The Millennials Are Coming! The Millennials Are Coming!

60 Minutes recently did a report on the changing workforce and how the climate and culture of work sites is shifting due to the infusion of Millennials, people born between the years of 1980 to 1995. (check out video at http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3486473n ) If you compute the math, the age range of these individuals now is between 12 and 27. Millennials, around 79 million strong, now outnumber the Baby Boomers, estimated between 60-70 million. As baby boomers begin to retire and exit the workforce, they are being replaced by this new type of worker who grew up in an environment far different than what older generations were exposed to.

While careful not to make a hasty generalization, how is this new breed of workers different from past generations? For one they are more tech savvy. It took 40 years for electricity to enter adoption by 25% of US households. Compare that to the 13 years for US cell phone adoption and 5 years for broadband. Access has surpassed assets as to what creates value for many businesses today. Millennials learned how to multi-task much earlier than previous generations with the wide ranges of techno gismos and tools available today.

Secondly, millennials grew up with many more experiences and were raised with the embedded notion that they can accomplish anything they want and did not need to ever settle for less than their parents and grandparents may have. They were no longer in a society where they had to "settle" for something, and in turn, could accomplish anything they wanted. Their definition of success focuses as much on time with friends and family as it does with economic stability and climbing the corporate ladder.

In studying how the American worker is changing, how do we prepare the millennial student at a school like CATEC? For one, we need to do more with utilizing the technological skill sets that students bring with them for use in an educational environment. If multitasking is an inherent skill set, how can we maximize the potential of what a student can perform within an instructional setting while utilizing their knowledge of techno gadgets such as IPODS, cellphones, and gaming software? We have started this process by having students take more ownership for their own knowledge, in a complementary way, through the use of technology kiosks located in classrooms such as Nurse Aide, Auto Technology, and Horticulture. This is an area we have only begun to explore while researching the different collaborative ways to integrate in the future. We have also begun Entrepreneurship training in several of our programs including Cosmetology and Information Technology. Providing a practical process for students to understand the steps in creating a business plan and learning how they can become the next generation of innovators and creators is a challenging, yet rewarding opportunity.

Technical skills are at the heart of what we provide students at CATEC, but our future is in complementing these skills with practical applications of technological, innovative, and entrepreneurial skills that will better prepare Millennnials for 21st century employment.

So, what do you think? Let us know by replying to the blog.