Yet U.S. employers report that many new hires lack critical-thinking and creativity skills, and that their workforce-readiness programs are only “moderately” or “somewhat successful” in correcting those deficiencies.
According to the report, ‘The Ill-Prepared U.S. Workforce: Exploring the Challenges of Employer-Provided Workforce Readiness’, employers’ inability to detail their spending on remedial programs makes it impossible to assess the true costs of an ill-prepared workforce to their bottom line.
The report is the brainchild of Corporate Voices for Working Families, the American Society for Training & Development, The Conference Board, and the Society for Human Resource Management.
“It doesn’t make any difference if you're operating a business in Mumbai, Beijing or New York - the number one challenge facing every organization is finding and growing skilled talent,” says SHRM CEO and President Laurence O'Neil. “HR professionals are helping bridge the gap, finding ways to give employees the skills they need to add value and to be more valued. This isn't just an HR challenge, but a bottom-line global business problem,” he adds.
The report’s findings reflect survey responses of 217 employers on their training of newly hired graduates of high school and two- and four-year colleges. Conducted in 2008, the poll included employers in manufacturing, financial services, non-financial services, education, government, and other non-profits.
“The results of this study demonstrate how critical it is for companies to be more strategic and focused on efforts such as providing internships and working in partnership with community colleges on workforce readiness initiatives to prepare new entrants before they enter the workplace,” says Donna Klein, executive chair of Corporate Voices for Working Families. “It is a losing strategy for employers to try to fill the workforce readiness gap on the job. They need to be involved much sooner to prepare new employees to succeed,” she adds.
The report highlights five case studies of successful workforce readiness programs run by Bank of America and Year Up, CVS Caremark and TJX Companies, Harper Industries, Northrop Grumman, and YUM! Brands.
Other findings from the report:
- A culture committed to training and thorough job-readiness screening will set up strategic partnerships with local colleges, and a focus on integrating training with job-specific skills and career development.
- Employers should constantly re-evaluate the program to align training with company needs.
- Employers should track the cost and quality of training programs.
- Organizations should also help focus philanthropic dollars and public-policy discussions on the need to link K-12, technical-school and college education to the workforce readiness skills that employers need.
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