Why it Matters

Jobs
& the
Economy

In a 2013 Gallup/Lumina survey of 600 educational leaders and 663 executives,

  • 92% of the leaders in education indicated that they felt their institutions were preparing students well for the workplace.

  • In stark contrast, 89% of the business leaders surveyed indicated that students emerging from our schools do not have the skills and global competencies their workplaces need.

  • In the same study, only 14% of Americans strongly agree that students are well-prepared for the workplace.

Clearly, the need for innovation in preparing students for college studies and/or employment in today’s global economy has never been more urgent.

Central Ohio employs more than 55,000 residents in exporting alone and more than 500,000 Ohio jobs involve international trade. According to the Global Cities Initiative, a joint project of Brookings and JPMorgan Chase, the central Ohio region “should craft and implement a growth strategy that builds on its special position in the global economy.” The report recommends “training students with skills necessary for jobs in the global economy and for assisting businesses trying to reach markets abroad.”

Area employers indicate that to help them grow they need globally competent employees; individuals who can:

  • communicate across cultures,

  • collaborate across borders, and

  • understand the world’s major markets

World’s Greatest Challenges

As the next generation tackles huge global challenges such as environmental sustainability, nuclear proliferation, the aftermath of natural disasters, widespread demographic shifts and conflict among nations and within countries, it becomes absolutely clear that only cross-cultural collaboration and global problem-solving skills will generate solutions to these kinds of issues that cross borders and affect us all.

  • How will we feed the world’s projected 9 billion people?

  • What can we do to slow global climate change?

  • Can human trafficking be stopped?

  • Is there enough clean water for the world?

  • How do we ensure our data is safe from cyber hackers?

  • Can terrorism by stopped?

Global competence ensures that we are positioned to collaborate across borders: as individuals, as a democracy, as a world. Our collective task, therefore, is to create opportunities for youth to obtain the knowledge, skills and mindset needed to solve these great challenges. The Global Scholars Diploma™ is one way to start.

 

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