Workforce Development - A Good Investment?

The Gulf Coast Workforce Development Program

The Business Roundtable, in partnership with federal, state and local government agencies, businesses, community organizations and construction trade groups and associations, has launched has undertaken an unprecedented Gulf Coast Workforce Development Initiative, an effort to recruit and train up to 20,000 skilled construction laborers for the Gulf Coast region by the end of 2009.

This essential effort is recrafting many of the traditional approaches to building the workforce of tomorrow.  Are any of the readers of this blog involved with this historic undertaking?

Who's responsibility is personal development?

An article I read on George Franks' blog entitled "Summer Time is Personal Development Time" reminded me that personal development is not something that is done TO us, but rather, something we do for ourselves, and sometimes, if we work with an "enlightened" organization, we obtain support and assistance in our undertaking of personal and professional development.

What say readers?  Where do you weigh in on this?

There is Nothing Soft About Soft Skills

Leadernotes provides a well thought through discussion on the importance of "soft skills" in the development of people.  In my experience, technical skills and financial skills seem to get developed as the needs of the situation require, but leadership and high-performance team functioninfg requires increased attention to the softskills area

2006 Workforce Forecast

The latest 2006 report on the US Workforce has been published by SHRM.

How NOT to treat your employees

Diane Pfadenhauer of EP Advisors an employment law firm, has an excellent site on how NOT to treat your employees.

A shortage of 1 million skilled workers

The Construction industry is facing a potential shortage of 1 million more skilled workers by 2012, according to an article published by Kelly Knott, “The Construction Legislative Week in Review,” AGC,
Volume 2, Issue 24, July 7, 2005.

Where are these new skilled workers going to come from?

Elements of the Skilled Labor Shortage

According to "The labor force is changing, but is the workplace?" a July 2006 report of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) (www.shrm.org) there are many elements presented that are contributors to this shortage.  The report lists 10 key points:

1. the aging workforce,
2. demographic shifts leading to a shortage of skilled workers,
3. growth in number of employees with both eldercare and childcare responsibilities,
4. increase in the age individuals choose to retire
5. generational issues,
6. changing family patterns,
7. high rates of immigration,
8. increase in the number of women in professional and managerial roles,
9. increase in the number of individuals with disabilities in the workforce,
   
10. growth in religious diversity, and
    
11. the rise of singles as a significant demographic group and couples without children as a significant demographic group

Mission of this blog

This blog is focused on addressing practical ways to address the worsening skilled labor shortage in todays business marketplace. Through this medium I hope to provide participants a better understand the dynamics of the 21st Century labor market, and discuss the challenges and realities of finding skilled workers today. Additionally I hope to engage in vigorous dialog about how to transform managers and supervisors into tomorrows leaders, and look at the process of hiring and promote the right people so it can happen the right way the first time. Finally I hope to investigate ways to enhance the technical and managerial skills of the existing workforce, and look at approaches that seem to working for companies with respect to programs that can be established with educational resources, professional associations, government agencies and community organizations.