Education and Workforce Development

The quality of the Wisconsin work ethic is legendary and Wisconsin obviously has some striking resources. We have a good K-12 public school system, one of the finest public university systems in the nation and an excellent technical college system that is responsive to business and strategically located from a geographic point of view.

But, in an era when nearly everyone agrees with Tom Friedman’s conclusion about the need for a workforce that can compete effectively in a global, knowledge-based economy, Wisconsin ranks at or below the national average. This is both in terms of a workforce with any sort of advanced degree and a workforce which is employed in what the U.S. Department of Labor would classify as a high-technology job.

Wisconsin needs to energize the existing relationships between our educational systems and the workplace in a manner that increases quality of education and efficiency of delivery, while maximizing opportunities and options for both students and employers.

• We need to continue to enhance the alignment of employer needs with our educational, training and retraining opportunities.
• We need to plan for a future with a more diversified workforce and make sure that our educational systems are affordable and prepared, not just to teach, but also to learn from the cultural richness emerging in our state.

These are just a few of the issues awaiting Wisconsin’s leaders. The Wisconsin Business Council is starting the discussion today.