Preparing today's youth to be employable

</element><element id="paragraph-1" type="body"><![CDATA[ Today's youth are entering a fast-paced and ever changing workplace. As we move into a knowledge-based society and economy with changing demographics and new technology, there are continuing concerns about the widening gap between the skills employers need and the capabilities of employees. According to Jessie Crews, University of Illinois Extension Youth Development Unit Educator, "Parents, schools and the workplace are all challenged to help our young people close the skills gap to have a more productive workforce. It is more important than ever that we prepare our students for their future career."

As the workplace changes, young people can be better prepared by having some basic job readiness skills. While employers would prefer to hire people who are trained and ready to go to work, most are willing to provide the specialized training necessary for those who lack such skills. "Many of the skills needed in today's workforce can be transferrable from one career to the next," said Crews. "Many of the career options of the future may be ones that we would never think could exist today."

"The Workplace" Fact Sheet written by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System lists workplace basic skills that are necessary to be a part of today's workforce. The competencies include such capabilities as working well with others, utilizing the resources that are allocated, acquiring, organizing and interpreting information, understanding systems that are a part of a job, and working with technology. "Unlike technical skills," said Crews, "these skills are generic in nature rather than job specific and help employees in any field they may enter.

It only seems practical that to succeed in the workplace, workers must also have a solid educational foundation. However, it continues to be a challenge for today's employers to find workers with adequate academic skills. Employees must have the basic literacy and computational skills necessary for getting, keeping and doing well on a job. These skills include basic reading, writing, math, communication and listening skills. "However," Crews noted, "simply having the knowledge and ability to perform these skills isn't enough. Workers must have the thinking skills vital to putting the basic skills to work. The ability to think, reason and make decisions is crucial for employees desiring to do well and advance."

Equally if not more important in the workplace are desirable personal qualities. Employees with good personal skills have confidence in themselves and deal with others honestly and openly. They display respect for those in the workplace and view themselves as an important part of a team. They come to work on time, are dressed appropriately and have good job etiquette skills.

"Employers appreciate individuals who show a desire to work and are willing to invest their time and energy in their job," said Crews. "The ones who can be counted on to do a good job are usually the ones who will get ahead even during tough times."

So how can we best equip our young people with these important skills? Parents can start by talking with their children about the importance of developing good work skills and being involved in goal setting with their child. Modeling these behaviors for their children is also important. Employability skills can be taught at home, school and the place of employment. Setting and communicating high expectations for young people and holding students responsible for their behavior is crucial.

"It's never too late to teach skills or values that will prepare employees for their work place," Crews concluded. "We need young people who are intentional about preparing and setting goals for their future career."

4-H is the largest out-of-school education youth program in the United States. 4-H seeks to assist youth in acquiring knowledge, forming attitudes and developing life skills that enable them to become caring, competent and contributing members of society. In Illinois over 268,000 youth participate in University of Illinois Extension 4-H clubs and programs. More than 23,600 adult volunteers assist in programming for the youth. For more information about 4-H in Illinois visit http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state4h.