POLICY BRIEF A Different Take on the “Skills Gap”: Why Cultivating Diverse Competencies is Essential for Success in the 21st Century Economy By: Matthew T. Hora, Ross J. Benbow, Amanda K. Oleson, and Yimin Wang I n the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, many policymakers and pundits argue that one of the principal reasons for a sluggish economic recovery is the “skills gap.” The idea of a skills gap suggests that plenty of well-paying jobs exist but are lacking skilled applicants, primarily due to an educational sector that is inadequately responsive to workforce needs. In response to the skills gap narrative, policymakers from President Barack Obama to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker have adopted policies that create new, short-term training programs in industries currently experiencing labor shortages, such as computer programming and the skilled trades. However, while the idea of a skills gap is appealing to policymakers, its underlying assumptions are rarely scrutinized in light of evidence from independent, empirical research. In this policy brief, we closely examine these assumptions using new data from a field study in the biotechnology and manufacturing sectors in Wisconsin. We conclude that the skills gap narrative Abstract The nature of the “skills gap” in Wisconsin was examined through interviews with 141 employers and educators. Results highlight the importance of both technical and non-cognitive competencies for success in the workplace. To ensure students and workers acquire needed skills, policymakers should support high-quality teaching and training; recognize the value of the liberal arts/ general education; and foster partnerships among educators, employers, and the community. About The Authors Matthew T. Hora Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts and Applied Studies University of Wisconsin–Madison Ross J. Benbow Associate Researcher Wisconsin Center for Education Research Amanda K. Oleson Assistant Researcher Wisconsin Center for Education Research Yimin Wang Project Assistant Wisconsin Center for Education Research WISCAPE ultimately provides an incomplete account of the challenges facing the state’s economic future. Consequently, policy solutions to date do not address the root causes of limited coordination among business owners, professional educators, and society at large. We provide several recommendations for future higher education and workforce development policy that are based on a key finding—that employers, educators, and researchers all agree that both technical and what are known as “non-cognitive” skills are essential for students to succeed in school, work, and life in the 21st century. Background to the Skills Gap Debate: the Wisconsin Economy In early 2015, Wisconsin’s labor force of 3.1 million people was concentrated in trade, transportation, and utilities (2.8m), followed by manufacturing (472,600) and education and health services (434,400).1 What are the jobs of the future? Sectors with the highest projected growth from 2012 to 2022 include construction (18.4 percent growth), professional and business services (14.5 percent), education and health services (11.1 percent), and financial activities (9.8 percent).2 For total numbers of projected jobs by industry, see Figure 1. Despite Wisconsin’s historic reliance on agriculture and manufacturing, most forecasts project an increasingly diversified economic base that will include these industries but also feature growth in the information technology, finance, health care, and biotechnology sectors.3 What type of education will be required for these jobs? Economists at Georgetown University project that through 2018, 61 percent of all Wisconsin jobs will require some form of postsecondary training.4 Specifically, 704,000 (22 percent) of these jobs will require some college; 366,000 (11 percent) Figure 1: Wisconsin long-term industry job projections, 2012 and 2022 17,113 Construction 42,089 Professional and Business Services 70,748 Education and Health Services 15,922 Financial Activities 23,642 Leisure and Hospitality 7,362 Other Services (except Government) 2012 22,801 Trade, Transportation, and Utilities 2022 9,164 Manufacturing 2,688 Government 565 Information -1,694 Natural Resources and Mining 0 100,000 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000 Employment in Sector 2 600,000 700,000 800,000 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE will require an associate degree; 600,000 (19 percent) will require a bachelor’s degree; and 255,000 (8 percent) will require a graduate degree.5 Thus, it is clear that a variety of disciplines and program offerings within the Wisconsin Technical College System (WTCS) and the University of Wisconsin System (UW System) will play central roles in preparing the workforce of the future. Influence of the Skills Gap Narrative on Public Policy The skills gap is a ubiquitous term that is playing a central role in shaping federal and state policy on workforce development and higher education. In Wisconsin, the idea of a skills gap has been particularly influential. In a report for Gov. Scott Walker, consultant Tim Sullivan states that the apparent skills gap is caused by “an education system that has not been able to keep pace with evolving workforce needs.”6 Upon receipt of Sullivan’s report, titled The Road Ahead, Gov. Walker commented, “We are looking to make dynamic changes in workforce development, and this report is a good starting point for true reform.”7 That reform included the 2013 Wisconsin Fast Forward (WFF) legislation that funded a new Office of Skills Development and $15 million in new workforce training grants.8 In 2014, the legislature approved an additional $35 million for training workers