Skills Gap A Convenient Myth

[Skeeter Barnes]

.... Politicians of both parties echo this refrain. “Businesses cannot find workers with the right skills,” says Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, and Republican Senator Rob Portman agrees: “Let’s close the skills gap and get Americans working again.” President Obama, too, maintains that America’s manufacturers “cannot find enough workers with the proper skills.”

Such bipartisan agreement is reflected in budget priorities. Retraining is a touchstone for the Obama White House, and since the president took office more than 18 billion federal dollars have gone to job training programs. Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin recently committed $8.5 million to training.
Who Foots the Bill?

Although unemployment remains high, the political focus has shifted away from creating new jobs. Instead it’s on retooling our education system to align with the skilled positions said to be already out there.

Just one hitch: there’s little evidence a “skills gap” exists.

- See more at: http://labornotes.org/2014/01/skills-gap-convenient-myth#sthash.9viYKh0m.dpuf

[ForgoTheConsequence]

1. Translated.....

Let's make the American tax payer pay to train people for jobs that pay 10 dollars an hour. Of course these jobs used to pay a living wage and employers trained employees themselves because good employees were looked at as an investment.


Can't do that now though. Industry wants pre trained workers and they want them to work for less. If not they'll just take their business to China (and we will allow it).

[Htom Sirveaux]

5. Busineses that want worker wages and training to be subsidized

are admitting that they can't compete in the so-called "free market". Their owners should be preparing to go out of business according to conservative ideology, let the government be accused of "picking winners and losers". A more honest way that doesn't rip off taxpayers would be for those businesses to be seeking nationalization outright.

[geardaddy]

2. K and R

The businesses won't train employees basically because they cry "we have to remain competitive!" I call B.S. to them. It's the upper management that isn't competitive in skills.

[Laelth]

3. k&r for the truth. n/t

-Laelth

[dreamnightwind]

4. Excellent article

Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[Teamster Jeff]

6. It always comes down to Cheap Labor