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Hard Unemployment Truths About 'Soft' Skills (many applicants fail drug tests, lack work ethic)
Wall Street Journal ^ | September 19, 2012 | Nick Schulz

Posted on 09/20/2012 5:34:05 AM PDT by reaganaut1

At a recent dinner in Washington, D.C., with representatives from major American manufacturing companies, I listened as the talk turned to how hard it is to find qualified applicants for jobs.

"What exactly are the skills you can't find?" I asked, imagining that openings for high-tech positions went begging because, as we hear so often, the training of the U.S. workforce doesn't match up well with current corporate needs.

One of the representatives looked sheepishly around the room and responded: "To be perfectly honest . . . we have a hard time finding people who can pass the drug test." Several other reps gave a knowing nod. Applicants were often so underqualified, they said, that simply finding someone who could properly answer the telephone was sometimes a challenge.

...

But considerable evidence suggests that many employers would be happy just to find job applicants who have the sort of "soft" skills that used to be almost taken for granted. In the Manpower Group's 2012 Talent Shortage Survey, nearly 20% of employers cited a lack of soft skills as a key reason they couldn't hire needed employees. "Interpersonal skills and enthusiasm/motivation" were among the most commonly identified soft skills that employers found lacking.

Employers also mention a lack of elementary command of the English language. A survey in April of human-resources professionals conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and the AARP compared the skills gap between older workers who were nearing retirement and younger workers coming into the labor pool. More than half of the organizations surveyed reported that simple grammar and spelling were the top "basic" skills among older workers that are not readily present among younger workers.

The SHRM/AARP survey also found that "professionalism" or "work ethic" is the top "applied" skill that younger workers lack.

(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: drugs
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To: Syntyr

There is someone sitting near me who is sick as a dog but she already run through her sick leave so she just coughs all day. I feel sorry for the people who get closed up in the office with her. She likes to suffer loudly.


21 posted on 09/20/2012 6:56:46 AM PDT by AppyPappy (If you really want to annoy someone, point out something obvious that they are trying hard to ignore)
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To: reaganaut1
These issues are generational, no doubt.

I prided myself on being able to "work hard, play hard."

Today's young folks want to be able to play hard, but that's where it ends.

22 posted on 09/20/2012 6:58:56 AM PDT by Night Hides Not (The Tea Party was the earthquake, and Chick Fil A the tsunami...100's of aftershocks to come.)
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To: AppyPappy
My wife’s cousin has a “disease” called “I can’t get up in the morning”.

That would be funny, except that if they ever give that "disease" an ICD-9 code you won't be able to fire a lazy sonofab!tch like that unless you want an ADA lawsuit to fight.

And they wonder why practically no one with any sense is hiring, and those that are hiring are picky as hell.

23 posted on 09/20/2012 7:00:35 AM PDT by Nervous Tick ("You can ignore reality, but you can't ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.")
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To: reaganaut1
And some people think "tariffs" are going to magically bring manufacturing jobs back to the USA. The rot goes much deeper than that. Multi-nationals are well aware of the composition of the US workforce today, and will act carefully with expansion plans even if we end up with Romney as President and Republican control of both Houses.

As I've estimated before, the US "unemployable rate" approaches 50%.

24 posted on 09/20/2012 7:17:10 AM PDT by Mr. Jeeves (CTRL-GALT-DELETE)
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To: Night Hides Not

Here in our area there is a lot of shale gas fracking. An able bodied young man with a high-school diploma who is willing to be trained and then show up for work every day could easily earn as much as $100K. But they are having a hard time filling these jobs, cause the idea of showing up and working hard every day in tough conditions is foreign to these kids.

Not like the Pittsburgh of old. Those old mill hunks would pull double shifts under some of the most brutal working conditions that ever existed.


25 posted on 09/20/2012 7:21:08 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: reaganaut1

I wonder what effect all that texting has done to spelling skills. Too much “OMG R U Kid’g? I’ll b l8 LOL!!!” and the brain finds it can’t write business grammar anymore.


26 posted on 09/20/2012 7:21:12 AM PDT by OrangeHoof (Our economy won't heal until one particular black man is unemployed.)
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To: Mr. Jeeves
The rot goes much deeper than that. Multi-nationals are well aware of the composition of the US workforce today, and will act carefully with expansion plans even if we end up with Romney as President and Republican control of both Houses.

Exhibit A being India's Tata Motors acquiring Jaguar in the UK. The new Indian CEO arrived in London and the first thing he noticed was that all of his employees went to lunch at the pub on Fridays and never came back. He put a stop to that practice, and immediately became the most hated man in Britain.


27 posted on 09/20/2012 7:23:20 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: reaganaut1

Great article.

