To ensure that this country holds on to its way of life and remains
competitive in the world marketplace, we must prepare workers for 21st- century jobs. Read why Senator Tom Harkin (IA) thinks community colleges must be at the forefront of this new workforce in the November Leadership Abstracts.
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** To view the web version of this abstract, in printer friendly layout, go to https://www.league.org/publication/abstracts/leadership/labs1103.htm ** __________________________________________________________
Chapter One
Community Colleges and Workforce Investment: A Necessary Partnership
Senator Tom Harkin
In a recent report published by the Aspen Institute titled “Grow Faster
Together. Or Grow Slowly Apart. How Will America Work in the 21st Century?, ” the United States is given a dramatic wake-up call about a major crisis of the American workforce. This crisis arises from a worker gap, a skills gap, and a wage gap that, if not properly addressed, will threaten U.S. competitiveness and indeed our very way of life.
Aspen’s findings in this report are consistent with numerous other national studies that have found the overall skill levels of American workers on a collision course with the skill requirements of American employers. Hundreds of thousands of workers are either unable to find employment or are working in low-skill, low-wage jobs, while employers are begging for but cannot find skilled workers. The situation is devastating and totally unacceptable. Yet it continues to fester, in part because of increasing skill needs of U.S. employers combined with the changing demographics of our workforce.
(Continued in attached)
Dr. Susan Salvador
Office for Student Services
11/14/2003 |