Over the past 25 years, the U.S. economy has shifted dramatically, with growing emphasis placed on high-skilled, knowledge-intensive jobs.  Survival in the increasingly competitive global marketplace has required businesses to recruit employees with high-level skills and abilities, including critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and decision making skills.   At the same time, the South’s economic and educational achievements are below that of the nation as a whole, putting the region at a significant disadvantage.

Thus, governors continue to revise and refine their state’s education and workforce development initiatives, while looking for ways to improve the alignment of their workforce capabilities with the needs of the current and prospective employers'.  Without question, Southern governors have dedicated significant time and attention to these issues, with specific initiatives ranging from keeping kids in high school and improving the academic rigor of high school curriculum to providing mentoring support and improving adult retraining programs. Now, governors also are beginning to recognize that the multitude of different independent entities involved in educating the workforce, as well as myriad sources of funding, can often create as many challenges as they are intended to resolve.

In the coming months, SGA will work with member governors to further explore the needs of employers in the South, in relation to the capabilities of the region’s workforce. Through the programs intended to produce those capabilities, we will begin to identify any gaps and determine the options available for closing those gaps.  

For a more in-depth exploration of the workforce challenges facing the South, download the Southern Growth Policies Board’s 2007 Report on the Future of the South Executive Summary.