The television program "Good Morning America" today highlighted a documentary called "2 Million Minutes" that looks at how high school students in the United States, China and India allocate time during their four high-school years. The title refers to that period of time.
Ultimately, the film showed that students in India and China were more prepared for careers in math, science and engineering and that more emphasis in their lives was placed on academic excellence. In America, in contrast, Bob Crompton, the filmmaker, notes that emphasis is placed on sports and other skills.
"What I saw in the K-12 schools absolutely shocked me in both India and China. … I became very concerned about the competitiveness of my own daughters' education," Compton said on "Good Morning America." "Between the cultures, students allocate their time quite differently. The difference is the parental expectations of the students, the community's expectations."
The Greater Knoxville Business Journal this month had a column about how Roane State Community College, along with other academic, research and economic development groups, is proposing a center for nanotechnology workforce development.
The center would recruit and educate skilled workers who could assist the nanotechnology businesses in the Innovation Valley area. These workers would not necessarily need advanced degrees, but rather a knowledge of the processes being run at these companies.
A preliminary proposal for this project is due in April. Nanotechnology touches many businesses by way of everything from computer chips to cosmetics. Because of the wide variety of technologies, the prospects for jobs in this field are diverse.
Members of the Knoxville business community and Knox County Schools are partnering to initiate students' interest in math and science fields.
In January, the Knoxville Chamber, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, Knox County Schools and the Partnership for Great Schools launched an Internet-based clearinghouse at Vols4STEM.org which will pair educators with science, technology, engineering and mathematics professionals to share expertise and work with students on projects relating to their field.
They recently held meetings to organize the project and gain volunteer professionals for the partnerships.
"Vols4STEM is a model for aligning the work force and education," said Cheryl Kershaw, executive director of the Great Schools Partnership.
The Technology Center Directors from the State of Tennessee voted unanimously for all Tennessee Scholars to get free tuition to attend any Technology Center in the state.
This vote is important because this will help Tennessee educate students in areas that will eventually help fill high-skilled, high-demand jobs.
Ruth Woodall, Director of the Tennessee Scholars program for the Tennessee Chamber said that the program will give extra money to students for books if the student requested it and could show need.
There is a local Tennessee Technology Center in Knoxville. For more information on the programs offered, visit the Tennessee Technology Center website here.
The Knoxville Chamber’s workforce development team has expanded to include a new Workforce Development Manager, Ahnna Estes.
Estes will work with the Director of Workforce Development and Education, Jennifer Evans, in various projects. She is currently undertaking the Tennessee Scholars program and is also dealing with the workforce development aspects of the new Innovation Valley Inc. programs.
Estes owned her own business in the Knoxville area for the past two years She also spent 20 years in the hospitality industry in operations management for hotels in Connecticut.
She said that she accepted this position because of the opportunity to work with Evans and to be involved in an area that is relatively new.
Estes said, “Helping the business and education systems reach their goals is important to me. I want to use my experience and knowledge to help reach the department goals.”
Estes is currently a student at Tusculum College. She is working on obtaining her bachelor’s degree.
She is married with three children, two grandchildren and a Dalmation.
You’ve heard it again and again from the Knoxville Chamber… improving education and workforce development is critical to the economic future of the region. But what can you do about it?
You can attend the Workforce and Education Summit hosted by Innovation Valley Inc.
Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale recently challenged the Knoxville Chamber to plan the regional workforce development and education summit to identify strategies and tactics that will lead to the development of the workforce of the future. The summit, which will take place on March 24th at the Knoxville Convention Center, will include educators, businesspeople, parents, community leaders, faith-based institutions, and students throughout Innovation Valley. The education and workforce summit will begin at 8 AM.
The event is an opportunity to rollup your sleeves and dig into the work of improving the region’s educational systems, which ultimately determines the quality of the workforce.
“For the last couple of years, the Chamber has argued that education and workforce development must be improved,” says Mike Edwards, the Chamber’s president and CEO. “I think the organization has done a good job of convincing businesspeople that this is a critical concern. But, I don’t think I’ve done a good enough job of demonstrating how to get involved and how individuals can have an impact on the improvement of education, the increase of academic rigor, or the skills that students have when they leave high school."
The goals of the daylong summit are to outline what the region's future workforce looks like, to identify the barriers that may be standing in the way of achieving such a workforce, and for each attendee to leave with a plan of how he or she can individually contribute to the overall goal of developing a skilled and educated workforce.
