Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and University of Phoenix Study Compares Employers' and
Job Pool's Most Valued Skills,
Education Attributes
CHICAGO, May 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- As President Obama
calls for innovation in education to equip Americans to compete in
the 21st century's labor force and Chicago initiates its own secondary education
reform, the results of a new study by the Chicagoland Chamber of
Commerce and University of Phoenix
provide insight into the academic criteria for success in the
workplace.
The Life in the 21st Century Workforce study found
that local employers place a premium on employees with strong
interpersonal communication and teamwork abilities, as well as
candidates who have honed specific job-related skills. While
employers and employees agree that critical thinking and
problem-solving are a top priority, workers are significantly more
likely than business executives to believe that a willingness to
learn new skills is the most important trait to bring to the
table.
Chicagoans and local business leaders agree that continuing
education is vitally important for success in the workplace. As the
skills needed in the world's marketplace increasingly require a
better education and a more advanced skill set, University of Phoenix provides new and innovative
approaches in order to meet the unique needs of students seeking to
improve their career perspectives, while also balancing families
and jobs.
"University of Phoenix has been
driving innovation in higher education for more than 30 years,"
said Dr. Bill Pepicello, president
of the University of Phoenix. "We
believe everyone should have the opportunity to attain a college
degree, and we continue to create new pathways that will help give
everyone access to a quality education. By providing a relevant
education, we are helping to ready and connect Chicagoans with
jobs."
Among the key findings of the Life in the 21st Century Workforce
study:
Heading Back to School
- Practical skills trump theoretical studies - When it comes to
choosing a post-secondary school, both Chicago employers (85 percent) and workers (67
percent) favored practical learning experiences that focus on
solving real life problems.
- A resounding 85 percent of employers said a curriculum that
promoted specific skills was very important and 58 percent said the
same of team-based teaching methods.
- Only 23 percent of employers saw theory-based learning as very
important and a mere six percent of the business leaders put much
stock in lecture style teaching.
Seeing Eye to Eye
- In Chicago, the survey shows
that business leaders and workers agree on plenty. Both employers
(52 percent) and employees (42 percent) regard past work experience
as the most important hiring criteria.
- Both employers (81 percent) and workers (84 percent) say
critical thinking and problem-solving are very important skills to
hone.
- And employers (44 percent) as well as employees (48 percent)
see continuing education as vitally important for success in their
organizations.
Agreeing to Disagree
- There's no "I" in TEAM - When asked to rate importance of
various skills, Chicago business
leaders and employers are much more likely than workers to put a
priority on interpersonal communication (88 percent) and teamwork
skills (79 percent), while workers placed more importance on a
willingness to learn new skills (83 percent).
- Tweeting in the Workplace – Chicago workers and jobseekers put a
relatively higher premium on social media skills (32 percent) while
employers rated social media much lower on the scale (15
percent).
Making it Work
- When choosing a post-secondary degree program, Chicago workers need practicality and
adaptability, with 69 percent rating attributes such as flexible
schedules and classes in the evenings, weekends or online as very
important.
- Chicago workers also rated
practical learning skills as key: Some 67 percent of respondents
rated such skills as very important, right in line with
Chicago business leaders (85
percent).
Sunny Outlook in the Windy City
- Business leaders in Chicago
appear to be in a strikingly upbeat mood, with 63 percent of
employers saying Chicago is moving
in the right direction, compared to 49 percent of Chicago workers and 27 percent of national
workers.
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The findings presented here are part of a multi-audience
research project sponsored by the University
of Phoenix. Telephone interviews were conducted among a
random sampling of 100 Chicago
area business executives with hiring and management
responsibilities, 500 Chicago workforce members 18-54 years of age,
and 500 national workforce members from April 5-21, 2011. The sampling error for the
business executives sample is +/- 9.8 percentages points at the 95
percent confidence interval and for the workforce samples is +/-
4.4 percentage points. Survey interviewing and analysis were
completed by APCO Insight, an international opinion research and
consulting firm.
ABOUT UNIVERSITY OF
PHOENIX
University of Phoenix is constantly
innovating to help students balance education and life in a rapidly
changing world. Through flexible schedules, challenging courses and
interactive learning, students achieve personal and career
aspirations without putting their lives on hold. As the flagship
university of Apollo Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: APOL), University of Phoenix serves a diverse student
population, offering associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral
degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S.
as well as online throughout the world. For more information, visit
phoenix.edu.
SOURCE University of Phoenix