Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by cmn32480 on Friday August 25 2017, @03:18PM   Printer-friendly
from the do-we-need-a-bridge dept.

The idea that American workers are being left in the dust because they lack technological savvy does not stand up to scrutiny. Our focus should be on coordination and communication between workers and employers.

Technology enthusiasts and entrepreneurs are among the loudest voices declaiming this conventional wisdom (see "The Hunt for Qualified Workers").

Two recent developments have heightened debate over the idea of a "skills gap": an unemployment rate below 5 percent, and the growing fear that automation will render less-skilled workers permanently unemployable.

Proponents of the idea tell an intuitively appealing story: information technology has hit American firms like a whirlwind, intensifying demand for technical skills and leaving unprepared American workers in the dust. The mismatch between high employer requirements and low employee skills leads to bad outcomes such as high unemployment and slow economic growth.

The problem is, when we look closely at the data, this story doesn't match the facts. What's more, this view of the nation's economic challenges distracts us from more productive ways of thinking about skills and economic growth while promoting unproductive hand-wringing and a blinkered focus on only the supply side of the labor market—that is, the workers.

https://www.technologyreview.com/s/608707/the-myth-of-the-skills-gap/

What do you think, is there a shortage of skilled workers ??


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Friday August 25 2017, @08:43PM

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Friday August 25 2017, @08:43PM (#559108)

    Having a roof over your head and a bed to sleep in is "middle class lifestyle" now? That's sad.

    See, there's that entitlement mentality I was talking about. You should be happy to be getting enough to pay off your loans in 20 years and to eat and afford a Y membership for showering. You'll also have enough money to afford a computer which you can use to keep your tech skills sharp, so you can provide more value to your employer, so your CEO can afford a bigger yacht so his family can enjoy nicer vacations. Stop being so selfish and thinking about yourself all the time, and think more about what you can do for your company and your CEO.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2