Washington, DC - A
new report from the Junior Achievement Innovation Initiative (JAII) and Gallup
shows that employers (those responsible for hiring decisions) and employees
alike believe that America’s workforce needs to become more “entrepreneurial”
in order for the country to remain competitive in the global marketplace and
that K-12 classrooms are the place to start teaching entrepreneurship. This is
in line with President Barack Obama’s call for “entrepreneurship” to be
included with “problem-solving” and “critical thinking” as 21st century skills
to be incorporated into education standards and assessments.
The Gallup poll of 1,100 employers and employees shows
that virtually all of those surveyed (95% of employers; 96% of employees)
believe that the American workforce needs to become more entrepreneurial if
America is to remain competitive (entrepreneurship was defined as “taking the
initiative and assuming risk to create value for the company or business, either
as an owner of your own business or in your place of work.”). Nearly half of
employees (46%) and employers (41%) felt the best time to learn
entrepreneurship is in the K-12 grades, surpassing college (employees 25%;
employers 32%) and “on the job” (employees 17%; employers 16%). Only one in 10
(employees 11%; employers 9%) felt entrepreneurship is an innate skill that
comes naturally. For full report visit http://www.ja.org/files/The_Entrepreneurial_Workforce_full-11.pdf.
Tags: entrepreneurship, innovation, learning, economy, global workforce
Categories: The Economy