All right, we know there is a great disconnect with high unemployment while thousands of skilled jobs go unfilled due to a lack of qualified applicants. But just how bad is it?

A new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute answers that with a "pretty bad." Here’s a short analysis from the State Science & Technology Institute and a link to the 16-page report.

American manufacturing companies cannot fill as many as 600,000 skilled positions — even as unemployment numbers hover at historic levels — according to Boiling Point? The Skills Gap in U.S. Manufacturing, a new report from Deloitte and the Manufacturing Institute. This annual skills report provides a stark snapshot of the manufacturing sector’s inability to find qualified workers. Approximately 67% of survey respondents attribute the unfilled positions to a shortage of available, qualified workers. Unfilled jobs are mainly in the skilled production category positions (e.g., machinists, operators, craft workers, distributors and technicians).

The report also indicates that this shortage has an impact on the overall competitiveness of the U.S. manufacturing sector. Approximately 64% of respondents report that workforce shortages or skills deficiencies in production roles are having a significant impact on their ability to expand operations or improve productivity.

To resolve these issues long-term, the U.S. must focus on the next generation by developing a skilled workforce that goes beyond the required skills (i.e., a solid math and science base). Respondents indicated that high schools should focus on strengthening students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills.

Anytime we talk about this topic, I have to mention Ready Indiana, the Indiana Chamber’s workforce initiative, and its role in helping connect companies and employees with needed training resources.

I’ve been with the Indiana Chamber for just over a year now and in that time I’ve gotten to write about many of the Chamber’s initiatives and programs. The more I learn, the more fascinating I find the work they do for the state of Indiana. One that has really been catching my attention lately is Ready Indiana, the Chamber’s workforce education initiative.

In fact, I think of Ready Indiana every time I see anything about the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement.

I know it doesn’t seem these two have a common link, but hear me out. I’ve been reading through various news articles and posts on Facebook and talking to what supporters I can find to try and figure out what exactly the OWS group is upset about (still haven’t found one actual common theme – to me it just seems that everyone who is angry about anything has backed this movement).

One of the gripes I’ve seen most often, however, has been about the fact that college students are graduating with major amounts of debt to enter a job market without well-paying jobs. Another facet of the movement is upset about the fact that the older generation doesn’t have the skills for the new jobs that are being created, or the money to go out and get the necessary education.

These two points are where Ready Indiana (and any other workforce development or education initiative across the nation) comes in – opportunities do exist for the experienced workers and those who are right out of school. Below are just a few examples.

On the Ready Indiana web site, www.readyindiana.org, there’s a long list of middle-skills jobs that Indiana can’t do without (computer support specialists, nurses, fire fighters, police officers, lab technicians, heavy truck drivers, and many more). The list includes the number of job openings in each field and the median earnings for 2009 – the lowest median earning on that list is $33,407; the highest is $67,280.

These middle-skill jobs require more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year degree. Employers, community colleges, private career schools and apprenticeship programs offer the necessary training and skills for these careers. High schools are also beginning to offer more technical courses so that students don’t have to graduate and venture into the job market with huge debt.

To combat the workforce skills gap, Ready Indiana recently announced a partnership with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC), which will allow employers to train their current and even prospective employees in-house through a nationally-recognized training program for manufacturing and logistics. On-the-job training grants are available, and the completed certification is also good for six credits to Ivy Tech Community College.

There are jobs available – in fact, a common complaint by employers is that they cannot find qualified workers to fill their many open positions. This BizVoice® story that appeared in the July-August edition features Westfield Steel and is a good example of Hoosier employers practically begging for qualified applicants.

These are just a few small hints into what is available to Hoosiers who are willing to do the research and find existing job opportunities. Personal responsibility is an important key to finding employment, whether you’re fresh out of school or making a comeback into the workforce.

Protesting might get your anger or frustrations out, but it doesn’t give you an income, access to health insurance or a sense of security. Utilizing resources like Ready Indiana and the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, however, can lead to those important measures.
 

Contrary to the rhetoric that education choice proponents are out to harm traditional public schools, one of the clearly stated goals is for additional options to spark improvement in the public system. Whether the competition is public or private, the prospect of losing students should be an incentive to change — and improve.