with disabilities and to reduce waiting lists in high-demand WTCS programs.9 Policymakers have also created short-term corporate training programs and expanded technical college programs in specific occupational areas with an overriding focus on cultivating technical skills. In contrast, state support for the UW System has declined $500 million since 2011. Additional state initiatives, including the 2015 Assembly Speaker’s Task Force on Youth Workforce Readiness, are primarily focused on a single occupational category (skilled trades) within a single industry (manufacturing). Approximately 53 percent of WFF training grants, for instance, have been allocated to manufacturing companies, followed by 12 percent to healthcare, 10 percent to transportation, and 6 percent to information technology.10 The skills gap narrative has proven influential in policymaking circles at the federal level as well. In announcing the Tech Hire Initiative that supports short-term “boot camps” in computer programming and software development, Obama administration officials echoed the arguments of skills gap proponents. “Employers across the United States are in critical need of talent with these skills,” they explained. “Many of these [jobs],” they continued, “do not require a four-year degree.”11 Critiques and Questions While the skills gap has proven influential in policymaking circles, academic researchers have been more circumspect. For instance, Peter Cappelli of the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania observes that: It is difficult to think of a labor market issue where research using standard academic techniques has played such a small role, where parties with a material interest in the outcomes have so dominated the discussion, where the quality of evidence and discussion has been so poor, and where the stakes are potentially so large.12 One limitation to the skills gap narrative is a lack of rigorous research on the specific types of skills that employers truly need. In addition, economist Mark Levine of UW–Milwaukee analyzed labor market data and failed to find increases in average weekly hours or rising wages in occupations experiencing a “skills shortage.” If indeed there was a causal link between the lack of skilled labor and the broader economy, one would expect to see these patterns in such occupations. Instead, 3 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE Levine argues the problem is “a sputtering jobcreation machine, in both the quantity and quality of jobs created.”13 In response, Jim Morgan of the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) Foundation, the state’s Chamber of Commerce, argued that Levine’s conclusions were at odds with those of the executives with whom he had spoken. “How can you tell the manufacturers in this state that they don’t have a problem when you have never talked to a single one of them?” he asked. While the conclusions of numerous academic studies should be taken seriously, we agree with Morgan that it is important to talk to people in the field to better understand their experiences. Wisconsin companies as well as 69 instructors, administrators, and career counselors at Wisconsin two- and four-year public colleges and universities.14 Our goal was to examine the experiences of employers and educators as they pertain to skills-related issues and educationindustry relations. Our research was guided by the following questions: 1. What skillsets do employers and educators consider essential for longterm success in their fields? 2. How, if at all, are these valued skillsets being cultivated in educational programs and workplace training? 3. What is the nature of educationindustry relations, and to what degree do they impact how skills are valued and cultivated in both sectors? Our Study Between 2013 and 2015, we conducted an interview-based study on education-industry dynamics in two prominent industries in Wisconsin: biotechnology and advanced manufacturing. We interviewed 72 hiring managers, business owners, and supervisors at Results 1. Diverse skillsets are essential for success in the workplace. During interviews we asked participants to list the words that immediately came to mind when they thought of the skills required for someone to succeed in their field. The results in Table 2 (next page) signify each term’s “salience,” or how frequently it was referenced, as well as its ordering across participant lists.15 The higher the salience score, the more important the term was for that group.16 Table 1: Study sample Total Sex Male Female Interviewees (n) 141 83 58 Employers All employers Manufacturing Biotechnology 72 62 10 Educators All educators 2-year 4-year Career advisors 69 25 28 16 The data indicate that both employers and educators see diverse competencies as essential for success in the modern workplace. These include technical abilities and knowledge as well as personal traits such as work ethic (.309), cognitive abilities such as critical thinking (.256), and interpersonal skills including communication (.153) and teamwork 4 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE Table 2: Salience of skills for succeeding in the workplace Total sample (n=115) All employers (n=66) All educators (n=49) Term Technical ability Work ethic Technical knowledge Problem solving Communication Teamwork Lifelong learning Innovative Detail-oriented Self-motivated Adaptable Term Work ethic Technical ability Technical knowledge Lifelong learning Problem solving Communication Adaptable Self-motivated Interpersonal Teamwork Experience Term Technical ability Work ethic Technical knowledge Problem solving Teamwork Communication Critical thinking Innovative Detail-oriented Lifelong learning Troubleshoot Salience 0.348 0.310 0.259 0.180 0.153 0.149 0.142 