There is a United States skills and workforce shortage that makes it difficult for manufacturing to return to the US. From technical to leadership team development skills, the US has taken a back seat to other developed countries.
Successful workforce training models from other countries can narrow the skills gap. But other cost effective training is also available for leaders who must accomplish work through teams. The 6 Principles That Build High Performance Teams workshop and system is one example of a program currently available in the US.
While many experts have focused on the importance of educational institutions and policymakers in tackling the issue, CEOs must take a greater leadership role along with HR transformation functions so that workforce development meets production needs. For managers who must accomplish work through teams, this is critical.
According to the Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce, 80 percent of middle skills jobs require one year of training or less and nearly 44 percent of middle skills jobs require less than three months of training. This report argues that businesses and institutions of higher education must work together to reclaim 100 million missing years of education among American workers.
So what might an actionable plan look like?
- Accomplishing work through teams is not a passing fad. There are viable systems in place now that allow leaders to track and measure the team development process;
- Low functioning teams can be improved with a reliable system that catalyzes employee commitment for improved team behavior, clarity of mission and task accomplishment;
- Senior executives must reexamine the notion of workforce development, reinventing how they invest hundreds of billions of dollars in their workers’ education;
- Senior executives must integrate the skills shortfall through a new integration of education and real work requirements;
- Boards of Directors should create drives for the creation of a new generation of C-Suite leadership around skills development;
- Corporate problem solving teams should compare notes through ASTD or similar organizations to collaborate on talent acquisition and retention best practices that can guide corporate action in this area.
All too often business leaders talk about the nation’s skills shortage as though it were a public policy problem. In reality it’s a challenge for CEOs to realize that allowing a persistent skills shortage to continue is no less serious than any other aspect of corporate strategy.
Copyright TIGERS Success Series, Inc.
