Steven Rudolph wrote: > I attended a conference a few weeks ago at UC Berkeley, where there was > a keynote of John Morgridge (Chairman of Cisco), followed by Robert > Reich (former Secretary of Labor under Clinton). > > Morgridge spoke of the need to have a blended strategy (financial plus > social), and he of course emphasized how the CCNAs were providing > opportunities to people for job creation. Though I appreciated his > overall concept, the question of whether or not this training would > actually result in job creation and social impact was doubtful at best. > > Robert Reich, on the other hand, talked about a need for education--but > not training people with skills for "commoditizable" jobs. Rather, to > educate people in becoming more innovative and adaptable. Agreed, it > might be hard to do this for senior adult workers out looking for work > because their job was outsourced. However, as a long-term strategy, it > makes more sense--not only for people in the US, but also for people in > developing countries.
What's interesting about all of this is how it applies to the developing world. I was a technical editor and writer for CramSession.com, so the certification industry is not alien to me. I also presently teach in a developing country at the University of the West Indies School of Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad and Tobago campuses). There's a lot of interest in computers. There are a lot of bright people taking the courses I teach - Basic Computer Repair, Advanced Computer Repair, Microcomputer Networking and Web Design. I often send students of the Microcomputer Networking class to the Cisco site simply because it has just about everything one needs to know about networking. Very good information, and it's commendable that anyone with an internet connection can access it. The flip side is that there's a lack of employment for people who take these courses. The market is flooded with qualified people; solutions seeking problems. Only there is no employment. Some make ends meet by free-lancing, but most simply borrow more money and take more courses, becoming even more overqualified for the present jobs available. Industry has not caught up. In trying to solve a problem, is a greater problem being created? On the ground, where the rubber meets the road, it's apparent more training is not the solution that many people believe it is. Why is industry not caught up? In a country where it takes about 3 months to start a company, where internet connectivity is expensive for SMEs, and where there's no way to accept funds across the internet - it's apparent why industry is not caught up. As an *educator*, I shall say that more training is not the solution, and may be aggravating the problem. Until infrastructure issues are addressed which will free the technological competence we give, there will be no progress. -- Taran Rampersad [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.knowprose.com http://www.easylum.net http://www.worldchanging.com http://www.fsc.cc http://www.a42.com ------------ ***GKD is solely supported by EDC, a Non-Profit Organization*** To post a message, send it to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To subscribe or unsubscribe, send a message to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>. In the 1st line of the message type: subscribe gkd OR type: unsubscribe gkd Archives of previous GKD messages can be found at: <http://www.edc.org/GLG/gkd/>
