The mathematics discipline usually strikes fear into the hearts of most students and working-age adults in the U.S. A Google Scholar search of the terms “mathematics,” “students,” and “fear” returned 237,000 academic publications offering commentary on the subject; it is therefore not a stretch to assume that ‘math anxiety’ may be partially to blame for … Continue reading
McKinsey: What is the right role of employers in making sure that the incumbent workforce can both meet current expectations and thrive in the future? Kathleen McLaughlin: I think that 10 or 15 years ago people might not even have understood what it meant to develop the skills of incumbent workers, or why that would … Continue reading
Students throughout the United States and Europe face many similar tasks throughout their education, from preparing for exams to writing papers. But there are glaring differences when it comes to foreign language education – or lack thereof – and the result is that far lower shares of American students study a foreign language. Learning a … Continue reading
Over half of today’s 19-year-olds are engaged in either work, training, vocational study or an apprenticeship, the last of which being a government priority. This morning, the Department for Education published figures outlining the number of people who started an apprenticeship in May, with May marking one year since the apprenticeship levy and its associated … Continue reading
An agenda dedicated exclusively to skills acquisition cannot deliver the dynamic workforce employers require for several reasons: Technology is progressing rapidly. Today’s widely used tools may be obsolete six months from now, yet it is impossible to predict which specific technical skills will be required for future jobs. Training students solely on technical skills does … Continue reading
Entrepreneurial activity has long been argued as an important driver of innovation, job creation, and productivity growth. However, measuring entrepreneurial activity is not easy. Traditionally, many studies have approximated entrepreneurship with a broadly defined measure that includes a heterogeneous group of individuals. They include self-employed workers such as commission salespersons, professionals running unincorporated firms such … Continue reading
The low unemployment rate is leading employers to recruit and hire people they might otherwise screen out, such as people with disabilities or criminal backgrounds. The effects are also showing up in the data: The number of people who cite disability as a reason for not working has recently fallen, reversing a decades-long trend. But … Continue reading
The reality faced by Europe’s next generation still falls short of what it takes to age in prosperity. First, many EU countries suffer from surprisingly large foundational skills gaps. Across half of the EU a fifth or more of 15-year-olds performed below proficiency in reading and mathematics in the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment … Continue reading
As recently as 2014, half the world’s population was concentrated in just six countries – the same nations as above, with the exception of Nigeria. Recent population growth, however, has been faster in the rest of the world than in these six nations, meaning that the top six now hold slightly less than half (49.4%) … Continue reading
Newspaper layoffs have far from abated in the past year, and digital-native news outlets are also suffering losses, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. At least 36% of the largest newspapers across the United States – as well as at least 23% of the highest-traffic digital-native news outlets – experienced layoffs between January … Continue reading
As recently as the turn of the 21st century, roughly half of U.S. teens could expect to spend at least part of their summer vacation lifeguarding, dishing up soft-serve ice cream, selling T-shirts or otherwise working. But the share of teens working summer jobs has tumbled since 2000: Despite some recovery since the end of the Great … Continue reading
While there has been considerable attention on illegal immigration into the U.S. recently, opinions about legal immigration have undergone a long-term change. Support for increasing the level of legal immigration has risen, while the share saying legal immigration should decrease has fallen. The survey by Pew Research Center, conducted June 5-12 among 2,002 adults, finds … Continue reading
Although employees in low-skilled jobs are as likely as any others to express an interest in receiving training, they actually submit significantly fewer applications for training. How can this gap be explained? While a wish to receive training goes hand in hand with employees’ perception of their career prospects, in conjunction with their aspirations, the … Continue reading
A majority of Americans continue to say the United States is a better place to live as a result of its growing racial and ethnic diversity. About six-in-ten U.S. adults (58%) say that having an increasing number of people of different races, ethnic groups and nationalities in the U.S. makes the country a better place … Continue reading
With unemployment at 3.8 percent, its lowest level in many years, the labor market seems healthy. But that number hides a perplexing anomaly: The percentage of men who are neither working nor looking for work has risen substantially over the past several decades. The issue, in economist’s jargon, is labor force participation. When the Bureau … Continue reading