Report Suggests Ill-Prepared Workforce Causing Strain for Employers

A report released this week as a joint effort by four organizations shows that workers lack the basic and applied skills that employers need. A survey of 217 employers by the American Society of Training and Development (ASTD), the Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, and the Society for Human Resource Management analyzed employer-based workforce readiness training of newly hired high school, two-year college, and four-year college graduates. The results:

• More than a third of respondents (33.9%) say newly hired high school grads are deficient in their preparation when they enter the workforce. That number dropped to 21.7% for two-year college graduates and 17.4% for four-year grads.

• “High need” workforce readiness training gaps include: creativity/innovation, ethics/social responsibility, professionalism/work ethic, and critical thinking/problem solving.

• Half the employers surveyed provide remedial training programs to overcome deficiencies.

As ASTD emphasizes on its web site, “The widening skills gap among new entrants to the workforce makes it clear that everyone involved in employment, education, and the public workforce system must collaborate to effectively prepare workers to be successful on the job.”

Click here for more on the report and here to access a PDF version of the study (free registration required).