Concerns From the Front Lines

A Disruption of Monumental Proportions

When I decided to apply and earn my Masters in Public Administration in 2008, I wanted to keep up my skills as a federal funds administrator. I have the greatest respect for the folks in our government that administer these programs that help our fellow citizens be successful. The need is great that there be the highest competency possible at the federal level, state and local levels to protect the taxpayer investment.

That is why with the lack of appointments by the current administration leaving over 500 positions unfilled in various departments, and the nominating of adversarial candidates to head the agencies they fought prior to their nominations is nothing short of an intent to commit treason by proxy. And to see the Republican Congress continue to go along with these nominations is very disheartening.

In addition, many long-time professionals in our government have elected to retire or leave because of the constant disrespect that is coming from the elected leadership on a daily basis. The Fox News echo chamber has debased our civility, spread countless lies, and convinced the general populace and our President of their truthfulness when they cannot substantiate most of their claims.

The continued dismissiveness of our long-time news media with the credibility of the New York Times and the Washington Post, PBS and NPR,  have undermined the very foundation of our Democracy and the Republic.

The proposed Tax Law that is being rushed through Congress will only exacerbate the divide in the country. It seems to be accepted that if the Congress gives huge tax cuts to the corporations and the wealthy 1%, then they will turn around and donate more to the Republican candidates. Let's face it, that is where the money will go. It will not go to new jobs and higher wages. The data is clear in that aspect. 

Senator John McCain was correct when he called for the "regular order" to be re-established and that a bi-partisan solution to the biggest problems facing this country is needed. Yet even he has capitulated in recent weeks to the oligarchical control of Mitch McConnell. It truly is hard to watch and not feel like any of the efforts we make in calling and writing our Congressional leaders is even being heard.

While the Alabama race is a hopeful sign, the Democratic Party is not awash in top-notch candidates either, and the Democratic House and Senate leadership must change if any progress can happen.

The Russian influence has been astounding on many levels. And the current leadership just dismisses it as "fake news". It is not. It is intentional and it is working to destroy what I once thought was not going to happen in my lifetime. It is happening. It is scary for those of us who rely on multiple credible sources for our information.

This country is at a pivotable point in our existence as a democracy. An Oligarchy has formed and is running the country and destroying 50 years of good work by various federal departments. One by one they are being dismantled. This is not good for America. Our government is not the "bad guy" as so often portrayed by the Congressional Republicans. We need quality leadership with moral values that are not dismissive of people coming forward with stories of sexual abuse. As the Catholic Church has learned about in their years of scandal. Cover up only lasts so long.

We need to reflect and begin to support candidates that have a centrist view, who is willing to collaborate and negotiate in the legislative process. But most of all, to change the current direction of the Congress and the President. It is time for all of us sensible people to stand up and vote for that change. If Alabama can do it, we all can do it.

Gordon Report Part 4

THE GORDON REPORT

from Imperial Consulting Corporation

KNOWLEDGE SHOCK Series Part 4: Parenting for the "Ah-Ha Moment"

Edna, a young Hispanic student in the High School Inc. program at Valley High School in Santa Ana, California, was filmed as she gave a presentation on a greeting card company started in her career education program. As the camera rolled, she related how how her student team worked with local volunteer professionals to successfully create and sell a new line of greeting cards. Her eyes brightened as she recounted the journey from the first day of class to meeting with mentors who encouraged her to strive to her full capacity and then her success in becoming the president of the new student-run company.

Then in the course of her narrative, Edna's voice cracked, overwhelmed by a surge of pride. As her eyes filled with tears and her fingers fluttered, she had the courage to raise her voice and tell the world, "I learned to do things I never thought I could do!"  Edna had just experienced an important "ah-ha" moment that would influence the rest of her life. She realized she had attained the important ability of "learning how to learn." It is an ability that is essential in today's job market. (Jack E. Oakes, Maximum Impact Education, Rowman & Littlefield 2015, p. 51)

Today's Job Market Requirements

Because workplaces are changing so rapidly due to globalization and information technology, lifelong learning is essential for continued employment and career advancement. Organizations need workers who can easily adapt and learn new skills as conditions and problems change. 

