U.S. Senator Mike DeWine

[Steve Grube]

If you have the opportunity, emphasize basics such as a meaningful,
ongoing commitment to training.  Most companies are now short-
changing themselves and workers by trying to save money here.
The big joke is that companies today are now complaining that
workers entering the workforce are not adequately prepared to
work in industry.  But I'd bet it's the case that *most* people taking
a job are coming from *another* company, where, if that company
also had a weak training program, they are ill-prepared because of
the *previous* company, not solely because of their grade 12 work.
So it is *companies* that are more directly responsible for poorly
prepared workers (my bet).     Here's Greenspan from last week:

"....has meant that the substitution of capital for labor has been
inadequate to prevent us from steadily depleting the pool of available
workers.

This worker depletion constitutes a critical upside risk to the inflation
outlook because it presumably cannot continue without eventually putting
increasing pressure on labor markets....."

That "pool of available workers" would be much better prepared if,
on average, companies invested more in their training programs.

Also, you mention:  "...in a context of a digital environment."
Again, strong basics (shop math, high literacy, industrial quality
concepts, etc. ) will always trump particular computer skills, as
those can be learned in sufficient ways more quickly than these
other broader fundamental skills.  Also, this "digital environment"
stuff is partly a lie.  I worked for a NYSE-listed company not too
long ago that was preparing to upgrade the backbone of it's
information management system.  A group came out from IBM's
advanced business products group and interviewed
people for about two weeks.  At the briefing at the end they said
they wouldn't recommend any of their products to us and
would not sell us anything!!!   They said we didn't understand
what business we were in and that our information needs were
too undefined and a state-of-the-art system would be no
solution for us - we hadn't done the basics yet of determining
*what* information and reports were needed, etc.  Most companies
never go through this analytical exercise and therefore fail for a
good long time at implementing IS technology - IBM did us a
favor!   Yeah, the IS stuff is sexy but the "soft issues" involving
communication and basic, effective communication are where
the biggest gains are hiding (then fold in appropriate IS technology.)

-steve grube  (my background is quality/technical consulting)
=========================

Tom Lehman wrote:


> Dear Doug,
>
> I've got to represent the union at a lunch and roundtable discussion
> with U.S. Senator Mike DeWine R-Ohio on Monday.  Got any suggestions.
> The suggested topics include promoting job growth and economic
> development in a digital environment.  Training and development. etc. it
> will be held at LCCC.
>
> Meanwhile, my Polish person pal and state legislator Dan "Meathead"
> Metelsky was sniffing around this afternoon.  I was thinking about
> telling Dan that in about a decade the German Greens may want East
> Prussia and the Polish corridor back for environmental reasons.  I just
> think Dan would be to dumb to get the joke; if it's a joke?
>
> Your pal,
>
> Tom L.