Skill Gaps in America's Work Force
Current Event: Week 2
Current Event Article: Skill Gaps in America’s Work Force
Jess Tourville
Endicott College
October 13, 2013
Managerial Economics
Richard Weissman
Summary
In the well written article Stubborn Skills Gap in America’s Work Force, the author Eduardo Porter describes how fictitious the idea of workers in America really is. When asking President Obama which country develops and breads the most skilled work force he said hands down the United States. Obama’s direct words about the work force were “more productive than any on earth” and they “build better products than anybody else.” Even the less boisterous Republicans were sure American workers could surpass any competition on any level playing field. In the eyes of authority in America their beloved country cultivates the most resilient workers of any other country, but the truth is they don’t.
In a recent study done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D) the skill level in America is not only continuously slipping but is actually dangerously low in comparison to their peers. The study the O.E.C.D conducted assessed literacy, math skills and problem solving using information technology and the cohort consisted of about 160,000 people age 16-65 and in 22 advanced nations plus Russia and Cyprus. This sample group included 5,000 Americans and the end results were a bit shocking.
The results of the assessment concluded that Americans ranked average in literacy skills but were far below the top performers and were about average in terms of problem-solving with computers. Americans did not out rank any of the nations in any of the categories in fact the most highly valued skill math, was America’s largest deficit. These findings came in the middle of a quarrelsome debate over whether America is facing a skills shortage of workers. Throughout the past few years employers have expressed the difficulty they are facing finding
Current Event Article: Skill Gaps in America’s Work Force
Jess Tourville
Endicott College
October 13, 2013
Managerial Economics
Richard Weissman
Summary
In the well written article Stubborn Skills Gap in America’s Work Force, the author Eduardo Porter describes how fictitious the idea of workers in America really is. When asking President Obama which country develops and breads the most skilled work force he said hands down the United States. Obama’s direct words about the work force were “more productive than any on earth” and they “build better products than anybody else.” Even the less boisterous Republicans were sure American workers could surpass any competition on any level playing field. In the eyes of authority in America their beloved country cultivates the most resilient workers of any other country, but the truth is they don’t.
In a recent study done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (O.E.C.D) the skill level in America is not only continuously slipping but is actually dangerously low in comparison to their peers. The study the O.E.C.D conducted assessed literacy, math skills and problem solving using information technology and the cohort consisted of about 160,000 people age 16-65 and in 22 advanced nations plus Russia and Cyprus. This sample group included 5,000 Americans and the end results were a bit shocking.
The results of the assessment concluded that Americans ranked average in literacy skills but were far below the top performers and were about average in terms of problem-solving with computers. Americans did not out rank any of the nations in any of the categories in fact the most highly valued skill math, was America’s largest deficit. These findings came in the middle of a quarrelsome debate over whether America is facing a skills shortage of workers. Throughout the past few years employers have expressed the difficulty they are facing finding
References: Porter, E. (2013, October 8). Stubborn Skills Gap in America 's Work Force. Retrieved October 11, 2013, from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/09/business/economy/stubborn-skills-gap-in-americas-work-force.html?_r=0