{"id":4298,"date":"2023-07-19T05:06:22","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T05:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=4298"},"modified":"2023-07-19T06:01:47","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T06:01:47","slug":"wmc-survey-of-businesses-finds-alarming-number-of-wisconsin-k-12-graduates-arent-prepared-for-the-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=4298","title":{"rendered":"WMC Survey of Businesses Finds Alarming Number of Wisconsin K-12 Graduates Aren\u2019t Prepared for the Workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post originally appeared at https:\/\/wisconsindailystar.com\/news\/wmc-survey-of-businesses-finds-alarming-number-of-wisconsin-k-12-graduates-arent-prepared-for-the-workforce\/mdkittle\/2023\/07\/19\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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As Wisconsin businesses struggle through a worker shortage crisis, it appears Wisconsin\u2019s public schools are failing to prepare students for the workforce.<\/p>\n

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce\u2019s latest employer survey<\/a> finds 73 percent of responding businesses said \u201cno\u201d when asked if students graduating from the Badger State\u2019s K-12 education system are prepared for the workforce.<\/p>\n

WMC asserts the \u201cunsettling\u201d findings reflect \u201cthe fact that more than 60 percent of students cannot read or do math at grade level in Wisconsin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNot only is this new data disappointing, but it should also make all of us outraged,\u201d said WMC Senior Director of Workforce, Education & Employment Policy Rachel Ver Velde. \u201cWisconsin\u2019s public school system is failing our children, and it is having an outsized impact on our workforce and economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The latest Wisconsin Employer Survey<\/em> finds employers are forced to provide remedial education for workers on top of the technical training they already offer. Asked whether they have employees who struggle with the ability to read or solve math problems, 56 percent of respondents said they do. Another 41 percent said they have provided employees with additional education or tutoring because their K-12 education did not prepare them with the basic skills needed for a career.<\/p>\n

Nearly two-thirds of employers (63 percent) said they have reduced hiring requirements in an effort to draw more job applicants, according to the survey.<\/p>\n

On the higher education front, four in 10 companies said they have removed the requirement for a bachelor\u2019s degree for some jobs that had previously required it. And 81 percent of companies responding said that more than half of the jobs at their company require less than a four-year college degree.<\/p>\n

More employers are demanding less education nationwide to deal with their worker shortages. The tech industry in particular has faced hiring constraints as it struggles to fill hundreds of thousands of cybersecurity jobs alone.<\/p>\n

A study<\/a> last year by Harvard Business Review and Emsi Burning Glass, a leading labor market data company, found many companies are now dropping degree requirements for skills-based hiring to attract more candidates.<\/p>\n

At IBM, 50 percent of U.S. job openings do not require a four-year degree, Nickle LaMoreaux, the company\u2019s chief human resources officer, told <\/a>CNBC.<\/p>\n

While myriad factors have created the labor crisis in Wisconsin, the state\u2019s troubled public education is proving to be a major obstacle to solving the problem, Ver Velde said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWisconsin taxpayers should be asking themselves what our return is on the billions of dollars we spend each year on public education,\u201d the workforce expert said. \u201cWe cannot measure success by how much money is spent. Instead, we need to start focusing on what students are learning and if they are being setup to succeed upon graduation.\u201d<\/p>\n

And there has been a lot of taxpayer money spent on what critics have described as a broken public education system, particularly in inner-city neighborhoods<\/a> where math and reading proficiency scores are tragically low.<\/p>\n

Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat who served as superintendent of the state Department of Public Instruction for a decade before being elected as Wisconsin\u2019s chief executive, earlier this month signed a two-year state budget that includes north of $1 billion in new K-12 spending. He used his powerful veto pen to bolster that amount further, extending annual per-pupil increases by $325 for the next 400 years. The constitutionally suspect move will surely be challenged in court by very unhappy Republicans who control the Legislature.<\/p>\n

The state\u2019s public education system has seen record funding in recent years, including billions of dollars in federal COVID relief. Evers and his liberal allies demand it\u2019s not nearly enough.<\/p>\n

DPI officials did not return a request for comment from The Wisconsin Daily Star.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

WMC has long urged reforms to Wisconsin\u2019s education system to deal with the labor shortage crisis. The business lobby advocated for increased funding for choice and charter schools, which saw historic increases in per-pupil spending.<\/p>\n

Additionally, WMC\u2019s legislative agenda includes:<\/p>\n