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A report last month from the Committee on Economic Development examined which competencies employers find essential in the workers they want to hire, as well as which competencies are in short supply. The committee is a nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy organization led by businesses interested in education, health and global competition.
The report found more than 90 percent of business leaders found problem solving and the ability to work with others of diverse backgrounds the most important competencies that led to being hired at their organizations. Those two areas were followed closely by critical thinking and teamwork or collaboration as important to have. The survey also revealed that critical thinking and problem solving are both essential skills, but also the hardest to find among applicants. The easiest skills to find, but also less essential, are technical skills, media literacy and proficiency with new technologies.
Of 52 CED members who responded to the survey, 35 percent said they were "very interested" in hiring students from a competency-based education program, another 25 percent said they were "somewhat interested" and 8 percent said they were "mostly uninterested" or "not at all interested." The rest were neutral on the subject.
