Plant Services - August 2008 - (Page 17) CRISIS CORNER Critical Steps From South Carolina to Chicago, leaders are taking steps to cure the crisis A country managed our education system, we would perceive s more infrastructure disasters are exposed by major its output as an act of war. A contributing factor is that the news outlets, awareness about the maintenance criaverage teacher makes about $43,000 per year, but what is sis continues to grow. However, much more action particularly alarming is that the average bad teacher and is needed to resolve the challenges of the retiring “Geezer the average good teacher both make about $43,000 per Bust” (a.k.a. baby boomer) generation. Here are my recomyear. A system that doesn’t recognize excellence won’t have mendations for steps the United States needs to take if the excellence. That explains why more than 30% of students economy is to sustain its performance and gain a competinever graduate from high school. Vocational education tive advantage in the process. is frowned upon while every student is encouraged either We still need more maintenance and reliability evangelists to go to college or be a loser. Employers continue to wail proving to the nation’s leaders the competitive advantages of that high-school and even college graduates increased levels of capacity. I’m thrilled that don’t have any discernable skill sets, nor the Duke University’s MBA leadership wants to Career technical attitudes or motivation to attain them. Emlearn more about the value of maintenance ployers complain that the few viable candiand reliability programs, and wants to explore education further methods for educating their current needs a serious dates expect to start at top wages and aren’t willing to work hard at or invest in their own and future students about this critical business renaissance. vocational development. driver. Yes, this development made me shout We need to quit looking at our youth with a in exultation that fixing the maintenance cribinary mind-set that there are winners – i.e., college students sis isn’t a hopeless endeavor. – or losers, a category in which electricians and millwrights Perhaps Harvard and other top-tier programs will beare lumped in with burger flippers and future convicts. come curious about reliability as well. My hope is that in If we’re to thrive with the increased competition in the the future, U.S. MBA graduates won’t need to be trained global economy, career technical education needs a serious by their engineering and maintenance staff, and executives renaissance. We need a national skills strategy and policy will provide the leadership necessary to drive the business to to advance our country and work toward building a “Reoptimal performance levels. liability Nation.” Pockets of excellence exist. For example, With the recent devaluation of the dollar, we now have a Chicago is introducing new workforce-development stratewindow of opportunity to maximize our productivity and gies. Mayor Richard M. Daley, who leads the country in distribute U.S.-manufactured goods with a serious profit implementing green building systems and now governs a margin. As reported on BBC business news, U.S. companies city with hundreds of rooftop gardens that conserve energy are striving to hire skilled workers to address refinery and and reduce carbon emissions, also has been instrumental in energy-capacity issues. According South Carolina World striving for tangible results in his city’s educational system. Trade Center Vice President Mark Condon, “The devalued He points out that the United States is the only modern dollar makes U.S. products, real estate and manufacturing country that allows our youth to have a three-month vaplants a bargain.” Who would ever have thought that Amercation each summer. He is building formal apprenticeship ica’s favorite beer, Budweiser, might become the property of and mentorship programs so when kids graduate from high Belgians? That’s one bar bet most would never have taken, school, they already will have been exposed to the workforce regardless of their current level of consumption. and can immediately begin to make a contribution. If top-level executives catch on, they’ll invest more in reVisit SkillTV.net for our most recent coverage as we strive liability skill-development programs and more companies to fix maintenance and reliability to advance us all. will flourish. At the American Competitiveness Summit in Chicago (www.americancompetitiveness.com), Intel’s Chairman of the Board Craig Barrett said that if a foreign E-mail Contributing Editor Joel Leonard at jleonard@putman.net. www.PLANTSERVICES.com 17 August 2008 http://SkillTV.net http://www.americancompetitiveness.com http://www.PLANTSERVICES.com
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