Sunday, June 26, 2005
Here's an interesting story out of Arizona. Teachers and business leaders are collaborating to improve the communication between business and then secondary educators. Teachers are learning what companies look for when they hire new employees. They're also learning the practical skills that students need on-the-job.
These types of collaborations appear to be small steps, but they can have significant impacts over the long term. Read more.
One of the major challenges facing regions today involves bridging the communications gap between educators and business managers. The problem has a number of different dimensions. On one level, business people and educators often do not speak the same language when it comes to education. Educators think in terms of graduation requirements, while business people think in terms of hard and soft skills.
At the same time, cultural differences can arise in many cases. Educators are often unfamiliar with business settings and how businesses operate. Business managers often do not understand the pressures that educators are under with new state and federal requirements. Practical collaborations between business and educators help bridge the gaps.
posted by Ed Morrison |
links
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.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
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.
Bridging the gaps between business and education
