen crafts/trades.

The school also offers six optional advanced programs critical to NGSB in Marine Design, Modeling & Simulation, Nuclear Test, Production Planning, Cost Engineering, and Advanced Shipyard Operations. Conducted in partnership with Thomas Nelson Community College and Tidewater Community College, the advanced programs result in an associate of science degree in engineering, an associate of applied science degree in engineering technology (mechanical or electrical), or an associate of science degree in business administration. Impressively, more than 32 percent of a recent class of completing apprentices earned associate degrees as part of their apprenticeship experience.

More and more businesses are turning to community partners and educational institutions to help close the education and skills gap.  Corporate Voices through its work with the Ready by 21 National Partnership continues to produce tools available to business and community leaders, which seek to build sustainable and long-lasting cross-sector partnerships.  The goal of these partnerships is to provide businesses with a prepared and skilled workforce and community leaders with young people  and working families who are succeeding in life.

Partnerships between business and education are essential to improving the lives of young people and working families.  Corporate Voices, through its workforce readiness platform, will continue to highlight industry leaders, to participate in research design and to educate policy makers, all in an effort to help explain the challenges and opportunities around the education and skills gap facing our country today.  Corporate Voices invites employers who might have a learn and earn model to be highlighted and/or would like to join the Learn and Earn Business Leader Team to explore peer to peer learning of promising practices, to contact us.

This post is the first of a four-part response by Corporate Voices for Working Families to the recent NPR series, “The Skills Gap: Holding Back the Labor Market,” which explores unemployment in America, the ill-prepared workforce and workforce readiness training.

Despite the current state of the economy, many employers have jobs that they are trying to fill.  According to the NPR’s article Employers Pickier About Job Applicants Skills, employers want their future employees to be educated, trained and ready to work.

Glenn Cook, director of staffing, at Boeing, says,

What we really want to do is hire people with experience so they can hit the ground running and help us out immediately.

Potential workers are getting rejected because, despite their extensive experience, they do not have a college degree or a postsecondary credential. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce reported the demand for new college degrees will fall short by 3 million postsecondary degrees by 2018.

This education skills gap is a crisis affecting individuals, families, communities, businesses and the national economy.

Learn and earn initiatives are one crucial strategy for addressing the skills gaps that are hindering workers and businesses.

Through the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Corporate Voices for Working Families has compiled a series of micro-business case studies highlighting employers who are establishing learn and earn partnerships. These employers, who include Expeditors, CVS Caremark, and Bison Gear and Engineering Corporation, are collaborating to provide working learners with the opportunity to pursue postsecondary credentials while simultaneously working and earning a living.

Corporate Voices believes that when business and industry partner with education to create opportunities for individuals to advance academically and along career pathways, business, education and students can all reach their goals.  As reported in the recently released “From an “Ill-Prepared” to a Well-Prepared Workforce: The Shared Imperatives for Employers and Community Colleges to Collaborate,” through collaboration:

• Individuals will be supported and encouraged to complete postsecondary credentials essential to obtaining or growing into employment with family-sustaining wages.
• Businesses will gain skilled, work-ready talent.
• Education will be more closely matched to labor market demands, and businesses will support the college completion agenda.

Partnerships between business and education are essential to improving the lives of working families.  Corporate Voices, through its workforce readiness platform, will continue to highlight industry leaders, to participate in research design and to educate policy makers, all in an effort to help explain the challenges and opportunities around the education and skills gap facing our country today.  Corporate Voices invites employers who might have a learn and earn model to be highlighted and/or would like to join the Learn and Earn Business Leader Team to explore peer to peer learning of promising practices, to contact us.

Corporate Voices for Working Families and The Ready by 21 National Partnership are proud to announce the winners for the inaugural 2010 Champion Award: Preparing Youth for Work.

• Individual Leader: Tom Glenn, Ace Hardware (Tennessee)
• Community: Louisville, Kentucky
• Company: CVS Caremark

The Ready by 21 National Partnership is an unprecedented group of national leaders who are supporting communities to help ensure that youth are ready for college, work and life.  The 2010 Champion Award is bestowed to the Individual Leader, Community and Company who displayed exceptional leadership, vision and commitment to create local private/public partnerships dedicated to ensuring that youth have the structures and supports needed to be ready for work.

Here’s from the news release announcing the award winners:

“It’s important to recognize the outstanding contributions and results of individuals, communities and companies who are leading the way on the local level to help youth succeed,” stated Stephen M. Wing, President, Corporate Voices. “All these award recipients embrace the passion and dedication toward helping youth in their communities be ready with the skills they need in the workplace and throughout life.”

The awards were announced today at The Big Tent Conference in Houston, Texas.  The Big Tent Conference is a convening of thousands of professionals and youth, from a cross-section of national youth-serving organizations and schools to share the newest and cutting edge ideas to ensure the success of children and youth in the communities.

“Ready by 21 is about meeting leaders where they are and challenging them to do more. The recipients of these awards showed their willingness to go above and beyond to pursue the goal of having all youth be ready for college, work and life.  We are honored to stand with them under the Big Tent!” stated Karen Pittman, Co-Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Forum for Youth Investment.

A Review Committee comprised of Ready by 21 National Partners and representatives from Corporate Voices’ member companies reviewed the nominees and chose the winners. The award will be presented again next year and nominations can be submitted on July 1, 2011, at www.corporatevoices.org.

The Ready by 21 National Partnerships includes the following organizations: The Forum for Youth Investment, United Way Worldwide, The American Association of School Administrators, America’s Promise Alliance, Corporate Voices for Working Families, The National Collaboration for Youth, The National Conference of State Legislatures, and The Search Institute.

For more information on Corporate Voices, The Big Tent Conference and the Ready by 21 National Partnership, please visit www.corporatevoices.org, www.bigtentconference.com, and www.readyby21.org.