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When Pamela L. Frugoli climbed the steps to address the crowd at ACT's annual meeting, she probably didn't intend for her comments to introduce much more than the two-day discussion of education and workplace development at hand.
In fact, her comments should frame any discussion of this era in education—a time of rapid change that necessitates closer partnership between workforce and education than ever before, learning at all levels, and creativity in addressing myriad challenges.
Frugoli, a manpower analyst in the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Workforce Investment, defined our nation's current challenges as:
- The globalization of work
- The amount and pace of technological change
- The changing demographics and competencies of the U.S. labor force
The United States has enjoyed significant rates of gain in productivity in recent years.
To sustain this economy-fueling growth, the country's workforce must continue to upgrade its skills. But the workforce is changing by the day, becoming older and much more diverse. Its learning needs are changing, too.
"We need new strategies to ensure that all workers have access to education and training and are able to benefit from it," said Frugoli.
Our continuing national success depends on recognizing and meeting those changing needs at each level of education, from elementary school, through the end of a career, and even into retirement. The key to a successful economic and workforce development strategy is to develop partnerships between employers, educators, and the workforce development system. To that end, ACT brings together many experts in business and education to discuss how best to serve students in these changing times.
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