0.105 0.101 0.099 0.098 Salience 0.350 0.322 0.275 0.171 0.141 0.130 0.125 0.116 0.109 0.107 0.107 Salience 0.381 0.257 0.238 0.232 0.204 0.183 0.156 0.154 0.145 0.103 0.099 Table 3: Skills according to National Research Council Framework Skills Category Cognitive Interpersonal Intrapersonal Examples Technical knowledge, problem-solving, critical thinking Collaboration, communication, adaptable Work ethic, innovative, self-motivated Note: These are our freelist terms mapped onto the NRC taxonomy for 21st century competencies. The terms used in the freelist are generally similar to those used in the NRC taxonomy. Pellegrino, J. W., & Hilton, M. L. (Eds.). (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. (.149). These results contradict the current focus among policymakers on technical or “hard” skills. The findings are also consistent with extensive research on skills needed for success in school, work, and life completed by the National Research Council (NRC), among others.17 Following the work of the Nobel-Prize winning economist James Heckman, in our study we use the term “cognitive competencies” to refer to technical expertise and “non-cognitive competencies” to refer to both interpersonal skills (e.g., collaboration) and intrapersonal skills (e.g., work ethic). Some employers claimed that non-cognitive competencies were even more important than technical skills for many positions (See Table 3). 2. Many educators cultivate diverse skillsets through hands-on learning techniques. Upon being asked how valued skills are cultivated, many educators pointed to specific curriculum and instructional methods that emphasize hands-on learning. These techniques, sometimes called “active learning,” aim to integrate theory and real-world practice via approaches including teamwork-oriented instruction, problem-based learning, and communication-related assignments. 5 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE This finding is notable because active learning is known to cultivate technical skills as well as non-cognitive competencies, including communication and collaboration. However, this teaching approach requires considerable training to be used effectively in the classroom. Many educators in our study utilized some form of active learning. However, other evidence at the national level has shown significant room for improvement in using these techniques, with only 57 percent of postsecondary educators using “cooperative” learning techniques in one study.18 relied on informal “shadowing” where new hires followed experienced staff for a period of time. 5. Different types of education-industry collaboration cultivate skills in different ways. While the majority of the educational and industry study participants reported some form of communication with the other sector, this “alignment” between education and industry took many different forms. We identified six major vehicles for engagement, each of which had different effects on students, participating businesses, and educators (see Table 4 on the next page). 3. General education courses play a key role in cultivating non-cognitive competencies. It is challenging for educators to integrate non-cognitive skills into content or technique-heavy courses. Consequently, many educators in our study at both twoand four-year institutions looked to general education courses such as English or art history to cultivate these competencies. As a WTCS instructor in an electronics course said, “I rely on those general education instructors to help me with those soft skills, especially communication.” 4. Employers screen applicants for “fit” with company culture—relatively little training occurs. Employers spoke about skills cultivation primarily through the “gate-keeping” role of the hiring process, where people lacking desired skills were not hired in the first place. According to many employer participants, their over-arching criterion is to find trainable and committed employees. Employers expect educators to have already prepared job candidates with basic cognitive and non-cognitive competencies, so that training is limited to meeting specific company needs. When it came to actual workplace training, only 13 percent of employers in our sample provided formal training, while 32 percent While some collaborative activities, such as curriculum advisory boards, provide important conduits for educators and employers to share information, others have a more direct impact on developing student and/or employee competencies. These include collaboratively run employee training programs and student pathways programs, including internships or co-constructed classroom activities. These latter examples are particularly effective for leveraging the strengths of both educators and employers to create rich learning opportunities, yet they remain relatively uncommon. Policy Recommendations Based on these data and our analysis of the research literature on skills-related issues, we conclude that Wisconsin policymakers have relied on a skills gap narrative that provides a limited account of the complex issues facing higher education and the economy. The current focus on creating short-term programs to cultivate technical skills in just a handful of industries represents an overly narrow approach that will not adequately prepare students and workers for 6 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE Table 4: Types of education-industry collaborations and their impacts Type of Education-Industry Collaboration Training for employees At educational organization Internal workplace training Guiding programmatic directions Policy-driven curriculum advisory boards Example/Notes Impacts Company sends employees to local college or university for courses Employer and local educational