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needed to implement more sustainable andefficient work processes.3individual remains unemployed, the harder it isfor him or her to “catch up” with lost wages andthe less chance they have of gainingemployment in the future. Employer bias issometimes a problem for the long termunemployed and older workers. Also, skillsoften erode during times of unemployment.Not being able to find people with the rightskills hurts businesses, as well. Many employershave cited lack of skills in job candidates asbeing responsible for reduced output.6Skills MismatchEven at the height of the recession and at thehighest rate of unemployment, employersreported that they could not fill some of theirvacancies.4 While there was no shortage ofunemployed people ostensibly available andready to work, employers reported that theavailable candidates were apparently notqualified and, thus, not being hired for theavailable jobs.This seems straightforward, but actually thereare differing opinions about what the skills gapis and what it might mean. The commonconclusion is that the applicants must not havethe skills needed for those jobs and, in fact,employers do cite the lack of qualifiedcandidates as a reason for not filling positions.However, other interpretations of this situationmay also make sense. In light of the recentrecession, employers may be reluctant to makethe investment needed to actually hiresomeone unless they find a candidate who is anexact match for the position. Before thisrecession, they might have been more willing tohire someone who was a strong candidate butwould need some additional training.7The difference between the skills available inthe labor pool and the skills required by themarket is referred to as a skills gap. There isalways some skills gap in an economy, but theskills gap now appears to be growing.Skills mismatches continued to rise inalmost all states even after therecession had ended, partly explainingthe stubbornly high unemploymentrate; in fact, Delaware andWashington state experienced adouble-digit percentage increase intheir skill mismatch index in 2010.5Not having the skills to land a job hurtsindividuals and families. The longer anA question that arises when discussing the skillsgap is: “Are the right people really not availableor are employers unwilling or unable to payenough to attract the right people?” It appearsthat, in some cases, both ideas might be true:there are not enough people with the right skills3Green Economy Jobs Report, State of WashingtonEmployment Security Department, cs/special-reports/green-jobs-2011.pdf4Getting Ahead, Staying Ahead: Helping America’sstWorkforce Succeed in the 21 Century, TheSpringboard Project, Business Roundtable, BillGreen, Chair. d, David; Kochan, Thomas; Osterman, Paul,“Who can fix the ‘middle-skills’ gap?” HarvardBusiness Review, December 2012.7Editorial Board, “Don’t Blame the Workforce,” NewYork Times, June 15, lrecommendations-to-strengthen-a/5Estevao, Marcello; Tsounta, Ivridiki, Has the GreatRecession Raised U.S. Structural Unemployment?International Monetary Fund, day/dont-blame-the-workforce.html?partner rss&emc rss& r 105.pdf5

AND there are employers who are unwilling topay what it would take to attract the rightcandidates. According to the 2012 TalentShortage Survey conducted by Manpower,more than half of U.S. companies indicated thatinadequate compensation makes it hard to hirethe right candidates8.clear sign posts that are easy to find and follow.In this approach to thinking about our system,we can identify areas where improved signagewould be helpful.While it may not be completely clear whatcauses the skills gap, it is clear that people arelooking for work and companies are looking tohire, and the two groups are not easily findingeach other. Washington’s workforcedevelopment strategies will benefit fromcontinuing to explore and address the skills gapphenomenon. Transition from high school (decidingwhether or not to attend post-highschool training; assessing and selectingthe appropriate option); Building skills (can be apprenticeship,internship, college, training, entry-leveljob); or Moving directly into employment.The three main intersections on this highwayalong which students move from high school toemployment are:Navigating from School to Work Can BeChallengingIntersection One – Transition from High SchoolThe first intersection is the transition from highschool to a post-secondary learningopportunity. Helping students understand thevalue of pursuing at least some additionaleducation beyond high school is a challenge.Many students say they cannot afford collegeand even if they could afford it, many do notsee the value.The road between high school and fullemployment can be bumpy. In 2012, McKinsey& Company, a global management consultingfirm, conducted a study across nine countriesand 8,000 educators, youth and employers toidentify the components needed to create asystem where people move smoothly fromeducation to employment9. A metaphor used byMcKinsey & Company in that study describesthe school-to-employment process as ahighway. To enter the road of employment,there are three main intersections, each a placewhere people can get “lost.” Theseintersections are where disconnects ininformation occur that cause people to losetheir way. As we know from our own driving,junctions are easy to navigate only if they bear8Even if students leaving high school arecommitted to continuing their educationaljourney, finding the information they need totake the next step can be hard. They encountermyriad questions: What should they study?What jobs will a program lead to? Who offersthat program? Who has a track record ofgraduates having successful employment aftercompleting that program? How will they pay forthat education?ManpowerGroup’s 2012 Talent Shortage SurveyWhile career guidance efforts in Washingtonstate are underway and continuouslyimproving, the available tools mainly helpstudents identify their strengths, learn aboutcareer options and figure out which hortage2012/9McKinsey & Company, Education to Employment:Designing a System That Works, oyment/report/6

