A Future Workforce

According to the Brookings Institution (2004) and several other key economic and technology thinktanks, there is a notable skills gap occuring in the marketplace that is affecting businesses (especially businesses in the tech sector) in their ability to find skilled employees to fill entry & mid-level job openings. This session is designed to discuss and address these issues from a post-secondary and technical education perceptive. The first part of the session will deal with the “realm of the known” in terms of the skill gap. This will be followed by a few examples of solutions that can be performed at the local level. Finally, the discussion will turn to what professional can do to help.

Questions

Why is there a skills development gap between those applying for entry-level jobs and the requirements for those jobs?

Can internal company training programs alone “fix” the skills gap?

What can industry leaders do to help with the skills and knowledge gap?