The opening session will include a discussion of the future workforce and will lay out what the future workforce would look like. Following that general assembly will be a series of breakout sessions focused on K-12 education issues. Later sessions will focus on workforce development issues including bridging the gap between higher education and business, improving existing training programs, accessing the under utilized workforce, and attracting and retaining recent college graduates and other quality employees. Attendees will be challenged to be apart of breaking down all identified barriers.
Registration for the summit will be available online beginning February 22. Please visit the events page.
Summit agenda.
Summit registration form.
Summit breakout descriptions.
Tom Donohue, President of the U,S, Chamber of Commerce, remarks this week that the presidential candidates have been shunning educational issues in favor of discussing the Iraq war, health care and the economy.
Donohue said that what has been noted from the candidates has been a rejection of No Child Left Behind, which he credits with helping raise math and reading skills. The U.S. Chamber favors increasing the No Child Left Behind program and holding the education system more accountable for preparing students for the workforce.
"If we don’t bring urgent change to our K-12 system, how will we compete with India and China? Who will fill the high-tech jobs of the 21st century knowledge economy, especially as baby boomers begin to retire? What will happen to the dreams and potential of our kids?" Donohue wrote.
Donohue praised the Tennessee system and Governor Bredesen's action in education reform.
"Fortunately, the silence of our presidential candidates on education is sharply contrasted by substantial action at the state and local level. Officials like Chancellor of the D.C. Public School System Michelle Rhee and Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen are rejecting a system that fails students, parents, and taxpayers. They are bringing innovation, accountability, and competition to schools with outstanding results."
A blogger for the U.S. Chamber's ChamberPost blog singled out Tennessee and Governor Bredesen as the leaders in making positive changes in education policies.
Lydia Logan of the U.S. Chamber writes, "While many reformers pay lip service to the idea that ready for college and ready for work are the same thing, Tennessee is walking the talk."
She cites the increased graduation requirements and one-track diploma programs as positive catalysts for change that have been made recently in Tennessee under Bredesen's leaderhip.
Note: This column by Mike Edwards, President and CEO, Knoxville Chamber, was printed in the Knoxville News Sentinel
Workforce Development: what does it mean? In a nutshell, workforce development is about building the quantity and quality of our labor supply to meet the demand for labor. It is a simple enough concept but the steps in achieving that balance are loaded with undertones of politics and serious culture change.
Why should you care? Well, your future and your family’s future depend on it. Your children’s future is directly tied to the knowledge, skills and abilities they have when they leave high school. The health of our economy is a result of a knowledgeable, skilled workforce. In order for our economy to function and grow, we need doctors, nurses, electricians, teachers, truck drivers, customer service representatives, engineers, pilots…you get the picture. The financial security of retirees is also directly tied to the economy, and thus a quality workforce.
So how do we improve the quality of our workforce? Well, we need to ensure that more students are exiting high school with the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in the workplace or in college. The same goes for students leaving college – they need to have employable skills that are transferable across industries. Educators need to know what those skills are and be able to teach them effectively. Businesses need to expand opportunities for internships and apprenticeships. We need to focus on early career development and the importance of science and math in today’s economy.
We should inform parents and the community as a whole about the benefits of an education and change any negative attitudes towards vocational and technical careers. Welders and pipe-fitters make an extremely good living today and companies are fighting each other for those skilled workers. We need to find ways to attract quality workers to our area and figure out how to keep our local university and college graduates here. And let’s not forget the expertise and experience of our soon-to-be retired or retired workforce. We need their help and we should utilize their talents to prepare the up and coming workforce.
Bottom line is that there is no silver bullet that will solve everything and there is no one person or organizations that can do it alone. Mayor Ragsdale has challenged the Knoxville Chamber to organize a summit where all of these issues are addressed. We will not leave the summit with “the solution,” but the objective is to leave with a game plan for each issue.
However, before we begin, we must agree on our goals. “Do we all agree that students need to improve math skills? If so, then how?” Or, “Do we all agree that effective teaching is critical to a student’s success? If so, then how do we help teachers become more effective?”
These are matters that we - as parents, students, teachers, community members, business leaders and politicians - must decide together. The summit will provide us with a forum to do this. So why should you care? Your future depends on it.
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