The Cato Institute looks at Ohio’s EdChoice program and whether it has had that desired effect. The Fordham Institute, active in Ohio as a charter school organizer, reviews the Cato report below. The lengthy report from Cato focuses on data.

Rigorous school-voucher studies abound, with most research measuring the achievement effects of vouchers for students who use them. This study by CATO’s Matthew Carr — the first of its kind to investigate Ohio’s EdChoice Scholarship program — takes a different tack. It examines whether traditional public schools are spurred to improve in the face of a threat of losing students to private schools—if competition itself “creates incentives for systemic improvements.”

To test this, Carr analyzed fourth- and sixth-grade reading and math achievement data on low-performing EdChoice-eligible schools over three academic years (2005-06, 2006-07, and 2007-08). The results were mixed. While fourth-grade math and sixth-grade math and reading scores remained the same, Carr found the voucher threat correlated with significant achievement gains in fourth-grade reading (the equivalent of 2,200 extra students reaching proficiency). What’s most significant about this finding is that Carr’s analysis controls for (among other things) the “scarlet letter” effect—i.e., did schools improve not because of the voucher threat but rather because of the stigma associated with receiving a highly publicized poor rating from the state? 

Further, while fourth-grade reading gains were significant, they didn’t come from the “bubble kids” — those just below the proficiency cut-off; rather, students in the lowest and highest performing categories made gains. Though its findings don’t constitute a grand slam for voucher proponents, the report is welcome — especially as EdChoice adds another 15,000 students to its eligible roster. 

Butler University is hosting a workshop on values-based leadership Oct. 21. Here is the agenda for the event, and you can register here:

The topic of Values-based Leadership is one that by its nature invites personal reflection as well as an exploration of values and culture in the broader organization. This day-long workshop will provide opportunities for active discussion, stimulating presentations and observation of The Butler Way at work during basketball practice. This highly interactive day will include the following:

• Welcome by Butler’s incoming President, James Danko. President Danko has a strong personal and professional interest in values-based Leadership.
• Facilitated table discussions regarding leadership values. This will include self-reflection as well as guided discussions of team and organization values and culture that impact performance.
• Discussion of our core values and beliefs as leaders.
• A summary of leadership research and its impact on organization performance.
• A framework for values-based Leadership, organization values, culture and performance.
• Real world examples of values-based Leadership including a local business example.
• The roots and evolution of The Butler Way: it encompasses more than basketball.
• The Butler Way at work in the University’s sports programs, especially basketball.
• The opportunity to watch the men’s basketball team in a live practice session.

The following is a guest post from Dottie L. King, Ph.D., president of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College:

At Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC), we affirm that a women’s college is more than relevant today. In this single-gender environment, the lines are purposefully blurred between college preparation and preparation for life making a women’s college a wise and practical choice.
 
According to the Women’s College Coalition, graduates of women’s colleges tend to hold higher positions in careers and obtain a larger percentage of advanced degrees than women who attended coeducational schools. Because women’s colleges emphasize individual thought and student leadership, graduates have higher self-esteem, confidence and aspirations that make these outcomes possible.
 
Opportunities at SMWC for the development of leadership skills in and out of the classroom are limitless, preparing students for the wide range of responsibilities they will undertake long after graduation. Our female students fill all student leadership roles on campus. They lead classroom discussions, student government, laboratory experiments and community-based initiatives. Having consistent access to a wide variety of successful female role models of faculty, administrators and alumnae tends to increase the aspirations and career achievements of female college students. 
 
Additionally, student participation in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) is also a place where SMWC and many other women’s colleges excel.

In 2010, the American Association of University Women issued a report titled “Why So Few?” detailing women’s under representation in the STEM fields.  If girls grow up in an environment that cultivates their success in science and math, they are more likely to develop their skills as well as their confidence and consider a future in a STEM field.

We strongly agree that learning environment influences an individual’s mindset and that is one of the reasons we believe that a women’s college is an intelligent and rational choice for those who seek a supportive growth environment.
 