There is, however, a basic requirement for effective problem-solving - the ability to call upon previous learning in order to combine ideas and facts for a new solution. The July Gordon Report detailed the alarming low proficiency rates of U.S. elementary and high school students in reading and mathematics (for example, 25 percent of 12th graders proficient in math, 37 percent proficient in reading). Far too many American students have a poor educational foundation for success in higher education or the labor market. Survey after survey of American employers from large to small report that finding employees with requisite education and skill levels is their greatest problem. Respondents to a third-quarter 2017 Duke University/CFO Magazine survey not only reported finding IT workers and managers difficult, but even indicated having problems finding rank-and-file employees with basic writing and math skills.

There seems to be a growing hostility in American culture to raising educational standards in order to provide larger numbers of students and workers with more in-depth knowledge as well as the skills needed in 21st-century workplaces. This is because we have failed to clearly provide a coherent picture of what sustains our modern standard of living. It explains much of the public's hostility to overhauling the largely outdated 20th-century education-to-employment system. This system is similar to running a high-performance car on low-octane fuel! It is self-defeating for students/parents and workers/businesses.

Reforming the U.S. education-to-employment system needs to begin with stronger efforts to raise individual literacy, numeracy, and personal oral and written communications skills at the elementary and high school levels. Yet most parents seem to believe that their children's school is providing them with a good education. It is the schools in the inner city or in some other district or town that are deficient.

Schooling and education are not greatly esteemed in American popular culture. Too often they are not seen as contributing to success in work and life. If parents do not believe that doing well in school is important, neither will their children.

In fact, parents are the primary motivators of their children. Education is a shared responsibility between parents and the schools. A culture of learning begins in the home. 

Parents are rightly worried about their children's future. They can and should play a bigger part in preparing them for it - by fostering learning at home and supporting more school options that promote learning how to learn through focusing on the development of each student's aptitudes and interests. In a rapidly changing world, experiencing the "ah-ha moment" that inspires confidence in one's ability to keep on learning is of vital importance.

Edward E. Gordon is the president and founder of Imperial Consulting Corporation www.imperialcorp.com. His book, Future Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis, won an 2015 Independent Publishers award.

Published with the permission of the author.

Tiny Houses - An answer to the chroniclly homeless?

There is a movement afoot to build what are called "Tiny Houses" that are 160 sq. ft to 500 sq. ft that are efficient and cost effective ways to reduce clutter and unnecessary accumulation of "stuff". These mostly younger couples are looking for a way to enter the housing market at a low cost. Many of these tiny houses are on a trailer bed so they can be portable when jobs end or change. You get a new job 300 miles away and you pick up your house an move it to a new location close to work.
Tallahassee has a proposed "Tiny House" development that has been proposed. I can tell you that from a community standpoint, this is a great and effective way to pull people out of supportive housing (we pay as taxpayers) and into a home environment that is equipt with all the necessities including an address and some sort of ownership. This is a key foundation that allows people in these homes to secure a permanent job and have a permanent residence that they can call home.

Back in the early 1900's, businesses like Pullman ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullman,_Chicago) actually built the town for their workers. Pullman found that if someone owns a home they are much less likely to want to change jobs and move. I know my last move cost over $11,000 in moving expenses not to mention selling expenses of $16,000. Moving is a cost to be considered when a job change is offered.

