The Power of Alignment By: Cody Erskin & Michael Ackley

“MORAN, WHY DO I HAVE TO KNOW THIS AND WHEN WILL I EVER USE IT?”

The Opportunity Gap In today’s career market, there is a market of technically trained employees for advanced jobs. By the year 2000, 65% of all jobs will require specific skills as compared to 20% in Technological training will have to be obtained beyond high school.

Today’s 6 th graders will have 10 job changes and 3 career shifts. Of those, 4 jobs and 1 career have not been conceived yet. … J. Naisbitt Megatrends

70% of workplace reading is written at a 10 th – 12 th grade level. L. Mikulecky Indiana University 90% of all jobs require 3-4 hour of reading and writing per day!!

There are few options for our students who drop out of high school each year. One option is prison. 82% of inmates are dropouts- and illiterate by today’s standards.

In 2000, the unemployment rate of workers age 25 and over with a: master's degree was 1.6%; bachelor's degree was 1.8%; associate degree was 2.3%; some college, no degree was 2.9%; high school diploma was 3.5%; and some high school, but no diploma was 6.5%. (U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001, p1)U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2001, p1

A comparison of the employment status of high school graduates and high school dropouts in 2000 found the following: 69.7% of high school graduates were employed, compared to 48.9% of high school dropouts; 10.5% were unemployed, compared to 19.2% of high school dropouts; and 19.7% were not in the labor force, compared to 32.0% of high school dropouts. (Snyder, 2002, p445, Figure 25)Snyder, 2002, p445, Figure 25

Workforce Skill Requirements The education and training requirements of the projected total job openings, due to growth and net replacement are: 69.8% of jobs will require work-related training 42.7% short-term on-the-job training; 15.1% moderate on-the-job training; 6.5% long-term on-the-job training; and 5.55% work experience in a related occupation. 20.9% will require a bachelor's degree or higher, and 9.3% will require an associate's degree or postsecondary vocational award. (Hecker, 2002, p83, Table 6)Hecker, 2002, p83, Table 6

The 2001 American Management Association (AMA) Survey on Workplace Testing found the following: 14% of respondent firms tested all job applicants for literacy skills 35% of respondent firms tested some job applicants in literacy skills. 41% of respondent firms tested some job applicants for basic skills. 34.1% of applicants tested by respondent firms lacked the skills necessary to perform the jobs they sought. 84.6% of the respondent firms did not hire skill-deficient applicants; 3.5% hired skill deficient applicants and assigned them to obligatory remedial training; 3.0% hired them and offered voluntary remedial training (American Management Association, p1)American Management Association, p1

The National Association of Manufacturers 2001 members' survey asked employers about their reasons for REJECTING applicants for hourly production positions. 31.6% stated inadequate reading/writing skills; 17.5% inadequate oral communication skills; and 20.7% inadequate math skills. (National Association of Manufacturers, p8, Figure 3)National Association of Manufacturers, p8, Figure 3

Small business owners in the "Voices from Main Street: Assessing the State of Small Business Workforce Skills" thought that the following skills were very important: 86% - verbal communication skills 77% - interpersonal skills 62% - math skills 59% - written communication 52% - basic business skills 46% - financial accounting 43% - mechanical ability 41% - computer skills 18% - Internet knowledge 18% - science (American Express, Small Business Services, p12)American Express, Small Business Services, p12