Opportunities and Challenges of Having Access to a Broader Workforce Essay

Questiona) Discuss the opportunities and ch exclusivelyenges of having entree to a broader plump fight.AnswerThe workforce is the total heel of a countrys population occupied in the armed forces and civilian jobs, plus those unemployed mickle who be actu all toldy seeking redeeming work. In other words, workforce alike refers to Total number of employee (usually excluding the management) on an employers payroll. It whitethorn also book in mind all those that ar available for work. Workers may be unionized, whereby the union conducts negotiations regarding pay and conditions of employment. In the event of industrial unrest, unions provide a coordinating determi tribe in organizing ballots of the workforce, and strike action. As the world causes orbicularize, the workforce in industries/companies become diversifies. The broader workforce make up from employees that come from different age groups, race, beliefs, sexual practice etc.Opportunities go forth bringing up o n effect competenciesDevise knowledge is pick uped to address the requests of different levels of workers, including planning directed at entry-level and less(prenominal) skilled staff, workers with degrees not directly relevant to after discipline, and workers pursuing credentials. We cannot bear with to ignore the workers who stay only a short time or work part-time, because they make up too large a dispense of our workforce. They necessitate some minimum level of knowledge in the core competencies required to work in after check programs. Moreover, providing education and supporting pursuit of a credential is an excellent way to foster an attachment to the field.Expand grapheme nurture and professional evolution opportunities Quality develop and professional teaching opportunities be needed to be expanded for all workers, including encouraging programs to found workers paid time off to attend prep. Another need is for approaches much(prenominal) as distance pos tulateing to increase access to formulation in rural argonas. We also should establish a core group of senior richly-pitched school graphic symbol, recognized, and approved trainers and promote ways to shargon the knowledge of experienced afterschool staff, for example, finished mentoring younger staff.Provide afterschool/ early days work content in blue knowledge curricula We need to work with institutions of higher commandment to provide more than course work relevant to youth work and afterschool that could be accessed by workers and students pursuing credentials or a degree. We also need to work with these institutions to address the inescapably of the adult learners in our workforce who would be candidates for these courses. index for funding for training and professional development Policymakers at all levels need to provide more funding specifically for training and professional development for afterschool staff through supports such(prenominal) as scholarships a nd loan forgiveness. In advocating for such funding, the afterschool field necessarily to highlight the connection between positive outcomes for children and youth in afterschoola goal endorsed by policymakersand the qualifications of the staff that provide afterschool function.Provide human resources staff with the training and resources they need to recruit and hire Although the revolve around of this project and resulting report is on the current afterschool workforce, its difficult not to consider the need for useful recruiting and hiring techniques in afterschool programs. A programs workforce begins with, and its success reflects, the recruiting and hiring of employees who are adequately matched to a programs core competencies and needs.ChallengesDeveloping specific strategies for reaching the target populations there are people 18- 59 years obsolescent in the population who are all needed in the workplace and who need the teaching method/training to take advantage of t he opportunity it provides. The challenge is to develop food marketing campaigns and arrange that focus on each of these groups, their specific education/training needs, and their need for user friendly access, pitching, and support placements. Further, there are significant shifts in the gender, ethnicity, and work experience within these populations. Studying these shifts identifies targeted opportunities for increased participation and support. The wishing of clear, systemic, and complete information continues to be one of the major barriers to these populations. Several raw(a)-make studies show the need of useful compass market information transmit to the overleap of participation.Developing a series of strategic alliances with business/industrial associations, professional associations, and assessment organizations Education curriculum and competency standards are no recollectiveer within the sole domain of the academy. such(prenominal) areas as education content, get throughment, and application are all reflections of constant evolutions in the world outdoor(a) to higher education. It is no longer possible for free standing nonparasitic education and training organizations to unilaterally maintain currency with the rapidly ever-changing demands of the natural deliverance. Curriculum is no longer fixed, singular, or limited in s cope. Competency standards are evolving at increasing rates as are the related assessments. Further, the expansion of multiple employer related tar extracts as sanitary as the harvest-festival in persistence recognized credentials suggest the need for formal alliances with external partners.Employer AssociationsThree vestigial shifts throw away jolted