More than ever, workers must keep skills current

Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

One of my three focal areas for the Charles County Chamber of Commerce this year is to enhance membership through work force development opportunities.

Work force development means educating our work force. In the past century, the focus was on pushing children toward a college education. It is no longer that simple. Our work force has to keep up with the incredible amount of information that is generated each year.

This year alone, more information will be thrown at us than all the information that has been created in the past 5,000 years. Technical information is doubling every two years. This means half of what kids learn in their freshman year of college is out of date by their junior year.

In a recent speech, former secretary of education Richard W. Riley stated, ‘‘The top 10 jobs that will be in demand in 2010 did not exist in 2004. We are preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technology that has not yet been invented, in order to solve problems that we do not even know are problems yet.”

Not only are we having to keep up with the changing work environment and the increase in information, but we also have to keep up with continually changing technology. While the United States is 20th in the world in broadband Internet service, the third generation of fiber optics is being tested to push 10 trillion bits per second. That is more than 1,900 CDs or 150 million phone calls, per second, and many people still do not have or use e-mail.

The Department of Labor estimates that today’s students will have 10 to 14 jobs before age 38, with one of four workers working for a company for less than one year. They also state that one of two workers has been working for their present employer for less than five years.

With such a mobile work force, it is vital that everyone remain current in their employment field. Employees need to keep up with change, learning new technology and being prepared constantly for changing innovation. Employers need to provide their employees with the tools that they need to keep business running efficiently and competitively. Employers also need to make education important today, by sending a strong message to employees, the community at large and our legislators, that they support not only higher education but all education.

Employers need to require school transcripts, to show the importance of education to job applicants. Employers should also grow their work force by encouraging current employees to continue their education.

We do not live in just the local economy, we live in a global economy. China is poised to become the largest English-speaking country in the world. Due to their large population, they have more honor students than we have total students in the United States. India is close behind, and our work force is competing with these countries daily for jobs, according to Department of Labor statistics.

Secretary of Education Margaret Spelling states, ‘‘We live in a world where technological innovation and global competition are increasing at a pace never before seen. Now is the time to invest in our children to make sure they are prepared to succeed in the 21st century.”

What can we, as parents, do to prepare kids for this new reality? According to the Department of Education, we should encourage high school students to take more math, science and critical language courses. In the increasingly competitive global economy, it is crucial for American students to be well-trained in math, science and critical languages (such as Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian).

U.S. students are currently performing below their international peers in math and science. It is recommended that high school students take a minimum of three years of math and three years of science. Currently, only 44 percent of American high school students are enrolled in a foreign language class. And less than 1 percent of American high school students study critical foreign languages.

Former College of Southern Maryland president Elaine Ryan stated in her Leading Edge Award speech last year that ‘‘in Maryland, for every 100 ninth-grade students, only 73 make it to high school graduation, only 33 enter college, and only 18 earn a bachelor’s degree.”

The College of Southern Maryland supports work force development in a number of ways. More than 50 academic certificates and degrees are tailored to local employment needs. These range from such programs as paralegal studies, computer art, construction management and medical coding to transfer programs that lead to degrees in engineering, computer science, the arts and biotechnology.

In addition, through the Business Training Alliance with the chamber of commerce, the Corporate Center at CSM helps companies improve their technical, operational and leadership skills through solution-based, customized training programs. The Business Training Alliance program accommodates the small business community by making available the same work force training opportunities that have previously been accessible only to large corporations. The benefits are reduced training costs, flexible delivery methods, convenient times and locations, exposure to best practices and instruction by industry experts.

Programs are offered in leadership, management and supervision, project management, human resources, environmental health and safety, business expansion and process improvement.

The chamber’s education committee was formed to encourage the business community to interact with education officials. This forum allows the business and education leaders to communicate needs and develop action plans to benefit Charles County.

I encourage the business community to work with CSM and the board of education to promote work force development for their business, Charles County and the country.

Gore Bolton, owner of Bolton and Associates LLC, is the new president of the Charles County Chamber of Commerce.