A 21st century view of the work-readiness talent gap: taking on the challenge of educating youth.

• Author: Teo, Flora
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: 2011 Junior Achievement Alaska Business Hall of Fame

A poll of registered voters revealed that an overwhelming 80 percent think the skills students need to learn to prepare for 21st century jobs are different from those needed 20 years ago. And a majority of respondents believe schools aren't doing enough to keep up with these changing educational needs. They're right on both counts- but it's not the fault of our already over-burdened education system.

What does "work ready" mean today? How are businesses going to find competent workers from among a generation of teens whose dedicated teachers had to pay more attention to test scores than their students' future pay checks?

Employers expect potential employees to be work-ready before applying for jobs. In their view, today's teens are ill-equipped to succeed at work, but they're not talking about getting tough on the three Rs. Teens lack the necessary social and workplace skills needed to land the jobs they desire. This is the talent gap that needs to be bridged--the distance between what prospective employees know and what they need to know to succeed.

According to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills--an organization that brings together the business community, education leaders and policymakers to advocate for the infusion of 21st century skills into education--the skills have already been identified. In addition to being skilled in the three Rs, science and technology (baseline skills for admission to a company's employment office), teens need to know more about the world. They need to know how to be creative and innovative, and have the ability to think across disciplines. With the Internet now an essential tool in the workplace, and information overload proliferating at a scale unimaginable just 10 years ago, 21st century workers need to be smarter about information--finding it and distinguishing good from bad. People skills have always been a requirement, but in the 21st century workplace that means teamwork, communication and working across cultures.

Junior Achievement believes the solution lies with organizations such as ours, which is a member of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills, as well as with educators and businesses that support our vision of preparing kids for 21st century jobs. We are invited into the classroom by teachers who recognize the value of JA curricula and understand that, while meeting State standards, our programs include age-appropriate...