WORLD ECONOMY: Where do Jobs come from?

I think we all agree it’s time to get serious about the economy, job creation, and economic prosperity. It’s going to take a conscious, purposeful, massive, collective effort to turn this economy around, and return it to prosperity.

This is going to take all the problem-solving, investigative, innovative, collaborative, and creative energy we have to accomplish this. But we can’t begin to imagine the solutions and innovations that would arise from this massive, creative and analytical effort. And President Obama is perfectly suited for ushering in and supporting this age of higher-order thinking (HOT Skills Age), which this complex, knowledge-based 21st century demands.

Why this focus on HOT skills? Because it’s where the jobs come from.

As I watch country after country announce massive lay-offs, and as millions of jobs are lost, I can’t help but think of a fall tree shedding it leaves and heading to a long, bare winter.

And this elicits the question: Where do jobs come from? What causes the spring tree to blossom into full, leafy (jobs) bloom, and head into a long, productive growth cycle?

I’ve come to the conclusion that:

In this complex, knowledge-based, 21st century, the water, warmth, and sunshine are HOT skills.

Consider this excerpt from the 2006 report, 21st Century Skills, Education &; Competitiveness, by the highly influential Partnership for 21st Century Skills:

“The ingenuity, agility and skills of the American people are crucial to U.S. competitiveness. Our ability to compete as a nation—and for states, regions and communities to attract growth industries and create jobs—demands a fresh approach to public education. We need to recognize that a 21st century education is the bedrock of competitiveness—the engine, not simply an input, of the economy.”

So a “21st century education” is the Engine of the economy. The Partnership sorts this 21st century education into four areas, one of which is “learning and innovation skills.” These core 21st century skills are listed as:

1. critical thinking,

2. communication,

3. problem solving,

4. collaboration,

5. innovation.

These are also known in educational research as higher-order thinking (HOT) skills.

Students should be taught HOT skills, to become more analytical, innovative, and effective, all of which is highly sought after by employers in this complex, knowledge-based, 21st century. So those with a focused HOT skills education will greatly improve their odds for economic success.

And this “HOT Skills Surge” will release a massive quantity of critical and creative energy into the economic system, producing hitherto undreamed of innovations and solutions for all sorts of problems and opportunities.

These create jobs, products, and services, which creates a consumer class ready and able to make purchases, which completes the economic cycle, with economic prosperity the result.

CONCLUSION
Jobs and economic prosperity in the complex, knowledge-based, 21st century come from HOT skills.

Ultimate Economic Stimulus: HOT Skills

Everyone agrees. The economic system is in shambles, and some sort of Obama economic stimulus package is desperately needed.

This invokes the question: what is it that stimulates the economy in normal times when government intervention isn’t required? In other words, what is the Engine of the Economy?

Consider this excerpt from the 2006 report, 21st Century Skills, Education &; Competitiveness, by the highly influential Partnership for 21st Century Skills:

“The ingenuity, agility and skills of the American people are crucial to U.S. competitiveness. Our ability to compete as a nation—and for states, regions and communities to attract growth industries and create jobs—demands a fresh approach to public education. We need to recognize that a 21st century education is the bedrock of competitiveness—the engine, not simply an input, of the economy.”

So a “21st century education” is the Engine of the economy. The Partnership sorts this 21st century education into five areas, one of which is “learning and innovation skills.” These core 21st century skills are listed as critical thinking, communication, problem solving, collaboration, and innovation. These are also known in educational research as higher-order thinking (HOT) skills.

Thus we can conclude that:

HOT skills are the firey core of the Engine of the economy.

And from this we can conclude:

The 21 century HOT skills of critical thinking, problem solving, innovation, communication, and collaboration can drive us out of this recession, and bring about a new age of economic prosperity.

These 21st century HOT skills all have reasoning as their basis, and the Partnership, consisting of Microsoft, Apple, Dell, Verizon, Ford, and others, have lauched a major campaign to infuse them into the school curriculum, as a necessity for success in the 21st century economy.

Because of this we can conclude that the HOT skills Age has arrived. Due to the fact that our survival and economic success in the complex 21st century requires 21st century HOT skills, meaning reasoning applied in critical and creative thinking, the dawning of the HOT Skills Age has naturally occurred, circa 2002 (see this blog’s posts for critical thinking/HOT around the world.)

The question is can we get the college/University students (and workers) to train up their HOT skills, so that they can apply them effectively and creatively in their occupations to prosper, and grow the economy? Can we get the core of the Engine big and burning white hot in the mission of economic prosperity?

This is an important question because one can make the high-probability prediction that:

If the USA gets out of this recession, it will be because of the energetic application of the five, core, 21st century HOT skills of critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, communication, and innovation.

The HOT skills Age has arrived. Will you join the revolution, and be a part of the 21st century Engine of economic prosperity?