While the Constitution does not directly address education and implies that it be left to the States — it also calls for equal treatment under the law. At best, when it comes to education, it’s ambiguous. However, the Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which mandated the desegregation of public schools, gave the executive branch a legal precedent for enforcing equal access to education. And, we have moved on...
Ever newer technology is changing the way we live in so many ways. We all sense these rapidly increasing changes and we all profit from it in ways unimagined mere decades ago. Automation and instrumentation control of processes has taken over many of our industries. Social media, tablets, computers and smart phones are just a few examples of the inroads made by technology into our daily lives. My emphasis, however, continues to...
Far too often, trainers “put the cart before the horse.” By that I mean they, mistakenly, jump into a new training initiative without, first, determining the skills gaps that may — or, may not — exist between the trainees and the objectives to-be-taught by the new learning initiative. And, that’s the wrong way to go! Money and time will be squandered if you don’t first measure skills gaps. For example, some people...
Years ago, I was invited by the then-President of one of the Big Three auto manufacturers to visit him in his office to discuss a problem he was having. It seems that he had engaged a consortium of some 30+ college and university Deans and Math Professors throughout his state in order to come up with a print solution for his UAW math training needs. The initial product was completed and, when...
I thought I had stumbled into a time machine! Imagine my surprise when I read a long-established training vendor’s recent press release. Omitting the organization’s name, I’m going to quote from it: “(Company X) conducted a survey of its clients to determine the effectiveness of online training. Comparing over 100,000 pre- and post-test scores, (Company X) found that clients using (Company X’s) courses significantly increased their trainees’ technical and safety knowledge. After...
Last month, I was excited to read that many of America’s leading companies are wising up to the fact that good employee candidates don’t have to come with a college degree: “Today’s tight labor market continues to be a promising landscape for job seekers, with economists even predicting more opportunities for professionals without a degree. Job-search site Glassdoor compiled a list of top employers who are expanding their talent options by no...