More Than Half of U.S. Adult Workers Think America is Unprepared to Compete in Global Economy

Monday March 26, 8:51 am ET

MELVILLE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--56% of U.S. adult workers believe America is unprepared to compete in a global economy according to a new Workplace Insights survey commissioned by Adecco. Further, three-quarters of employed adults (76%) agree that today's U.S. employers do not invest enough in training and development to keep the U.S. workforce competitive with those in other countries.

Other findings from the survey include:

• Nearly two-thirds of employed adults (64%) agree that the U.S. educational system is not providing workers with the necessary skills to be prepared for the jobs of the future
• 9 in 10 employed adults (92%) agree that strengthening the education system should be a top priority for the U.S. in the next decade
• Older adults (ages 55+) are significantly more likely than younger adults (ages 18-34) to agree that America is not prepared to compete in a global economy (59% vs. 48% respectively)

What companies can do:

• Issue a training and development report each year to all employees that outlines what training is scheduled to take place, how it will impact the organization, and how the company envisions improving employees' performance
• If possible, let your employee base know how much your company is investing in training and development and communicate how critical your company views its programs to the success and the growth of the company
• Celebrate successful training programs by showcasing examples of how people have implemented what they've learned into their work and also be candid about programs that weren't as effective and involve employees in making them better

Invest in your own career and training by:

• Dedicating some time to focus on your own career development. Assess how much time you spend each month on your career development. Is it 3 hours? 5 hours? None? Try to come up with a realistic number of hours you will commit to investing in your own career development or training by reading books related to your job, participating in professional organizations, taking a course, etc.
• Creating/updating your career map. A career map can help you determine where you would like to take your career, whether it's your next promotion or to help achieve your dream job. You should spend time at least once a year to assess where you are in your career, evaluate where you would like to go and outline some key steps to enable you to achieve your goals. Then, check in with your career map every few months or so to see how you're doing.
• Identifying something to do better every week. Each week, pick something related to your career that you can do better. It can be as simple as getting to the office a half hour earlier or as involved as improving morale on your team. With about 52 weeks in a year, you can really invest in improving your career performance by making this a ritual.