In my post yesterday, I suggested that employers will need to start making strategic partnerships with education institutions and economic development organizations, among others, to start dealing with the upcoming acute shortage of workers who have graduated from high school and have some college under their belt.
A great example of this came to my attention yesterday. On Monday AT&T announced an investment of $250,000,000 over the next five years to improve high school graduation rates. Here’s how their announcement began: “ As access to skilled workers becomes increasingly vital to the U.S. economy, AT&T is launching a quarter-billion-dollar campaign to help more students graduate from high school ready for careers and college, and to ensure the country is better prepared to meet global competition.”
Investing in JAG – Jobs for America’s Graduates – is an example of strategic corporate investment in the future of the talent pipeline. JAG, the most effective program of its kind – is a state-based national non-profit organization dedicated to preventing dropouts among young people who are most at-risk. In more than three decades of operation, JAG has 
delivered consistent, compelling results – helping nearly three-quarters of a million young people stay in school through graduation, pursue post-secondary education and secure quality entry-level jobs leading to career advancement opportunities. The kids in the AT&T Aspire video are great examples of JAG at work in the trenches.
Who wouldn’t hire those kids?
I ended my Data Point Tuesday post yesterday with this imperative: “The sooner talent acquisition professionals and learning/development professionals in organizations begin to work together on workforce planning and tackling the education deficit, the sooner the talent pipeline will begin to be prepared for 46 million new jobs.”
Looks like AT&T is out in front. Again!
chinagorman.com 