offer the programs they are interested in. Thespecific gap in Washington state concernsinformation about college program outcomes.opportunity for work-integrated learning can bebeneficial for students with a range of learningstyles.Currently, colleges do not make graduationrates or wage and employment data availableto the public in a way that is easy to navigate.While there are several sites that attempt toprovide this data there are still gaps in theinformation that is made available. While sometechnical colleges post such information ontheir website by program, other colleges do not.Tracking students to provide such information iscomplicated and there are not currently anyincentives or requirements to provide suchinformation. Prospective students are on theirown to find out which colleges offer whichprograms. Once that information is known, theprogram outcomes are often not available.How, then, do students in Washington decidebetween Program A at one college and ProgramA at another college?The challenge is to use this phase to build theskills that are needed for a viable career. Can alearner be sure that the skills they are learningwill lead to employment? Not always. Thedegree to which various programs and trainingoptions provide the training and experiencethat employers value is sometimes unclear. Inan effort to ensure that this skill-building part ofthe journey is efficient, Washington’s employersand educators need to link this skill-buildingphase closely to employment.Intersection Three – EmploymentThe third intersection in this highway is thetransition into the workforce. Because of theloose linkage between the skill-buildingexperience and the process of becomingemployed, many students get lost at thisjuncture. The closer the connection is betweeneducation and employment, the smoother thistransition will be. If students have accurateemployment information when they select theirarea of study; have accurate information aboutwhat skills to develop while in the skill-buildingphase; and have an opportunity for work-basedlearning, internships, mentorships or jobshadow experiences, they may be more likely tomove smoothly into employment.Intersection Two – Skill BuildingIf students successfully navigate the firstintersection and arrive at their chosen post-highschool option, they enter into a skill-buildingphase of their journey. During this phase,students need to learn not only specificcontent, but they are also tasked with becomingeven more effective learners than they were inhigh school. Students who can develop aprocess for on-boarding new skills andinformation are poised to be successful in awork world that demands constant skillupgrades.The earlier that employers get involved withstudents and education, the more success theyreport in finding qualified applicants to fill theirvacancies and the more satisfied students arewith their resulting employment.“Learning to learn” is now considered anessential employment skill. Experiential learningsuch as work-integrated learning, project-basedlearning, and on-line gaming experiencesprovide a platform for learners to practice andimplement the skills they are learning. TheOften, students are on their own to secureemployment after completing an educationalexperience. If their credential, whether degreeor certificate, is valued by employers, then the7

outcomes are good for both the individual andthe organization that makes the hire.other forces compel businesses to be in acontinual state of flux. The result is thatworkers are also in an environment ofcontinuous change that requires nearly nonstop learning and skill upgrades.A tighter linkage between the skill-buildingexperiences and the employers would result ina much higher conversion rate from student toemployee. In lieu of this strong linkage,employers are left to grumble about not findingthe right skills in the labor market andindividuals are left to struggle with under- orun-employment if they do not make thetransition into employment.Because we know that technology and theeconomy are changing, evolving and requiringnew skills faster than we can plan for, newapproaches for workforce development areneeded.Time is of the EssenceIncremental changes to the workforcedevelopment system are not going to occur fastenough to meet the needs of employers in thiseconomy. Because workforce training andeducation systems are tied to annual budgetsand include long-term training programs, theydo not tend to be able to change as quickly asthe businesses they serve. As businesses adaptin response to customer demands andtechnology innovations, these factors can alterwhat businesses look for in prospective hires.The McKinsey study reports that there is adiscrepancy between educators and employerswhen it comes to evaluating how welleducation prepares students for employment.Among educators, 72% report in the McKinseystudy that their students are well prepared forwork. Only 42% of employers indicate thateducation prepared candidates foremployment. When asked about the number ofstudents who were employed within threemonths of completing their education, morethan one-third of educators could not providean estimate. Those who tried overestimated thenumber by 20%. It is important to examine whyeducators do not have a sense of howemployable their students are and it would beinteresting to see how this compares to datafrom Washington educators and employers. Thedisconnect may be due to distant, casual orinfrequent communication among employersand educators. Working to better connect andalign educators and employers could help toimprove Washington’s workforce system.A Call for Disruptive InnovationIn much the same way that “disruptiveinnovation”10 (the introduction of newtechnologies, products or services in an effortto promote change and gain advantage) can beused to disrupt current business and breakthrough existing patterns, Washington will needto consider large-scale, creative interventions tomake a big impact on the workforce system. Acall for disruptive innovation in our systemmeans making large-scale, disruptive, andradical changes that make our workforcedevelopment system more effective. Thisimproved workforce development systemwould effectively prepare a talent pool of newWorkplace Expectations are ChangingThe workplace of the 21st century is constantlychanging, and the rate of that change isaccelerating. Technology improvements,increased global competition, changingconsumer demand, market fluctuation and10Term of art coined by Clayton Christianson,Harvard Business pts/8

themselves as “learning managers.”11 Rapidchange will require workers to use their abilityto learn-to-learn and manage their ownlearning to stay ahead of the curve. Even ifworkers complete their education fully ready towork in their field, the skills and demands oftheir occupation will continue to evolve andeven new graduates may quickly find their skillsare outmoded.employees that includes a broader range ofparticipants than ever before and enablesincumbent workers to effectively manage theircareers across many years and many changes.Examples of disruptive innovation include: Funding the first two years of college foreveryone. Expanding game simulations, work-basedlearning and apprenticeshipopportunities. Participating in Massively Open OnlineCourses (MOOCs), which are proving tobe a disruptive technology in education. Connecting employers and students usinga structured social media platform thatdoes not require intensive staffing. Using summer and quarter breaks to setup work or work-simulation experiences. Using industry professionals for shortterm or substitute teaching assignments. Integrating self-directed learning intocredentials. Bringing students into the design processfor new workforce developmentinitiatives. Creating a results scorecard that allowsstudents to compare college programs’graduation, employment and wageresults in one place. Learning fr

Define 21st Century Skills for the Workforce . toward efficient, sustainable business practices would result in a new class of green collar _ occupations. While industry continues to evolve . l-reports/green-jobs-2011.pdf 4 Getting Ahead, Staying Ahead: Helping America's Workforce Succeed in the 21st Century, The