organization collaborate to design company training program Employee develops new skills and competencies Employee develops new skills and competencies/Company acquires new training curricula Regular meetings between educators and local employers/ Mandated by WTCS and engineering programs Direct communication of industry needs and developments to education/Conduit for feedback/Mostly “tips” and recommendations for curriculum and instruction Developing student competencies/resources Student pathway programs Multi-contact programs Internships and apprenticeships with extended student involvement with work and school One-time contact programs Industry field trips or tours/ Classroom visits from local companies Job readiness programs Career fairs, mock interviews, networking sessions Curricular co-construction Class projects suggested by industry Provides students in-depth handson training and social capital (i.e., networks) Provides cursory exposure of students to careers and industries Provides students with cultural capital (i.e., employability skills) and tips about jobs Provides students with hands-on training in real-world problems, cultural capital (i.e., knowledge of industry needs) Miscellaneous Third-party organizations Informal personal relationships Chamber of Commerce, industry clusters, government boards Provides educators and employers with a structured venue for interacting Individual educators and employers Provides conduit for feedback know one another’s prior work or and communications/Potential have done projects together for sharing of materials and job openings 7 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE success in the 21st century economy. workforce development grant-making, applicants be required to articulate a plan for how their programs will cultivate both technical and non-technical competencies. Instead, a more comprehensive and multi-faceted set of strategies is required that focuses on cultivating diversified competencies via teaching, training, and cross-sector collaboration. Our specific recommendations follow. Interestingly, some of the U.S.’ competitors in the global economy such as China and Japan are moving in the opposite 1. Adopt a broader sense of valuable skills— direction by focusing entirely on highfocus on non-cognitive competencies. demand technical competencies while Employers in Wisconsin want graduates de-emphasizing liberal arts and general who possess a combination of technical, education programming.22 This raises cognitive, and non-cognitive (i.e., the question: Will interpersonal, Wisconsin and the and “Soft skills predict success in life . . . U.S. acknowledge the intrapersonal) scientific evidence, they causally produce that success, and competencies, change course, and and the scientific . . . programs that enhance soft skills begin developing evidence have an important place in an effective educational policies regarding the that cultivate wellportfolio of public policies.” importance of rounded citizens these skills is and workers, or will clear.19 James we join other nations in a race to train a Heckman notes that “soft skills predict generation of narrowly educated workers success in life, that they causally produce whose long-term success in the 21st that success, and that programs that century economy is questionable? enhance soft skills have an important place in an effective portfolio of public policies.”20 2. Provide funding to train postsecondary teachers and workplace trainers in handson, active learning techniques. Wisconsin students and workers need more opportunities to participate in educational and workplace training programs that cultivate both cognitive and non-cognitive competencies. However, teaching is a challenging craft that is made more difficult when curricular and program goals are expanded to include the cultivation of these additional skillsets. Enacting high-quality instruction in classrooms throughout Wisconsin is also complicated by the fact that most postsecondary teachers and workplace trainers have not been formally trained themselves in how to teach, much less use, these techniques. Policies such as WFF focus almost exclusively on technical skillsets with no attention to the cultivation of other desired competencies. Of the 145 WFF grants made between 2013 and 2015, only 22 (15 percent) could be designated as targeting non-technical skills. In addition, attention to these competencies (or how they will be taught) is not required by WFF applicants, nor are they discussed by policymakers in their frequent statements about the skills gap. We recommend that policymakers broaden their view of skills so that it becomes consistent with the actual views of Wisconsin employers and empirical evidence.21 Additionally, we recommend that in future rounds of WFF and federal 8 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE Current policy focuses entirely on creating businesses value greatly.25 new programs in “high-demand” fields but is silent on the critical issue of curriculum It is clear that certain certificate and and instruction. Additionally, declining degree programs lead to higher wages state support for public higher education, upon graduation, particularly in the particularly for the UW System, has STEM disciplines. However, if liberal resulted in growing class sizes and the arts requirements are de-emphasized downsizing of promising programs, which or removed from certificate or degree makes instruction that truly cultivates programs, business owners and the diverse broader economy will competencies ultimately suffer.26 As “. . . policymakers should allocate more difficult to the economists Frank 23 achieve. This is Levy and Richard considerable resources to support the unfortunate, as Murnane