Sunday, April 11, 2010

Are You Looking Beyond the Veil of the Recession?

As community colleges showcase their adaptive, resilient spirit in response to the current economic crisis, its leaders must be mindful of the projected deficits in human capital that existed before the downturn. The interplay between America’s declining international share of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) graduates, poor student achievement by a growing minority population, and the age of the existing workforce continue to form a perfect storm requiring leaders to take a forward-looking approach to helping America secure a sustainable economic recovery.

At the dawn of the 21st Century, one had to be hiding under a rock to miss the well-researched refrains of many thought leaders across the nation. How will America increase is production of STEM graduates to keep pace with the rest of the world? How will America address the large gaps in literacy and numeracy for minorities – the fastest growing college population? How will America replace large numbers of baby boomers set to retire in the coming years? Many of these issues were profiled in 2008 Compete 2.0 publication, Thrive: The Skills Imperative.

Unfortunately, the current fixation on the Great Recession has caused leaders to take a hear-and-now approach driven by budget cuts and worker retraining investments. Thanks to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and its recent three-part series, Can St. Louis Compete, those of us in St. Louis were reminded of important workforce issues deemed critical before the recession: the age of the existing workforce; the immigration debate; the need to grow and retain our own talent, etc. Are these still issues still important to our economic future? Are you looking beyond the veil of the recession?