National Skills Summit

National Skills Summit
Skills Summit Highlights

Statement from Jerry J. Jasincowski

Jerry J. Jasinowski

We all know how serious the skills shortage is. Sixty percent of manufacturers reported in a recent National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) survey that they typically reject half of all job applicants as unqualified. Thirty-six million American adults lack high school diplomas. And, the fact that the annual, 12-month quota for highly-trained foreign workers was met within just the first three months of the year speaks to the eagerness of American companies to find employees who can perform sophisticated, high-tech oriented tasks.

The NAM has two great concerns in this debate helping American firms retain their competitive edge and helping our workers gain the skills they need both to contribute to our economic growth and enjoy a good standard of living.

There are three areas in which manufacturers can make a difference. First, improvements in our legal immigration system. Second, employee training and the need for greater inclusiveness in our workforce. And third, education reform.

Immigration

The inability of American companies to obtain the kind of workers they need means we have to look outside our borders for a short-term solution to our skilled employment crisis. Raising the cap on H-lB visas so that more well-trained foreign workers - many of whom were schooled at American universities - can enter our country for a specified period of time to work in the various technical fields makes good sense. We can benefit from their vitality and knowledge. They also buy U.S. firms time -- time to train American workers and future employees to step in once foreign workers' visas have expired.

Employee Training

America's manufacturers are making real progress in training their workers. There are now about 2,000 corporate universities in the U.S. and there's much greater cooperation with local schools, technical institutes and community colleges. But more needs to be done. The NAM's Board of Directors has called on manufacturers to invest four percent of payroll on worker training. I'll never forget a conversation I had with Bob Galvin, the legendary chief of Motorola, a few years ago. When he told me Motorola was investing four percent in employee training, I asked him, "Bob, how can you afford it?" He responded, "I can't afford not to."

At the same time companies train their workers, they also need to train those whose latent abilities are not being optimized. I'm thinking of too many members of racial and ethnic minorities, too many older Americans, too many disabled and too many women who have not yet been given the opportunities the rest of us enjoy. Companies need to seek them out, train them and put them to work as their interests and energies allow.

Education Reform

Finally, let me touch on what manufacturers can do to enhance educational opportunities for our most precious resource, our young people. Firms in urban areas and in the suburbs, in rural communities and in industrialized areas, need to partner with local schools, especially high schools, to develop curricula that will prepare young people for the real world. As we consider the broader issue of education reform, the critical point of evaluation is improved performance -- not just the setting of arbitrary goals or talking with furrowed brows about making schools work better -- but tangible, measurable and achievable standards against which a school's or a teacher's ability can be tested.

That means injecting a higher level of competition into our educational system. Just a few blocks from this wonderful meeting, there are young people being taught in what are, frankly, non-competitive schools. That's both a shame and a waste - a shame, because these kids deserve better, and a waste, because these young Americans should be just as challenged and just as motivated as kids in suburban districts. The NAM supports whatever measures necessary -- school choice, charter schools, magnet schools, vouchers, tuition tax credits, whatever -- that will help bring lasting and systemic reform to the way our children are prepared for the challenges of the real-world, high-tech economy.

Over 135 years ago, Abraham Lincoln said the market system can "open the way for all, give hope to all ... and [improve the conditions] of all.” That was President Lincoln's goal for every American. It should remain ours today.

"It was my sincere pleasure to participate in the Department of Labor's National Skills Summit. The event shed light on some key issues, and I was glad to be able to share with leaders in the government and private sector the steps SBC is taking to address those issues. Public-private cooperation and partnerships are key to closing the "digital divide" and extending the power of telecommunications and technology to all Americans."