Workforce development

There is a big push toward workforce development in California - whatever that means. A number of the political players in Sacramento are trying to develop new ways to get people into the workforce. In the old days that was called vocational training. I met one of those people on the street yesterday and had a discussion with him about the issues - being someone who represents colleges, I guess I am supposed to have an opinion.

Indeed, I do have an opinion. Beginning with the Steiger Act in 1978, I have seen a lot of federal money get poured into the policy dejour in this area. For the most part they have shown little effect. I remember in the early 1970s going to one of the finest vocational training schools in the country (in Oklahoma) and watching a group of students working on NCR key punch machines. I asked the director, why? (I had recently worked in the White House and had installed something revolutionary called the MTST (Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter) which was a first generation of a word processor - and thought that punch cards would soon be converted into electronic information on a tape. So I thought the way of the key punch was soon out.) The director replied - we use these because NCR gave them to us.

So how do you get a prepared workforce? The responses are pretty simple. First, create a tax system that incentivizes capital - a low capital gains rate (and even low or no taxation on savings) is the first step. Create the energy for entrepreneurs to invest. Second, provide some funding for basic research. The engines of NASA and the NSF and NIH are pretty strong. Third, encourage all students to learn some basic skills including algebra. But it certainly is not by training people for this generation's jobs. We simply don't need a lot more key punch operators even if the vendors are giving us free stuff.