Technology fuels need for new skills

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz
Posted 4/10/2013

  

There are many ideas about what we can do to boost the economy-investing in infrastructure, controlling inflation, improving access to capital and getting our national debt under control are just some of the proposals being considered. However, I believe there is something else we should tackle first. 

We are experiencing a global technology revolution. It is a revolution that is going to have as far-reaching impacts as the printing revolution which transformed the way we communicate and the industrial revolution which reengineered manufacturing. 

What is the technology revolution changing? Everything. Whether it is genomics, cloning, bioengineering, smart manufacturing, nanotechnology, big data, or how we watch TV, there isn’t anything that isn’t being impacted by technology. Every product, every transaction and every service is changing.

Previous revolutions took 50 to 60 years. This one is happening seemingly overnight. Every day there are new business doing new things and needing people trained and ready to fill the new jobs. 

The technology revolution is also changing what job skills businesses need. Many lower skilled jobs are being eliminated and higher skilled jobs are being created requiring retaining for older workers and a better educated youth workforce.

We have known for some time that high unemployment and education are related. In 2012, individuals without a high school diploma had a 12.4 percent unemployment rate and a median annual salary of $24,400. Employees with an Associate’s Degree had a 6.2 percent unemployment rate with a median annual salary of $40,800. The technology revolution will increase this education gap.

A few week ago Encino Advisors, LLC, an economic consulting firm based in Davis, CA released a report entitled “Left Out, Left Behind: California’s Widening Workforce Training Gap.” The report was commissioned by Corinthian Colleges, Inc., based in Santa Ana, CA.

The report concluded that “increasingly individuals need post-secondary education and training to secure and maintain employment. New jobs especially in the primary growth industries require new skills. Further there will be an insufficient number of skilled workers to fill the available jobs.”

This seems like the perfect role for community colleges. While CCs are well positioned for providing skill based training, the study found that there is a “significant gap between demand and supply for career education in California.” They concluded that more than two million Californians will go unserved by the state’s community colleges in the next decade. 

Last Sunday this newspaper ran a story on how difficult it is to get a community college degree. Kelly Puente reported that “the traditional two-year (community college) stint has ballooned into six years and beyond as they struggle to transfer and graduate.”

Think about what this means. Millions of Californians looking for work while good positions go unfilled. Building our economy recovery plans around fixing these education gaps is a path for success.

Retailers pull out stops to lure shoppers

Pasadena Star News

By: Cynthia Kurtz
Posted 4/03/2013

 
California sales were up 6.1 percent for the fourth quarter of 2012 (October to December) compared to the same period in 2011 according to a recent report released by HdL Companies, an economic data analysis consultant located here in the SGV serving 360 clients in six states. That is good news since consumer spending is a key to economic recovery. 

For retailers the fourth quarter numbers that matter are general consumer goods spending. Holiday sales often make or break the whole year for a retailer and they also received good news with receipts up by 4.3 percent over 2011.

Year to year comparisons alone don’t tell the story about what is happening inside retail. Things are changing quickly. Looking at the 2012 holiday trends gives us a glimpse of how shoppers are dictating what they want before they will part with their hard earned dollars. 

Starting Black Friday and continuing throughout holiday shopping season, brick and mortar retailers offered expanded hours including being open on holidays, opening as early and 8:00 am, and closing well into the wee hours. While some consumers expressed concern about the nontraditional hours, many retailers concluded it was a good move.

At least in part the expanded hours are in reaction to the explosion of e-commerce competition. On-line shopping increased as much as 17 percent over 2011 while in-store sales declined by 2 percent.

One way traditional stores are attempting to adapt is by merging the on-line and in-store experiences so they complement rather than compete against each other. Until recently a shopper could often find different merchandise, pricing and specials when shopping in the store and on-line with the same retailer. It was confusing and frustrating. Retailers quickly realized a confused or frustrated shopper was an ex-shopper.

Meshing the two experiences so a shopper can order the merchandise on-line and pick it up at the store or order at the store for home delivery is quickly becoming the norm. The combined showroom/on-line experience gives shoppers more choices.

Free shipping is a must during the holidays and a few retailers are finding that continuing it year round helps blur the in-store versus on-line experience. The message is “how can we help you make the decision to buy whenever and wherever you wish?”  And it seems to be working.

Hype also helps. Conventional wisdom use to be that big specials should be kept secret until that day of the sale. Otherwise they would hurt pre-sale sales. But getting shoppers excited seems to be edging out the surprise sale. Shopping is a social experience often planned with friends and family, like going to the movies or sporting event. Advance advertising makes shopping “the event.”

Comparing prices, especially on large ticket items, use to be labor intensive but apps have changed everything. With the flick of a finger, a shopper can know everything about competitors’ prices without ever leaving the store. What is a savvy retailer to do? Match or beat the competitors’ price, of course. 

Gift cards use to be common for durable goods but now consumers want cards for groceries, coffee, entertainment and dining. Considered more appropriate than giving cash...even though they are basically the same thing... today gift cards are the number one requested gift and retailers are ready to accommodate.

Once again the Consumer is King.