argue, professional development of educators a considerable “An emphasis on to learn new, cutting-edge amount of education for earning research in a good living does not teaching methods.” the learning necessarily conflict sciences, digital with the education learning, and STEM education is providing needed to be a contributing citizen in a educators and trainers with increasing democracy.”27 examples of curricula and instructional 4. Continue work to de-stigmatize skilled techniques that could be adopted trades, but not at the expense of other throughout Wisconsin.24 industries and occupations. While programs in the skilled trades should Instead of cutting funds for K-12 and certainly be encouraged, given the decline public higher education, policymakers in vocational education in high school should allocate considerable resources and the College for All movement,28 it is to support the professional development essential to recognize that other types of of educators to learn new, cutting-edge occupations and industries are also crucial teaching methods. Furthermore, workplace for a healthy Wisconsin economy. trainers should also receive professional development in these methods. Ultimately, an investment in the skills of educators will yield benefits to students, workers, and the economy for generations to come. Yet current policy is focused almost entirely on the skilled trades and other middle-skill occupations that require some college but not a four-year degree (1,070,000 projected jobs by 2018). While the focus on these occupations may be motivated as a corrective to societal preference for white-collar jobs and four-year degrees, it is short-sighted to ignore the projected 855,000 jobs requiring four-year and graduate degrees that will be added to the Wisconsin economy. 3. Support general education and the liberal arts. The educational model that was championed by Thomas Jefferson to cultivate diverse competencies—that of general education and liberal arts programs—is currently being challenged by policymakers. Yet courses in the liberal arts are critical for cultivating well-rounded individuals with skills in critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, which This is particularly true when the higher wages and lower levels of unemployment 9 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE that come with a four-year degree are taken into account. Consider that the average post-training wage after the first round of WFF grants was $17.19 an hour, and $12.17 after the second round. If these do not seem like the “family supporting wages” often talked about in workforce policy circles, that’s because they aren’t.29 First, student pathway programs such as internships provide students with new social networks and opportunities while also offering a real-world education. Less expensive and time-consuming than apprenticeships, internships represent a productive and cooperative form of crosssector partnership that works in a variety of fields. Further, many Wisconsin initiatives are focused on a single industry— manufacturing. Given the growing prominence of sectors such as health care, business, and information technology in terms of the state’s GDP and projected job growth, it makes little sense to allocate over 50 percent of WFF funds to an industry that comprises only 11 percent of state GDP and 15 percent of the workforce. Second, co-development of curriculum, in which industry representatives provide authentic problems for educators to transform into classroom activities, represents a way to ensure the “real-world” nature of students’ education. Examples of such cooperation, including undergraduate research projects or problem-based learning, also have the benefit of cultivating critical thinking, communication, and collaboration skills. Policymakers should recognize there are many types of jobs and industries that Wisconsin youth can pursue when making career decisions. Manufacturing jobs that do not require a four-year degree will certainly play an important role in Wisconsin’s economic future, particularly as the costs of attending college become prohibitive for many families. However, other educational pathways and career opportunities are also important to our state’s future.30 Finally, while venues that provide educators with up-to-date information regarding the types of jobs and competencies currently desired by employers should indeed be encouraged (e.g., curricular advisory boards), educators must ultimately retain autonomy to design learning environments for their students based on their disciplinary expertise and commitment to ensuring student success throughout their entire careers.31 6. Re-frame the debate: Recognize that educators, employers, parents and the broader culture all play a critical role in cultivating young people’s competencies. The debate about jobs and education must be reframed. Instead of vilifying the educational sector and singling teachers out as the sole cause of the “skills gap,” policymakers must recognize that educators are but one of the parties responsible for cultivating the skillsets of the state’s youth and adult workers. However, in the past several years we have witnessed an increase in rhetoric casting 5. Encourage education-industry collaborations that foster diversified competencies. Current policy is focused on ensuring “alignment” between workforce needs and the postsecondary system through the creation of new programs that are considered to be in-demand. However, policymakers are overlooking the fact that education and industry interact with one another in multiple ways. Other forms of collaboration may have a greater impact on cultivating students’ skillsets. 