EFFECTIVE ACTIONS TO PROMOTE SKILLS TRAINING
(Best payback listed first)
1. Document that training pays: Include in BLS data incomes of workers who have passed apprenticeships or have a strong portfolio of credentials. I presented this to DOL on 9/18/12. Following my visit, they have started a survey to collect the data. They have added at the bottom of the page a note re apprenticeships and training and changed the heading from “Education Pays.” By making available to guidance counselors and school administrators data showing that there are “Other Ways to Win” we will attract higher caliber recruits. High impact-almost no cost. 2. Promote the success of reshoring to improve the attractiveness of manufacturing careers: Reshoring needs recruiting. Recruiting needs reshoring to be visibly succeeding. Encourage NAM and local groups like NTMA, EDOs, MEPs, AME and the community colleges to gather local reshoring cases, publish locally and submit nationally. The Reshoring Initiative has an online case reporting capability in place. High impact-minimal cost. 3. Refer to the “mid-skill” occupations as professions and the workers as professionals: Germany and Switzerland do this. Get the government to make this change and encourage others. See the first paragraph in Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional. As manufacturing skilled workers take on more mental and less physical responsibilities, the terminology is increasingly appropriate. Huge impact-minimal cost. 4. Create an online repository of all mfg. career promotional tools: videos, ppts, papers, etc. Most training programs do not know of most of the best available tools. They keep reinventing and waste a lot of resources doing so. Minimal cost. 5. Offer apprenticeship loans: To make apprenticeships both cost effective for the employer and economically viable for the apprentice. For example, $4 or $5/hour. Company pays off the loan over 5 or 10 years if the apprentice stays at the company. Broaden loan focus from university degrees that are often in excess supply and thus not repaid to training that the economy needs and therefore will more likely be repaid. 6. Offer corporate SBA loan guarantees tied to apprenticeships: Lower credit companies get guaranteed loans but have to add 1 apprentice per $250,000 borrowed. Society takes a risk on the company. The company produces needed skilled workers. On Jan 11, 2012, in a C-SPAN telecast “insourcing” panel at the White House, I presented the idea to Karen Mills, SBA Administrator. She liked the idea. 7. Report on correlation or cause-and-effect: Make clear that much of the apparent return on degrees is correlation and not cause-and-effect. The cause-and-effect is significantly with the capabilities, diligence and socio-economic background of those who actually graduate from university. Same logic as #1. 8. Report on higher ROI for training. Clear data on ROI for students, consistent with their capabilities, for different university degrees (English, history, etc) vs. different training programs. Thus, expand from just income data to ROI that considers earlier employment and no debt.See Programs
for more ideas.Harry C. Moser
Founder and President Reshoring Initiative 847-726-2975 email: harry.moser@reshorenow.org web: http://www.reshorenow.org