The results of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and the Women’s College Coalition indicate students who attend a women’s college are:

1. enrolled in the traditionally-male disciplines of math, science, and engineering in higher percentages
2. more likely to experience high levels of academic challenge
3. promote a multifaceted understanding of diversity
4. engaged to a higher degree in active and collaborative learning
5. experiencing frequent and extensive interaction with faculty
6. participating in activities that integrate their classroom and outside of classroom experiences more than their counterparts at coeducational institutions
7. reporting greater gains of self-confidence and self-understanding, and
8. more likely to graduate and more than twice as likely as female graduates of coeducational institutions to earn doctoral degrees. 

In our 171-year tradition of commitment to the education of women in our campus program at SMWC, graduating students must be proficient critical thinkers and effective communicators. We want students to conceptualize, apply concepts, analyze, synthesize and evaluate as the preliminary to reaching to a conclusion or a judgment.
 
We strive for our students to learn about the integrity of personal power through the friction of intellectual discovery and accomplishment. Our goal also is to inspire our students to examine issues and events from ethical and spiritual perspectives. It is not our role to tell them what to think or what informed opinion to advocate, but it is our responsibility to provide an environment in which they can explore analytical skills from multiple perspectives.
 
So, yes, we are extremely proud of the role of women’s colleges and SMWC. Specifically, we demonstrate our ability to remain true to our mission while evolving in response to an ever-changing society. For those who seek a progressive learning environment with the maximum potential to fully develop their spiritual, intellectual and leadership abilities, we confidently suggest that a women’s college, such as SMWC, is a vibrant, powerful and providential choice.

Good news for the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI, and its efforts to educate tomorrow’s leaders about renewable energy. Westcommonline explains the school is the only one in the state to be selected to take part in the Department of Education industrial efficiency training program:

Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced today that the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI has been selected to receive a $1.3 million Department of Energy award to train undergraduate- and graduate-level engineering students in manufacturing efficiency to help them become the nation’s next generation of industrial energy efficiency experts. The award will help the university provide practical training on core energy management concepts through the DOE’s Industrial Assessment Center Program. IUPUI is the only university in Indiana selected to receive this award.

“This industrial efficiency training program opens the door to good jobs in a growing, global sector for thousands of energy-savvy students while promoting real, boots-on-the-ground progress toward our transition to a clean energy economy,” said Secretary Chu. “The Centers will provide a boost to the next-generation of American workers as well as to the businesses with which they work.”

Through these university-based Industrial Assessment Centers, engineering students will receive extensive training in industrial processes, energy assessment procedures and energy management principles, which will be put to use working directly with small and medium-sized industrial and manufacturing facilities in the surrounding communities. Under the program, the School of Engineering and Technology will train at least 10 to 15 students per year, conduct approximately 20 energy assessments annually and perform extensive follow-on reporting, tracking, implementation, and management-improvement activities.

“The Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI is making significant investments in energy engineering education and research,” said Dr. David J. Russomanno, Dean of the School. “Our new B.S. degree in energy engineering, recent additions of experienced faculty members and our Richard G. Lugar Center for Renewable Energy are investments that will enable us to significantly contribute to the goals of the DOE’s Industrial Assessment Center program.”

The School will be utilizing the resources of its energy engineering experts and the Lugar Center for Renewable Energy to form industry partnerships in the Indianapolis community. These partnerships will lead to increased research and scholarship support for undergraduate and graduate students.

John Stossel writes that "while most every other service in life has gotten better, faster and cheaper, one of the most important things we buy — education — has remained completely stagnant, unchanged since we started measuring it in 1970."

Stossel goes on to convincingly state the case, including offering that unions are a big part of the problem. Judge for yourself with these comments:

When the Washington Post asked George Parker, when he headed the Washington, DC teachers union, why he fought a voucher program that let some kids escape failing government schools, he said, "As kids continue leaving the system, we will lose teachers. Our very survival depends on having kids in DC schools so we’ll have teachers to represent."

Albert Shanker, the teachers’ union president who, years ago, first turned teachers unions into a national political force, was even more honest. Shanker callously said, "When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children."

I told you Stossel did a good job.