the employer world 1) the rapid changes in technology and productiveness and the resulting impact on workforce skills, 2)the dramatic shift in demographics with the loss of skilled workers and the lack of skilled entrants, and 3) the difficulty identifying e ffective educational pipelines for skilled applicants. Both employers and educators are looking to industrial associations as partners in developing the definition of new skills and competencies, the related curriculum, the required assessments and, the resulting credentials. The feed towards connective (tuning) is increasingly dependent on association partnerships.Effective associations ordaining comport systems of continuous improvement that will control connective between their education and training partners as hale as their employer membership. This communication system opens up thepipeline for skilled workers and provides a communication system for internships, work groundwork study, and ultimate support for placement of graduates within the constancy. The gravid purpose of these alliances is to ensure both the continuous alignment and portability of academic content and outcomes with the constantly changing expectations of both the employer and academic world. assiduity Recognized Certifications (IRC)Opportunities for more formal alliances occur with associations that sponsor formal patience certifications. These convolution industry recognition of credentials and their accompanying competencies. They offer the somebody portability of their recognized credentials and the institution a means of aligning curriculum, competencies, and assessments. An transcendent opportunity exists in providing academic credit to students enrolled in programs resulting in industry recognized certifications. Students engaged in technological training would be more inclined to stay in a program if they receive industry recognized credentials as well as specific assign toward academic or technical Associate degrees. This creates a unique face to engage students in seamless system of lifelong continuous learning. The prospects for long term strategic alliances with industry associations are enormous and offer peachy marketing benefits. unsocialiances wit h Professional and International Organizations Forming strategic alliances with professional organizations and accreditors ensures both alignment of curricula and outcome standards as well as ensuring the portability of the credits and credentials. These alliances are befitting increasingly recognized as significant pipelines for qualified professional applicants and they offer exceptional marketing opportunities to both student applicants and industry.Development of a cardinal Stop access to the new prudenceA one turn back centers is needed for individuals to 1) get labor market information around high wage/high exploitation industries, 2) obtain available skill standards and/or IRCs, 3) accredit their away training, education, and experience, 4) gain advice and counseling on entering berth secondary education, 5) receive assistance with entrance to recognized academic and training programs, and, 6) get assistance with placement within the industry. The major problem with t he labor market adjustment system in the United States is a totally bifurcated and user unfriendly information, counseling, advising, crediting, accessing, financing, and education/training system.Both the unemployed, re-entering adults and starting line time students are highly mobile learners who are looking for the access portal to the new sparing. Stagnate outdated agencies, policies and systems are solely incapable(p) of delivering such go. It is time to develop a new on-line system that would ensure all citizens ongoing and easy access to understandable and incidentally job matches, labor market information, and credentials needed for the new economy. All post secondary institutions fork over a unique opportunity to insert in the building of this broader set of services into a commonally vapourish system.Ability to offer, give a perception of and have the reputation of providing a Guarantee This is the outgrowth of the need to c lag the loop between employers, studen ts, and educators. The primary question is does the institutions system of identified learning outcomes figure the academic and technical standards of the new economy and, then, does it ensure that every graduate meets those standards? This means establishing standards, curriculum, and assessments that achieve these levels and ensuring that every graduate meets them. When substandard performance is recognized there is a system of remediation and ultimately the failure to graduate if the student simply cannot meet the institutional standards. whatever would add that for any student employ which the employer believes does not meet the standard, the school would take them back and remediate them at no cost. plot this would come with a cost, it is further more fundamental to develop a reputation with employers for producing graduates that meet the industry standards for tomorrows economy. While this important for employers, it is imperative for students who want to be certain that the education/training they are engaged in will in event prepare them for the new economy. Action on this challenge represents a fundamental shift away from the old system of education opportunity. For the future, it is about highly mobile students accessing a system that ensures their achievement of the competencies required for the new economy. Americas exceptionally diverse post secondary education system has the capacity and commitment to implement this new relationship.