The New Employer Mantra: “All I Really Need Is….”

It’s a comment that I hear far too often from employers: “All we need from our new hires is (fill in the blank).” And typically, that blank is filled in with something other than academic skills. For example, a physician at a national education conference earlier this month told a room full of state superintendents, governors’ aides and other policy leaders that all he needed was “someone who can pass a drug test.”

Really? Is that all that our employers need these days?

Think about that for a minute. Would you really hire a high school dropout, for example, if he passed a drug test? Even if he dressed nicely, wore close-toed shoes, talked politely and showed up on time, would that really be enough? What if that same polite, well-dressed guy couldn’t read or do simple math computations?

Unfortunately, that is the message that a lot of educators are hearing from us. Indeed, I can’t count the number of times that I have heard a teacher or a school administrator lecturing a legislator, an employer or some other audience about the “misguided attention” that we are giving to standards, testing and accountability. “That’s not what employers need,” we are told about math, science and language skills. “What businesses really need is someone who will show up on time and can work in teams.”

True enough. Employers do need those traits in their employees. But is that all they need?

In some circles, these alternatives to academics are referred to as “soft skills” or “21st century skills.” Yes, there are some who define those terms much more rigorously; but nearly always, those skills are viewed as alternatives to rigorous academics. And whether intended that way or not, that’s what a lot of educators are hearing from us.

Alice Seagran, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Education, had a pretty blunt response to the physician quoted above: “This is pathetic,” she told a room full of her colleagues and other education leaders, “to have such low expectations. We must start talking about much higher expectations for learning and values.” She noted that far too many parents already think their children can succeed without algebra – because they didn’t need algebra. Having employers downplay such things is even more troubling.

Yes, our employers need workers who can show up on time, who will pass drug tests, who work well with others, etc. But if our communications continue to give precedence to those personal traits, then we may soon find that that is all that we get.

From the Desk of
Derek Redelman
Vice President, Education and Workforce Development Policy
Indiana Chamber of Commerce