To fuel economy, remove barriers to education

Though public officials tell us we're not as bad off as other states, it is little comfort if you are one of those 31,016 Utahns projected to lose their job in 2009. And lawmakers, now more than ever, need to connect the dots between job losses and education/training funding.

Sounds like we are living in two different worlds. Experts tell us one thing, but when we talk to friends and neighbors we see another world — people losing, or fearful of losing, their jobs and homes, and struggling to put food on the table. Savings for retirement or for college tuition are vanishing; and those looking for work, or those who have given up looking, don't show up in the unemployment statistics. Food banks are running empty, and churches have long lines of people waiting for food. Businesses are closing their doors and Chapter 7 bankruptcies have increased by 36.7 percent ending June of last year. Those who continue to try to stay in business cannot afford the high cost of health insurance for their employees or for themselves.

We are in a catch-22. Globalization has created a dynamic economy where imagination, innovation and invention are the skills required to successfully compete for the high-paying and high-skilled jobs and those yet to be invented. Workers for the new economy must be flexible and constant learners. At a time when higher skills and knowledge are critical to succeed, access to higher education has become more expensive and out of reach for many. Families struggling to keep their heads above water would be helped by funding higher education/training that is affordable and accessible.

Some lawmakers continue to complain about the inefficiencies in public education, preferring to micro-manage and tinker with an outdated governance structure created for the agrarian economy and later retooled to meet the needs of the industrial economy; one that produced goods and services and relied on mass production and repetition. The new economy, driven by technology, information and demographics, depends upon quality, variety, customization, convenience and timeliness. It requires workers with imagination, creativity and the basic skills, who can become constant learners. No matter how many quick fixes are made to the archaic model, it will fail to deliver a world-class educated work force and our economy will be left behind other nations that have invested in education.