(b) What extend Malaysia has benefited and also able to develop own Knowledge worker.The Malayan labor force is generally educated. This is because youths who enter the labor market would have undergone at to the lowest degree 11 years of schooling. Furthermore, the proportion of labor force with secondary and 3rd education has risen over the years, making them easier to be trained and to learn new skills. Nonetheless, it has been argued that there is a shortfall of skilled labor in Malaysia. This shortfall in skilled labor was believed to be one of the causes for the immersion in the Malaysian labor market during the 1980s and 1990s, alongside a mismatch between demand for and supply of labor. Malaysias response to this librate is one of the reasons for the nations focus on human capital development in recent years.Since the mid-1990s, Malaysia has entered into a phase where new idiom and demand for high technology and knowledge-based industries were in place. A change in the Malaysian economic policies was, therefore, needed in pose to maintain the nations fight. Knowledge-based economy is defined as one that is directly based on the production, distribution and use of knowledge and information towards growth in high technology investments, high-technology industries, more highly skilled labor and associated productivity gains.Malaysia adopted this definition into its Knowledge-based Economy Master Plan, which defines a knowledge-based economy as an economy where knowledge, crea tivity and innovation play an ever-increasing and important role in generating and sustaining growth. The Master Plan was demonstrable to provide a strategic framework outlining the required changes to the fundamentals of the Malaysian economy. Since the concept of a knowledge-based economy revolves around knowledge and information as the key contributors to economic growth and development, the move towards a knowledge-based economy is expected to provide Malaysia with the necessary competitiveness in order to achieve a developed nation spatial relation and meet the objectives of Vision 2020.Several reasons were given as to why Malaysia should move into the knowledge-based economy. First, the nation has lost its global competitiveness in tearing FDI when it fell from the eighteenth place in 1994 to the 29th spot in 2001, as account the World Competitiveness Yearbook (IMD, various years). Related to this is the increasing challenger for the countrys products from other developin g countries, such as China, India, Vietnam and Indonesia that approve cheaper labor and more abundant resources. This is e redundantly true in the face of China, where it has been reported that cheaper and equal quality goods from this new economic power, mainly in labor intensive textiles, would bring about stiff competition to Malaysias export goods in its domestic and international markets.Third, Malaysias economic policies have been affected by globalization and liberalization as barriers and protective walls that back up sustain local industries are slowly removed and brought down. As a result, Malaysia, like all other developing economies will have to inquisition for new products and services that are feasible in the emerging global market where the distinction between local and world markets is gradually disappearing. Such goods and services like aircraft, pharmaceuticals, ecommerce, tourism and educational services and ICT industries are car park in the knowledge-based industries.Fourth, as Malaysia strives to become a developed nation by the year 2020, this would result in its current edge in producing goods and services for the global market, which hinges on low wages, to be eroded. This is because its cost levels would approach those of developed countries. To face this anticipated escalating labor cost, Malaysia needs to ensure higher tax is added to its products in order for its industries to remain viable. Thus, for Malaysia to be competitive, it must produce goods and services to compete at comparable levels as those in developed countries. Again, such high value-added is generally provided by knowledge-based industries.Fifth, Malaysia needs to move into more lucrative and wealth-generating stages of production. In other words, it has to make its manufacturing sector more profitable. To do so, Malaysian firms have little choice but to move into the pre- production stage (which includes product conceptualization, research and design, proto typing etc) and/or post-production stage (packaging, branding, marketing, retailing etc) of manufacturing, because there is less profit to be made from the core production process. These pre- and post-production stages also die to be more knowledge-intensive compared to the existing core production process stage.Sixth, Malaysia needs to find new sources of growth in its economy as the old sources of growth have become less productive. A knowledge-based economy will provide some of these new sources of growth to enable Malaysia to sustain growth and dynamism. Finally, Malaysia needs to improve the contribution of the total factor productivity (TFP) in terms of improving the quality of workers, methods of doing things and other delivery activities (EPU, 2002 5).To what extend do Malaysia able to develop own knowledge worker?EducationAt the primary and secondary levels, some of the indicators for quality that tend to raise concerns have to do with the teaching profession, the curricul um, and the grading of schools. The almost serious concern is that of teacher recruitment, salary, career path, work load and training. These concerns have discouraged many potentially good teachers from joining the profession. As regards the school curriculum, there are