Home ownership for those without the experience of owning a home has its challenges. As we look around Tallahassee, we see manicured lawns all the way to naturalized settings. By setting up a neighborhood of tiny houses, there can be shared spaces designed to give the residents amenities for their families and at the same time dignity of having your own space to live and sleep. Shelters like the Kearney Center, provide structure and services to begin the road to self-sufficiency. CareerSource Capital Region (CSCR) is providing a career counselor at the Kearney Center weekly to serve that population and help them find employment. There are Veterans and people with degrees and certifications in this cohort. Some lost jobs awhile ago and have not been able to re-enter the job market with their current skills. That is where CSCR comes in and assesses the skill gap and provides tuition dollars to return to a productive career.

As the CEO of CSCR, I fully support the effort to provide families a low cost alternative to owning a large house, and to make investing in their home something that builds equity and a chance to move into a larger home some day down the road if they want to or need to. 

Jim is the CEO of CareerSource Capital Region and chairman of the Big Bend Continuum of Care Council serving eight counties in Florida. We are working to end homelessness in the region.

Gordon Report July 2017

THE GORDON REPORT

from Imperial Consulting Corporation

KNOWLEDGE SHOCK Series Part 2: Education & the Labor Market Out of Sync

The 2017 film "Hidden Figures" focuses on three intelligent African-American women who were hired by NASA due to their advanced mathematical attainments. Although they experienced race and gender discrimination there, their knowledge of higher mathematics and ability to apply this knowledge to new technologies gradually earned them both the respect of the co-workers and career advancement. They are among the unsung heroes of the U.S. space race.

What was the secret to their success? With the help of their parents, they overcame significant obstacles to find the education that fostered their innate mathematical talents, and in the course of their education, they mastered the essential skill of "learning how to learn."

Technology has advanced enormously since that of the 1960s depicted in "Hidden Figures," and it has further increased the importance of obtaining a good education. All students need to gain basic foundations in reading and mathematics that enable them to successfully pursue further learning. Secondly, they must seek information on professions or occupations suited to their innate talents and pursue educational programs that prepare them for employment in their chosen field.

KNOWLEDGE SHOCK and Education Today

Over the past four decades, technology has raised the education bar for occupations paying a middle-class wage. The 1970s saw the introduction of personal computers (PCs) in homes and businesses across the United States. At that time 66 percent of all jobs required a high school education or less, and 33 percent required some type of post-secondary education. Today the U.S. labor market has been turned upside down by the spread of advanced technology in workplaces. Two-thirds of occupations now require post-secondary education, while a high school education or less is sufficient for only one-third of jobs. The current K-12 school system lags far behind the rate of change in the U.S. labor economy.

America's failure to grow a larger knowledge workforce has been evident for several decades. Today because America's education system is so drastically out of sync with the demands of a technology-driven economy, the United States in now facing KNOWLEDGE SHOCK.

The U.S. Department of Education conducts a nation-wide testing testing program, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which administers exams to students in Grades 4, 8, and 12 generally every two years. The results issued in the Nation's Report Card are nothing short of alarming. In 2015, the last year for which scores are available, only 37 percent of 12th graders were proficient in reading, and the results were only slightly higher at the other grade levels. In mathematics only 25 percent of 12th graders tested at proficient or above, while 4th graders reached 40 percent and 8th graders 33 percent. Moreover since 1992 when NAEP testing began, 12th graders have declined 5 points in reading and have stayed at the same level in math.

The NAEP scores are not alone in indicating that a significant proportion of U.S.students do not have educational foundations that will equip them for success in higher education or today's labor market. About 68 percent of American high school students seek college admission. Most take either the  SAT or ACT exams that are designed to assess the college readiness of students. Not surprisingly between 1970 and 2017 overall test scores on these exams have declined. Only about one-third of today's students who begin a post-secondary program will complete a degree or certificate program.

There is no magic bullet or quick fix for solving this. Many facets of the U.S. education-to-employment system need major overhauls starting with concerted efforts to boost literacy and numeracy in K-12 education. They are foundation stones for learning how to learn. Because workplaces are changing so rapidly due to globalization and information technology, lifelong learning is essential for continued employment and career advancement. As Alvin Toffler cogently stated: "The illiterate of the future are not those that cannot read or write. They are those that cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."

