Work Force Quality

EDITORIAL: Top job for next top boss: shape up the work force

It’s not hard to come up with a list of key issues that Indiana’s next governor, whether incumbent Republican Mitch Daniels or Democratic challenger Jill Long Thompson, will have to confront.

Indiana’s workers are among the least educated in the nation ….  The state ranks 44th among the 50 states in the percentage of workers with a college degree. …  About three out of 10 Indiana students fail to graduate from high school on time. Fewer than half of the students in the state’s largest district, Indianapolis Public Schools, complete high school. One in three workers, according to an Indiana Chamber of Commerce study, faces obstacles in obtaining better jobs because of poor literacy skills.

All of this adds up to a state in danger of falling further behind in competing for good jobs, attracting and retaining industry, and successfully rebuilding its outdated economy.

Editorial raises awareness and contributes to a community sense of learned helplessness. None of the problems are new and have been addressed in the past. 

Improvement requires fundamental change. To assess if change results in improvement,  knowledge of variation (common, special) is a fundamental competency.  Assess your knowledge of variation?