cardinal sets of issues. The first has to do with content. The second set of issues deals with implementation of the curriculum, programroom size, expertness of teachers and courseware development. Overcrowding in urban schools can impede teaching and learning, including the effective delivery of the curriculum. At the tertiary level, concerns centre mainly on the issues of research, resources, faculty qualifications, and the quality of output. Some unexclusive institutions are not keen on world assessed and ranked by an external body. Consequently these institutions become less certain of their weaknesses. This lack of awareness about their performance does not contribute to accountability.The public requires detailed information on the performance of various institutions in order to have confidence in them. In terms of the use of ICT, the largest provider for programmes in schools is the government, mainly the Ministry of Education (MOE). MIMOS, MDC and the backstage sector, including parent-teacher associations, are also involved. Some observations are made on the current trends and development of the ICT programmes in schools At this stage, ICT programmes at the school level are still heavily relate on infrastructure or procurement of hardware. Software (content development for courseware) and people ware (training) in the ICT programmes are more urgent. The hardware focus alone is inadequate to create the environment for e-education which can enhance teaching and learning and accommodate life-long learning. The software and people ware aspects that are necessary for e-education have to be considered and expanded. There is a lack of co-ordination among the various agencies, namely MOE, MIMOS and MDC, in their supporting activities for the ICT programmes. Redundancy and wastage of resources can be avoided if there is better co-ordination. In many schools, computers are often locked up in a special room or a lab, impeding their use for teaching and learning. The class time-table often does not include time for working or contend with computers. The costly equipment forces teachers in charge of the room to be cautious in allowing access, and this adds to the difficulty in utilizing the computers. Most teachers have not had sufficient training to maximize the use of computers to enhance teaching and learning, and often merely chitchat traditional methods of drilling and rote learning using computers. This is mainly due to the emphasis on ICT literacy in teacher training programmes. Due to the lack of a standard approach in the utilization of computers, student speck hours with computers cannot be established. Teachers take charge of ICT centers in schools on a uncoerced basis. Most of them do not have any formal training in ICT. There is often no technician who can assist the teachers with maintenance. habitual higher education institutions, especially the universities, have been expanding their ICT programmes, especially over the past five years. Computer labs at the faculty level and computer centers for the university have been initiated and are in progress. ICTs capacity to contribute to great competency of work and resource management has not been fully exploited. E-mail facilities are not being maximized, and downloading beat notes from the web or interacting with lecturers via e-mail or the web is still uncommon. The Internet is not being adequately accessed for lecture content. Another issue requiring attention is the need to develop quality private education. Private education in Malaysia is a relatively developed sector, peculiarly at the higher education level.As regards technical education, the system at the upper s econdary level needs to address a number of issues Greater efforts should be made to improve hands-on skills among technical school students. The expert Education Department has already introduced the backgroundual learning delivery system, which essentially recognizes that learning is a complex and multi-faceted process. Such learning goes far beyond theory, drill-oriented, stimulus and response teaching methodologies.It was introduced in Secondary Technical Schools in 1998 to help all students master higher-level academic and work skills. educational activity based on this strategy is being structured to help students feed their knowledge more effectively. Greater efforts are required to improve the relate between schools and industry. Currently the School Advisory Committees, established in all schools, comprise representatives from industries, higher education, Parent-Teacher Associations and Head Teachers who advise schools on curriculum and equipment. The career Guidan ce, Industrial Liaison and Placement Unit in every school also provide career guidance and placement of students in industries. These should be further improved.B. Skills Training and RetrainingMalaysia currently has several drawbacks with regards to the education and skills visibleness required for a K-based economy. It lacks an adequate pool of knowledge workers, sufficiently high enrolment in the sciences at tertiary levels, and a broad base of workers with minimum literacy, learning ability and skills. Educational reform takes time magic spell the recruitment of foreign talent is merely a temporary measure. An effective response would be to train managers and workers to cope with the new demands of the K-based economy. Private and public sector managers need to be trained to reengineer their organizations into learning organizations which can attract, confine and develop K-workers to make their organizations more competitive, service-oriented and in effect(p).To increase the quality and relevance of skills, greater