Conferences

National Institute for Literacy -- Workforce Education

The education and training requirements of the 2000-2010 projected total job openings, due to growth and net replacement are:

• 69.8% of jobs will require work-related training. (42.7% short-term, on-the-job; 15.1% moderate on-the-job training; 6.5% long-term on-the-job training;
  5.55% work experience in a related occupation)
• 20.9% will require a bachelor's degree or higher
• 9.3% will require an associate's degree or postsecondary vocational award

Source: Occupational Employment Projections to 2010
http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2001/11/art4full.pdf

Small Business Owners

Small business owners in the Voices from Main Street: Assessing the State of Small
Business Workforce Skills (2003), thought that the following skills were very important:

• 86%: verbal communication skills
• 77%: interpersonal skills
• 62%: math skills
• 59%: written communication
• 52%: basic business skills
• 46%: financial accounting
• 43%: mechanical ability
• 41%: computer skills
• 18%: Internet knowledge
• 18%: science

Source: American Express Small Business Services
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/workforce.html

National Association of Manufacturers

The National Association of Manufacturers 2001 members' survey asked employers about the most serious skill deficiencies of current hourly production employees. They found that:

• 59.1% of employers cited poor basic employability skills (including attendance, timeliness, work ethic, etc. )
• 32.4% poor reading and writing skills
• 26.2% inadequate math skills
• 25.0% an inability to communicate
• 23.7% poor English language skills
• 22.1% an inability to read and translate drawings, diagrams, flow charts
• 22.0% an inability to work in a team environment
• 12.3% poor computer and technical skills

Source: The Skills Gap 2001: Manufacturers Confront Persistent Skills Shortages in Uncertain Economy. National Association of Manufacturers
http://www.nifl.gov/nifl/facts/workforce.html

American Management Association

The 2001 American Management Association (AMA) Survey on Workplace Testing found the following:

• 11% of respondent firms tested all job applicants in math skills
  38% of respondent firms tested some job applicants in math skills
• 14% of respondent firms tested all job applicants for literacy skills
  35% of respondent firms tested some job applicants for literacy skills
• 41% of respondent firms tested some job applicants for basic skills
• 34.1% of applicants tested by respondent firms lacked the skills necessary
  to perform the jobs they sought
• 84.6% of the respondent firms did not hire skill-deficient applicants
• 3.5% hired skill-deficient applicants and assigned them to obligatory remedial training
• 3.0% hired them and offered voluntary remedial training
• 8.2% took other action

Source: American Management Association.
http://www.amanet.org/research/pdfs/bjp_2001.pdf

Educational Technology Fact Sheet

• 99 percent of schools and 92 percent of classrooms are connected to the Internet
• On average, 94 percent of schools are connected to broadband Internet access.
• 95 percent of the lowest-income schools are connected to broadband Internet access.
• In 2002, 8 percent of public schools lent laptop computers to students.
  Schools in rural areas (11 percent) were more likely than city schools (6 percent) and urban fringe schools (6 percent) to lend laptops.
• In 2002, 7 percent of public schools provided a handheld computer to students or teachers. Schools in rural areas (10 percent) were more likely than city schools (5 percent) and urban fringe schools (6 percent) to provide them.
• 23 percent of K-12 schools are using wireless.
• 56 percent of 2- and 4-year degree-granting institutions offer distance education
  courses, with 90 percent of public institutions offering distance education courses.
• 12 states have established online high school programs and five others are developing them, 25 states allow for the creation of so-called cyber charter schools, and 32 states have e-learning initiatives under way.
• 40,000 to 50,000 K-12 students will have enrolled in an online course by the end of
  the 2001-02 school year.
• The gender divide in computer use has been essentially eliminated, as there is no,
  overall difference between boys and girls in overall use of computers. Girls however are slightly more likely than boys to use home computers for e-mail, word processing and completing school assignments than playing games.

Source: Educational Technology Fact Sheet, U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/facts.html


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