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Has The US Lost Its Employment Edge?
Dream Career
News
by Kent Johnson
http://www.careeradrenaline.com
Issue: Mar 15, 2006
Number of Subscribers: 1320
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Has the US Lost Its Career
Edge?
Hello all --
I’m old enough to remember
when the US was the envy of the
world when it came to leadership
in science and technology.
We were the country that invented the
light bulb, the
microchip, and landed the first men on the moon.
It seemed
like there wasn’t anything the US couldn’t do if the
country
set it’s mind to it.
But now that may be changing.
I came across a report
recently that indicated that not only was
the United States
no longer the leader for many science and
technology career
fields, it had actually fallen behind many
other countries.
And many other careers seemed to be
In
the report mentioned above, almost half of all human
resource
professionals polled in a recent survey reported
that US workers
lack basic skills and competence. This has
led to more and more
US companies to hire non-US residents,
or outsource more of their
work than in the past.
Human resource professionals who
responded to the Society
for Human Resource Management survey
cited a lack of
analytical skills, business knowledge, written
and verbal
communication, and overall professionalism in new
employees
hitting the job market.
There seems to be an
acute shortage of qualified candidates
in science and technology
fields. More than 25 percent of
survey respondents said they
couldn't fill critical
positions that required degrees in
technology, science,
mathematics and engineering. To meet their
needs, many
companies are offering undergraduate educational
assistance,
job-related skills training, internships, and
graduate
educational assistance.
Now this might seem like
grim news to many, and it's
certainly doesn't paint a bright
future for the US overall.
But it could also be an opportunity
for those who do get
their degree in one of these areas, and take
the time to
develop their job and communications skills.
And if you already have a good degree, or don’t want to
spend the
time and money to earn one, you can still brush up
on your job
skills. If you’re not the best communicator,
consider a speech
class or join Toastmasters International.
If you don’t write
well, take an online writing course. And
working on your
professionalism doesn’t require a degree –
it just takes the
right attitude (and maybe an updated
wardrobe).
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Copyright (c) 2006 by Kent
Johnson
Author, publisher, career coach
"Helping people
realize their dreams one career at a time."
Searching for your
dream career? Visit the popular
http://www.careeradrenaline.com
for more info
==========================
Questions or comments about this publication? Email me at
mailto:editor@careeradrenaline.com to let me know how we're doing,
or what you'd like to see in the next issue.
For more on this
topic, see the Dream Career and Career
Insperation sections.
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