autonomy and flexibility should be given to public sector training institutions to make them more responsive to the rapidly changing labor market requirements of a K-based economy. To minimize job dislocation resulting from the transition to the K-based economy, bridging courses need to be organized for displaced workers, especially those who are old, uneducated, and un-trainable. The power of the Internet should also be harnessed to establish net communities for citizens with special needs and interests to interact among them and with the government.For the economy as a whole, there is also a need for an efficient and speedy labor market information system to help ensure effective planning to meet the manpower demands of the K-based economy. This may require the geological formation of a specialist study group, improved career counseling, and a directory of training institutions. In addition to providing basic education for all, in a K-bas ed economy it is essential to stress Lifelong Learning and Education to help citizens cope with expanding knowledge and rapid change. The challenges of Lifelong Learning and Education in the context of the K-based economy include the following1. Producing a highly skilled, knowledge-rich workforce.2. Reducing unemployment and re-skilling the workforce.3. Addressing and adjusting to the needs of an aging society.C. Global TalentA world shortage of high level manpower is likely to increase the brain drain from Malaysia. While the high growth East Asian economies compete for Malaysian talent, specially in ICT the more serious long-term competitors are the advanced K-based economies of the US and Europe which suffer serious shortages of ICT personnel. It is estimated that Europe and the US alone need two million more ICT workers by 2002. Recent changes to immigration laws enacted to attract foreign talent to the US have serious implications for Asia and for Malaysias efforts to hold on domestic talent and attract foreign, particularly ICT talent. A Bill passed by US Congress in late 2000 allows US firms to recruit 600,000 foreigners, a third of them from India. The three-year programme takes effect from 2001. The US recruitment drive occurs in the context of a world-wide shortage of ICT talent, with Asian countries too unable to meet their domestic demand. Despite this the best and brightest Asians (including Malaysians), are likely to be lured by better wages, work conditions, occupational mobility and the quality of life in the US and Europe.This brain drain has already begun, with European and US recruiters scouring Asian universities for talent. This situation signals several dangers for Malaysia. Firstly, like the Asian countries, Malaysia too is likely to lose young graduates from local and foreign universities to firms in the US and Europe. Secondly, experienced Malaysians may also be recruited, with the Malaysian labor market serving as a training groun d for developed K-based economies. Thirdly, since the Asian shortage and US demand will deplete the international talent pool, Malaysias option of utilizing foreign talent will be limited. Foreigners who are recruited to work in Malaysia are also likely to treat Malaysia as a training ground for eventual entry and settlement in the US and Europe.There are several ways Malaysia can cope with this situation superstar current advantage Malaysia has is that except for Singapore, other countries in the region including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Thailand, and China, all of which also have ambitious ICT plans, have not moved fast-flying enough to recruit foreign talent. Moving quickly to simplify immigration rules and ease recruitment of foreign talent will give Malaysia a competitive edge in recruitment. Secondly, of all countries in the region, Malaysia probably has the most balanced set of attractions in terms of wages, low costs, quality of life, stableness and safety. This advantage s hould be exploited to the fullest. Thirdly, Malaysias rich and tolerant social heritage makes it attractive to a wide spectrum of expatriates, whether Caucasians, Middle-Easterners, East Asians or due south Asians. Unlike its competitors in the region, Malaysia can therefore alleviate the problem of the world-wide shortage by recruiting from a wide variety of countries and labor markets.The government itself has made several clear efforts to recruit foreign talent. In 1995-98 the Returning Scientists create by mental act managed by the Ministry of Science attracted 93 overseas-based foreign and Malaysian scientists on short-run contracts to local institutions. But their high wages posed a monetary strain and contributed to wage inequities vis-a-vis local scientists.Recognizing the need for talent, the Returning Scientists class was revived in early 2001, and the recent national Budget provided incentives to incite Malaysian experts abroad who have the required expertise to r eturn and serve the nation. Income remitted within two years from the date of arrival will be exempted from income tax. Two cars registered in the country of origin for at least sextette months will also be exempted from import duty and sales tax, dapple the husbands/wives and children of Malaysian citizens will now be given PR term within six months of the date of arrival. Previously, husbands who were non-citizens were not entitled to PR status, while non-citizen wives could only apply for PR after five years ingleside in Malaysia.The programme took effect from 1 January 2001. Under this programme, six field of expertise and skills have been identified, i.e. IT, Science and Technology, Industry, Finance and Accounting, Arts, and Medicine and Health.