Workforce Readiness The Nebraska Workforce Readiness Purpose Workforce Readiness includes the preparation of a qualified workforce through the public schools, vocational and technical colleges, adult education opportunities, remedial employee training, and continuing professional development. Such efforts mandate collaboration between business / industry, local state, and national government, educators, and the local community. Workforce Readiness Program Involvement: Junior Achievement Worldwide is the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. o http://www.ja.org/ Job Shadow is a year-round effort to introduce young people to the world of work through job shadowing experiences. The purpose of this site is to provide useful information and resources that will help you have a successful job shadowing effort! o http://www.jobshadow.org/ The following Workforce Readiness materials are available for your reference: o The 2007 SHRM Symposium on the Workforce Readiness of the Future U.S. Labor Pool brought together knowledgeable experts about workforce readiness. This executive summary gives on overview of the discussion on the current state of job readiness among the U.S. workforce, the issues inhibiting readiness, and the actions that can be taking to improve workforce readiness. • http://www.shrm.org/research/futureworkplacetrends/documents/08worplacereadiness.pdf o Report of the Federal interagency Taskforce on the Aging of the American Workforce. • http://www.doleta.gov/reports/dpld_older_worker.cfm Are They Really Ready for Work? • US Companies are competing in an ever-increasing global marketplace where workers must transition from an industrial to a knowledge-based economy. But just as employers ned decades of institutional knowledge to meet the challenges of the global business environment, the baby boom generation—the most experienced workers with the greatest knowledge and skills—are retiring. Given the urgent need to find skilled professionals, the Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, and the Society for Human Resource Management conducted a survey, to gain a better understanding of the readiness of new entrants to the workforce. o http://www.shrm.org/communities/volunteerresources/webcastarchivesforvolunteerleaders/documents/key_findings_are_they_really_ready_to_work.pdf • American Workforce's incoming generation most diverse, startlingly least educated seismic changes in the racial makeup of the U.S. population have led to the American labor force's incoming generation being the most diverse in history, while at the same time being the least educated, leading to a dire forecast for the nation's global competitiveness. o http://www.shrm.org/about/news/pages/leasteducated.aspx Workforce Readiness – Website Resources The following websites are a good source of information to help Human Resource professionals and SHRM Chapters/State Councils establish or build Workforce Readiness efforts within their communities: American Council on Education www.acenet.edu One Dupont Circle, NW Washington, DC 20036 202-939-9300 American Society for Training and Development www.astd.org 1640 King Street Box 1443 Alexandria, VA 22313-2043 703-683-8100 Association for Career and Technical Education www.acteonline.org Department of Defense Employer Support of the Guard & Reserve www.esgr.mil 1555 Wilson Blvd, Ste 200 Arlington, VA 22209 800-336-4590 Dream !t Do !t www.dreamit-doit.com 1331 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20004 National Academy Foundation www.naf.org 218 W. 40th Street, 5th Floor New York, NY 10018 212-635-2400 Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development www.ascd.org 1703 N. Beauregard Street Alexandria, VA 22311 1-800-933-2723 Chamber of Commerce of the United States www.chamber-of-commerce.com 1615 H Street, NW Washington, DC 20062-2000 Job Corps (Department of Labor) www.jobcorps.org 1-800-733-5627 Jobs for the Future www.jff.org 88 Broad Street Boston, MA 02110 617-728-4446 MENTOR/The National Mentoring Partnership www.mentoring.org 1600 Duke Street, Suite 300 Alexandria, VA 22314 703-224-2200 National Center for Education and the Economy www.ncee.org 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW Suite 5300 Washington, DC 20006 202-379-1800 National Coalition for Parent Involved in Education www.ncpie.org 1400 L Street NW, Suite 300 Washington DC 20005 202-289-6790 National Foundation for the Improvement of Education www.nfie.org 1201 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20036 202-822-7840 No Child Left Behind www.nclb.gov U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202 1888-814-NCLB U.S. Department of Education www.ed.gov 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-0498 1-800-usa-learn Vocational Industrial Clubs of America www.skillsusa.org P.O. Box 3000 Leesburg, VA 20177-0300 703-777-8810 For additional information and support, contact the NE Workforce Readiness Director: Lin J. Blodgett, EMBA Human Resources Director NEBCO, Inc. 1815 Y Street Lincoln, NE 68501 402-434-1743 linb@nebcoinc.com