Imagine producing a workforce that guarantees economic success

The Challenge

The research that we have done among Industry and higher education CEOs found that they were nearly unanimous in saying that most high school graduates are not college or career ready (Key Learning).  How can that be happening when the states’ Departments of Education (DoE) are showing strides in their educational outcomes?  How can there be such a completely different assessment of outcomes?  The answer is simple.  The attributes and skills being measured by DoE are not the critical skills and knowledge that industry and higher education need.

The Missing Student Skills & Attributes

Robot Design

The skills that are in demand from advanced manufacturing plants like Caterpillar, to the cutting edge medical research laboratories of WFU’s Institute for Regenerative Medicine, are largely the same with varying degrees of emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.The vast majority of employers are demanding that job candidates have:

• Experienced working in teams collaborating with people with diverse skills and talents
• Critical thinking and problem solving skills and can articulately present their findings
• Ability to learn from mistakes
• Experience as an innovator with an intense interest in finding creative solutions

The Need For Innovators

Innovation has always been the fuel that powered the American economy.  In the past, an elite group of “thinkers” were the source of the innovative ideas that drove our economy.  To remain competitive today, everyone in an organization needs to be an innovator and problem solver.  As corporate America’s needs fundamentally shifted, no one shared that need with the educators.  CEOs of industry and higher education are frustrated that their needs are not being met, but there is no established communications channel between the organizations and the educators. Thus, the wants and needs of the marketplace are fundamentally at odds with traditional teaching strategies.

The Urgent Need For A Solution

The businesses that thrived during the globalization of commerce are truly a case study in the survival of the fittest.  They quickly learned that being a company that is lean, nimble, responsive to changing market conditions and provides exceptional value are critical success factors.  Communities must match that behavior as well if they are to survive the challenges of the new millenium.

Jobs Are Returning To America In Large Numbers

The competition for the location of those jobs is fierce.  How do regions, counties and communities make the short list for consideration?

A survey of over 100 CEOs from industry and higher education from across the Piedmont Triad Region of North Carolina agree that world-class K-12 education is a powerful strategic advantage when recruiting companies and top talent to locate in the region.  In fact it may be the primary reason why a company chooses where to locate. Communities that provide world-class K-12 education will not only survive but they will also prosper.

MUST-Innov8 has a way to help you build your Path to Prosperity