Workplace demands, work force change with time, growth

Alvin Toffler, a well-known futurist, said, "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn."

The need for life-long learning has become quite apparent in the past decade. The demographics of our work force have changed along with the skill sets required of new and emerging occupations.

Unfortunately, we are not as prepared for these changes as we need to be. But I believe that if we can develop partnerships between state agency, education and business leadership, we can become prepared quickly and effectively while helping Missouri to remain competitive and prosperous in the global economy.

Currently, however, approximately 33 percent of U.S. employers claim that more than one-fourth of their workers are not proficient in their jobs. At the same time, knowledge-based jobs requiring post-high-school education and training are growing as a share of total employment. In addition, the average tenure at jobs has significantly increased and our work force is aging as baby boomers enter retirement age.

So, what does Missouri need to do to strengthen our work force? At this year's Governor's Conference on Workforce Development, one of the workshops involved a roundtable discussion focused on how leaders from both education and business could work in partnership to develop a more highly skilled work force in Missouri.

Other states already have begun initiatives that focus on such partnerships. For instance, the state of Ohio already has embarked on an initiative that promotes joint planning, marketing and delivery of training services at the local level and to upgrade the skills of its work force.

The partners involved include the state's public two-year community and technical colleges, university branch campuses and the state's work force education centers.

The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership provides an on-site mentoring program to aid low-income workers making the transition into the workplace. This program depends on the support of its partners, which include existing employees and labor unions, to act as peer advisers to new workers.

And in 2000, the state of Washington introduced its Securing Key Industry Leadership for Learning Skills project. SKILLS promotes the development of public-private partnerships that focus on addressing the skill sets required for that state's targeted industries.

Missouri was among the nation's forerunners in building a more unified work-force development system as we restructured the current Division of Workforce Development in 1998 and improved the coordination of several state programs within Missouri Career Centers across the state.

Now we are shifting our strategy to meet the work-force development needs that have been created by the newer knowledge-based economy. We know that continuing to upgrade, and sometimes change, the skills of our workers is probably a more essential part of the state's economic growth strategy than ever before.

By developing a strong partnership between state agencies; elementary, secondary and tertiary education institutions; and our business community, Missourians will be able to continuously improve their skills and be prepared to meet the demands of an ever-changing business climate.

It is no longer a question of should we make these changes, but of how quickly we can form this partnership to help determine how we need to continue to evolve Missouri's work-force development system and engage our work force in life-long learning opportunities.

As technological advancements continue to shrink the business world, companies can literally do business from anywhere. They will choose to do business in Missouri as long as we can provide them with unique qualities, such as a well-maintained transportation network; a good quality of life; and, most importantly, a highly educated, skilled and productive work force.

(Joseph L. Driskill is executive director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development.)