If you look at the data behind the article, especially the Society of Human Resource Management survey, it is abundantly clear what Obama did. The Federal Government and Finance industries were least affected, while the construction, mining, oil and gas industries were hardest hit with having to lay off staff.

The entitlement mentality is responsible for the lack of skills, and that mentality is being nurtured by the Democrats. It is noticeable that top among the soft skills shortages in the USA are enthusiasm/motivation and professionalism, attributes not needed in an entitlement society.


28 posted on 09/20/2012 7:24:17 AM PDT by Ironfocus (O Must Go)
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To: Soul of the South

You don’t need to pass a drug or English test to wait tables.


29 posted on 09/20/2012 7:24:17 AM PDT by OrangeHoof (Our economy won't heal until one particular black man is unemployed.)
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To: CaptainAmiigaf
Why the hell doesn’t someone state the obvious? The OLDER generation (me, too!) went to things called SCHOOLS, where they were TAUGHT. Taught things like math, English (the language of the land), geography, spelling, grammar, manners,civics, economics, and the fact that homeWORK had darn well better be done. In other words, they went to a school system that for almost 200 years EDUCATED students and prepared them for the task of building this nation.

Can't disagree with you there. I went to a rundown old ragtag high school in not the best district. Yet I think I am a reasonably well-educated and literate person. And I'm not that darned old. The decline in the public schools has been very rapid and very steep.


30 posted on 09/20/2012 7:26:32 AM PDT by Buckeye McFrog
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To: reaganaut1
I'm not sure what spelling has to do with virtually any practical business function. Spell check works. It's not a replacement for standard grammar but one can both write and speak proficiently without being a fantastic speller.

31 posted on 09/20/2012 7:28:08 AM PDT by Durus (You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality. Ayn Rand)
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To: MarineDad
How 'bout "Democrats?"

They get offended when you leave off the -ticks suffix from Democrat-ticks because then the word ends in rat, a humble animal that works hard for food. A blood sucking parasite is a better nickname for them.

32 posted on 09/20/2012 7:36:21 AM PDT by Reeses
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To: Durus
one can both write and speak proficiently without being a fantastic speller.

I SO disagree.

First of all, you have to have some minimal level of intelligence to use spell check.

Then, you have to have some minimal level of education in the English language to use spell check (for instance, you have to know the difference between there, their, and they're).

Finally, even with spell check and grammar check, you wouldn't believe how many resumes I see that have misspelled words, incomplete sentences and dangling participles.

33 posted on 09/20/2012 7:37:17 AM PDT by jda ("Righteousness exalts a nation . . .")
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To: Ironfocus
"...not needed in an entitlement society."

This fundamental truth simply cannot be overstated or overemphasized.
34 posted on 09/20/2012 7:39:28 AM PDT by MarineDad
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To: CaptainAmiigaf

But this isn’t just caused by the schools. Many of this generations PARENTS never bothered to instill any kind of self-discipline in their children either.

I have had more than one set of parents actually tell me that they like their daughter hanging out with my daughter because they hope some of the respect, discipline and manners will rub off on their kids. HUH!?!?!

Do they actually think that I just was “lucky” to get a “good” kid? That is the mentality of the PARENT! That is simply SCARY!


35 posted on 09/20/2012 7:40:45 AM PDT by ExTxMarine (PRAYER: It's the only HOPE for real CHANGE in America!)
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To: reaganaut1

The results of being coddled their whole lives. If they fail, whatever, mommy and government will take care of them. No self respect.


36 posted on 09/20/2012 7:49:40 AM PDT by vpintheak (Occupy your Brain!)
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To: AppyPappy
I have employees who just insist on having their personal lives intrude into their work life far more than is traditional in the US.

They really only hurt themselves, as we have positions for such people with limited availability - it's just that those positions don't pay as well and don't grow their careers as quickly.

37 posted on 09/20/2012 7:52:58 AM PDT by The Duke
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To: Durus
I'm not sure what spelling has to do with virtually any practical business function.

Spelling and grammar demonstrate competency and are more important now because of e-mail. Using just one instance of Ebonics in an e-mail can cause serious career damage.

38 posted on 09/20/2012 7:53:42 AM PDT by Reeses
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To: OrangeHoof
"You don’t need to pass a drug or English test to wait tables."

I bet they would have to at THIS GUY'S restaurant...



"Oh, so this is your FIRST day on the job? Congratulations, you idiot! Its also your LAST!!!!!"
39 posted on 09/20/2012 7:54:16 AM PDT by Emperor Palpatine ("On the ascent of Olympus, what's a botched bar or two?" -Artur Schnabel)
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To: jda
Einstein was a notoriously bad speller. Spelling ability is a poor overall indicator of intelligence and a poor indicator of overall communication skill.
40 posted on 09/20/2012 8:24:32 AM PDT by Durus (You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality. Ayn Rand)
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