Saturday, November 13, 2004
In Bristol, RI, EDPro Alan Crisman is facing a challenge that is taking place in regional economies across the country: Not enough skilled workers. Although boat builing is expanding, firms report having trouble recruiting enough workers. Read more.
The problem is rooted in the imbalances of our educational system. We are simply producing too many underskilled young people. Too many drop-outs. Too many high school graduates with weak skills and no career plan. That's why we have shortages reported in a wide ange of professions that require skills beyond high schhol. We have shortages of nurses, teachers, long haul truck drivers, pharmacists, air traffic controllers, machinists. The list goes on.
These challenges will only get bigger in the years ahead. We face a major demographic shift as the Baby Boom generation retires.
In Rhoode Island, Alan Crisman is thinking about this challenge in the right way. Design more flexibility into high school. Create career pathways that can feed directly into the needs of the business firms. Focus on industry certifications for these career pathways.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
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Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
The lessons from boatbuilding