10 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE aspersion on the educational sector in general, and the teaching profession in particular. Much of this is due to the overly simplistic view that education is the primary, if not the sole, cause of slow economic growth.32 Employers, parents, the broader culture also play a critical role in shaping students’ skills and dispositions. In particular, the business community could play a more proactive role. Research by the Manpower Group, for example, found that only one in five employers provide formal training to their staff, and in our research only 12 percent of employer respondents said they offer formal training. As one technical college instructor familiar with the German model of apprenticeships observed, “It’s going to take more companies taking on the responsibility (of training)” before any skills-related crises are adequately addressed. This is why we include workplace trainers in each of our recommendations—though whether public funds should be allocated to the private sector to develop training programs is a matter for serious debate. The current atmosphere that pins responsibility on a single party—educators—is counterproductive. It is important for educators, business owners, families, and policymakers to work together in a productive and collaborative fashion to successfully address the disconnect between academic studies and professional preparation for the labor market. Future policy and rhetoric should be more inclusive if the goal is truly to prepare students for success in school, life, and work. Acknowledgement This study is supported by the National Science Foundation (DGE #1348648). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. 11 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE Endnotes 1 Additionally, the industries contributing to the state’s $292.9 billion gross domestic product include the “all others” category (39 percent); finance, insurance, and real estate (20 percent); government (12 percent); durable goods manufacturing (11 percent); educational services and health care (10 percent); and professional and business services (9 percent). Source: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. 2 See presentation by Department of Workforce Development Chief Economist Dennis Winters 2015: http:// districtboards.org/documents/Quarterly%20Meeting/415/EconomicsWinters2015web.pdf; also see data from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Office of Economic Advisors: Industry Employment Projections and Occupation Projections 2012-2022. 3 While some see manufacturing-related industries as being the primary driver of economic growth, there are questions about the ability of some manufacturing sectors (e.g., paper printing) to thrive in a technologically advanced global economy. 4 Carnevale, A. P. and Smith, N. (2011). The Midwest Challenge. Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. 5 Of course, educational attainment has significant implications for earnings and unemployment over one’s lifetime. 6 See Sullivan, T. (2012). The road ahead: Restoring Wisconsin’s workforce development. Prepared for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Retrieved from: http://doa.wi.gov/secy/documents/sullivanreport.pdf 7 Content, T., & Herzog, K. (2012, August 21). Effort seeks to close gap between jobs and workers’ skills. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Accessed at: http://www.jsonline.com/business/effort-seeks-to-close-gap-between-jobs-and-workers-skills2i6irg3-166927906.html 8 Wisconsin Legislature, 2013; One such training grant was a $238,471 award to Stoughton Trailers to train 395 new production workers and 195 incumbent employees in lean manufacturing and welding skills. 9 See: http://wisconsinfastforward.com/prosperity 10 See: http://wisconsinfastforward.com/reports.htm 11 See: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/09/fact-sheet-president-obama-launches-new-techhireinitiative 12 Capelli, P. H. (2015). Skills gaps, skill shortages, and skill mismatches: Evidence and arguments for the United States. ILR Review, 68 (20, 251-290). 13 Levine, M. (2013). The skills gap and unemployment in Wisconsin. Center for Economic Development Working Paper. Retrieved at: http://www4.uwm.edu/ced/publications/skillsgap_2013-2.pdf 14 Data analyses took place using two methods, evaluating the salience of terms from the freelist exercise and thematic analysis of the interview transcripts. 15 The respondent’s term list was translated into the standardized term list, then a salience measure (developed by Smith 1993) is used to calculated a mean percentile rank for each term across all respondent lists. 16 Note that the sample in this analysis is smaller than our total study sample. That is because not all participants provided useable data for the analysis. The data for this exercise, called a freelist, needs to be in the form of single words or short phrases, but some participants were unable to answer the prompt in this way and instead provided lengthy expositions. 17 See Pellegrino J.W. & Hilton, M.L. (Eds.) (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st century. Washington, DC: National Research Council; see also Heckman, J.J. & Kautz, T. (2012). Hard evidence on soft skills. Labour Economics, 19 (4), 451-464. 18 See the 2013-2014 Faculty Survey conducted by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles (http://www.heri.ucla.edu/facoverview.php). 19 This is not dissimilar to the idea of a “T-shaped professional,” or someone who has depth in a particular technical or academic area, and breadth in a variety of competency areas that often include communication, collaboration, and creativity. 