Closing America's Job Gap

While there are many books for job seekers and countless others on growing innovative companies, Closing America s Job Gap is written for both employers and employees because their futures are inseparably intertwined. The main message: To ensure competitive companies and rewarding careers in the age of innovation, employers and employees must wholeheartedly embrace lifelong learning. This will require from employers and employees some sacrifice, which is just another word that means investment. Innovators and entrepreneurs need to be as concerned about talent development as they are about technology development. Unless both employers and employees are willing to invest energy and resources into lifelong learning and entrepreneurs connect with the talent development system, there can be no return on investment for companies or career seekers. This means we need new kinds of investments across a wide range of human capital requirements. This will produce a better alignment between the economic development strategies of regions, which are being driven by the imperatives of globalization and rapid innovation. When investments in workforce development and education strategies are better aligned with business strategies, this will assure the near-term, intermediate and long-term payoffs the country needs. Without this commitment to investing energy and resources into reskilling and lifelong learning, there will be little return on investment for existing and growing companies or career seekers.
The authors are optimistic that the dream of good jobs for all can still be achieved. But only if America heeds the warning that we need to not only invest in innovation that leads to job creation, but we also need to invest in the necessary reskilling so that the United States does not need to export jobs or import labor. Policy makers, entrepreneurs and job seekers all have a role to play. Our future prosperity and the hope of good jobs for all depend upon it.
This book is divided into two sections and an addendum. Section One is a detailed analysis of America s job gap, the disparity between the good jobs being created by small business innovation in the U.S. and the lack of American workers with the skills to fill these good jobs. The weight of the data clearly demonstrates something is terribly amiss with projections of economic recovery and the disproportionate job growth. Section Two of this book demonstrates that a region other than Silicon Valley can and should use innovation to create good jobs and community prosperity. As the section points out, this can only be accomplished through collaborative effort. There is much to be done by policy makers, entrepreneurs and job seekers if America is to close the job gap. For those who desire the numbers behind the analysis, the addendum provides a detailed look at America s unique culture of innovation, innovation ecosystems and the forces that led to the growth of high-value jobs in the San Diego region. These deeper reflections on innovation and job creation are designed to help light the way as America redesigns its future.