Building a More Competitive Workforce

 

Below are excerpts of opinion columns that appeared recently in politico.com's Dear 44 series, a weekly policy debate. To read the columns in their entirety, go to www.politico.com/dear44.

 

 

If you can name a skilled profession, chances are good that you will find a shortage of skilled workers in it. Manufacturing and health care are among a few of the industry sectors citing severe labor shortages as one of their biggest barriers to expansion.

 

We must foster a culture that emphasizes lifelong learning and adopt a mind-set that education doesn't end in your early 20s. We need a flexible, evolving education and training system available to meet the needs of young students and midcareer workers.

 

The framework for such a system is in place. It's called career technical education or CTE. CTE programs provide knowledge and skills that can be applied to any number of potential careers. CTE programs are flexible and can be entered into at any age and at any level of proficiency, making it ideal for people wanting to advance in their current careers or begin a new one. Because these programs work closely with business and industry, they provide an evolving curriculum that perpetually adapts to current and projected workforce needs.

 

"Learning accounts," implemented by IBM, create a culture of lifelong learning. Modeled after 401(k)s, employees can invest up to $1,000 annually. IBM provides a 50% match to any contributions. The money in the accounts can be used to pay for education, and stays with the employee even after leaving the company.

 

Clearly, human talent is our greatest resource and must be developed through education and training.

 

 

Thirty million Americans work in entry-level, frontline service jobs. These individuals make up 25% of our workforce, but their average income has dropped by 13% in the last 10 years.

 

There is a business model that can be used to add value to entry-level workers. Called "value maximization," it recognizes that a company's frontline employees interact with customers 100 times more often than senior management does. As products and services become more complex, consumers are starved for trusted guides to help them figure out which products and services will meet their needs and exceed their expectations. They want value-creating relationships.

 

Companies that understand this are investing in their entry-level workplaces, not cutting them back. Best Buy, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Starbucks, Mandarin Oriental, Southwest Airlines, and Toro all invest in key relationship strategies: customer centricity and team-based service delivery. This one-two punch is deceptively simple, yet it has a profound impact on business productivity, corporate profitability, and employees' paychecks. By putting relevant customer and performance information in the hands of entry-level workers and by providing a foundation for building relationships, these companies are paying more and growing faster.

If the front line is equipped to communicate, work with others, think critically and learn, then these workers can increase the value of jobs and their pay.