Major educational reform is also needed in career information and preparation programs. Much of the problem stems from the isolation of the education community from employment sectors in their area. Career exploration should begin in elementary school so students can learn about career opportunities in their region that match their interests and skills. However, the NAEP data indicate that it is particularly at the high school level that American students fail to gain ground. A lack of  motivation seems a particular problem, as many students do not see the relevance of what they are learning to their future endeavors.

To address this problem, more than 2,000 career academy high schools are not operating nationwide, with more to come. These academy high schools enable student to see the practical applications of their studies to a field in which they have an interest. Career academies aim to improve student performance, raise high-school graduation rates, and increase enrollment in appropriate post-secondary programs including those awarding four- or two-year degrees, or certificate or apprenticeship options.

A notable example of a successful carer academy model is located in Santa Ana, California. High School Inc. was formed ten years ago within a public school, Valley High School. It began with only 90 students enrolled in six careers academies: culinary arts and hospitality, health care; automobile logistics and transportation; new media; global business; and engineering, manufacturing and construction. In 2014 and 2015 comparisons, students who were in High School Inc. for at least two years had a 5.8 percent higher graduation rate than Valley High School students who were not in one of the academies. In a comparison of student with less than a 3.0 GPA, the High School Inc. graduation rate was 12.2 percent higher. Over the past seven year, the graduation rate of Valley High School has increased 18.9 percent to 88.9 percent which is 5.7 percent higher than the average graduation rate of the state of California. In the next academic year, all of Valley High School's 2,230 students will enroll in on the the High School Inc. academies. These results are especially remarkable in view of the fact that Santa Ana is a working-class community with a large Latino population, thus making English-language proficiency a significant problem.

To be successful, career academies must involve local businesses and organizations in a a wide variety of cooperative activities, such as working with educators on relevant curriculums and keeping them up-to-date, providing equipment, and sponsoring internships. High School Inc. is a unique collaboration of the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce, the High School Inc. Foundation to which local businesses and other organizations contribute, and the Santa Ana United School District.

Cross-sector partnerships like High School Inc. are based on the "RETAIN" model as previously discussed in the Gordon Reports. RETAINs are a way for local schools, businesses, unions, and community organizations to break out of their silos and work together in advancing the prosperity of a region or community. As a June 2017 Brookings report states, "Local leaders are on the front lines of connecting job seekers to employment opportunities and are often best-positioned to address local labor market realities."

Focusing on Current Unemployment

The June unemployment rate reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics was 4.4 percent. However, the level of long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) continues to remain higher than levels of the past 30 years. 

Jobs vacancies were also higher, reaching an estimated 8.6 million nationwide. Yet over 34 million Americans aged 16 to 55 have given up looking for work. If they were included in the unemployment calculations, the rate would be a more accurate 18.1 percent. Many of these disengaged workers were a key voting bloc for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election.

We are witnessing the continued downward spiral of America's education-to-employment system that is so vital to increasing the nation's supply of talent. Wages will rise as employers chase a dwindling supply of skilled workers. The U.S. economy may also contract as employers turn to other countries that have been more successful at creating a better educated, 21st-century workforce.

The structural and systemic meltdown of the U.S. labor cannot be solved by monetary policy alone. Nor will it be solved by a national industrial policy. The current unemployment statistics reinforce the urgency of addressing KNOWLEDGE SHOCK through greatly expanding education reforms based on the cooperative RETAIN model. RETAINS offer viable regional solutions that can help rebuild our education-to-employment pipeline, improve the skills of the American workforce, and increase future productivity, performance, and profits.

Edward E. Gordon is president and founder of Imperial Consulting Corporation (www.imperialcorp.com). His book, Future Jobs: Solving the Employment and Skills Crisis, is a 2015 Independent Publishers Award winner.