12 POLICY BRIEF WISCAPE 20 We prefer the terms used in the NRC report (cognitive, interpersonal, intrapersonal) to “soft skills,” which are ambiguous and connote less important and less rigorous competencies. However, there remains considerable disagreement in the field regarding what to call the various types of competencies. See Heckman and Kautz (2012) for the quote. 21 There is a national push in the U.S. to integrate non-cognitive skills into educational curricula and assessment. For an example see The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine efforts on assessing 21st century skills (http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13215/assessing-21st-century-skills-summary-of-a-workshop). 22 See Obe, M. (Aug. 2, 2015). Japan rethinks higher education in skills push. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved at: http:// www.wsj.com/articles/japan-rethinks-higher-education-in-skills-push-1438571119, and Chan, J. (2015). Is China creating a workforce with no soft skills? British Council. Retrieved at: http://www.britishcouncil.org/voices-magazine/china-creatingworkforce-no-soft-skills 23 One of the most effective programs for cultivating diversified skillsets that we identified in our study—that of the undergraduate research experience—lost up to $40,000 in funds due to recent budget cuts at UW–La Crosse alone. In this program, local businesses offered ideas for research, students engaged in a semester-long research project from start to finish, and the “client” was presented with the results. 24 See the following for an introduction to the science behind teaching methods that focus on hands-on, active learning experiences: Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (Eds.) (1999). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington DC: National Academy Press. 25 We are not suggesting that no problems exist with the current model of liberal arts education. As data from a recent report by the UW-Madison College of Letters and Science demonstrates, careers services could be improved and 9.7 percent of graduates feel that their education is “irrelevant” to their current work. However, this data and the fact that only 64 percent of employed, liberal arts graduates are in jobs that require a BA/BS may speak to employer hiring practices (i.e., upskilling) as well as the market value of these degrees. See UW-Madison College of Letters and Sciences (2015). Career initiative alumni survey 2012/2013 graduates. Madison, WI: College of Letters and Sciences. 26 See Carnevale, A.P., Cheah, B., & Hanson, A.R. (2015). The economic value of college majors. Center on Education and the Workforce. Washington, DC: Georgetown University. 27 See Levy, F. and Murnane, R. J. (2004). The new division of labor. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. 28 “College for All” is the name given to the push for all secondary students to attend some form of postsecondary institution. 29 WFF grants are made to individual companies and/or collaborations among trainers, companies, and technical colleges. According to the MIT Living Wage calculator, a living wage for a family of four in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is $21.95 an hour. However, the average hourly wage for employees of Fast Forward grantees was barely above the hourly poverty wage of $11.00 an hour. The proposed average post-training wage was an optimistic $17.19/hour in Round One, however fell to an average of $12.17/hour in Round Two of the grants. No explanation for this drop in post-training wages was provided in the WFF annual report. 30 Of the 6.6 million jobs added by the national economy since 2010, 2.9 million can be considered “good” jobs (in the upper 1/3 of median wages by occupation) and college graduates took 2.8 million of these positions. See Carnevale, A.P., Jayasundera, T. & Gulish, A. (2015). Good jobs are back: College graduates are first in line. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. 31 One approach that balances the autonomy of educators with the needs of industry is that of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The ABET criteria for program accreditation mandates the articulation of certain program learning outcomes that are competencies required by industry (e.g., students will have effective communication skills). However, each institution and department has the autonomy to determine how learning outcomes will be measured at the program and course levels. See: http://www.abet.org/accreditation 32 As Tim Sullivan said in 2011, “We don’t have a jobs crisis in Milwaukee, we have an education crisis.” See: http://www. jsonline.com/news/education/mmac-pushes-plan-to-close-education-gap-in-milwaukee-v42usqa-133415153.html 13 POLICY BRIEF POLICY BRIEF University of Wisconsin–Madison 353 Education Building 1000 Bascom Mall Madison, WI 53706-1326 Telephone: Fax: Email: Website: 608-265-6342 608-262-4881 www.wiscape-info@education.edu www.wiscape.wisc.edu The Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE) promotes the creation and sharing of ideas for addressing Wisconsin’s postsecondary education challenges. The production and dissemination of publications are a major part of this effort. WISCAPE Policy Briefs are succinct analyses that provide policymakers, practitioners, and others with knowledge and recommendations based on the latest research and best practices in the field. Credits Editing and Layout: Kari Dickinson Send questions about WISCAPE publications to: Kari Dickinson, Communications Manager, 608-265-6636, kadickinson@wisc.edu Recommended citation for this publication: Hora, Matthew T; Benbow, Ross J; Oleson, Amanda K; and Wang, Yimin (2015). A different take on the “skills gap”: Why cultivating diverse competencies is essential for success in the 21st century economy (WISCAPE POLICY BRIEF). Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education (WISCAPE).