David Magallanes
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By David Magallanes / Guest contributor
Dr. Richard Rush, president of CSU Channel Islands, and Dr. Jamillah Moore, chancellor of the Ventura County Community College District, wrote recently in a joint column, “California is facing a shortfall of qualified workers…” (1)
They continued by saying that the community colleges and the state university system were working together to increase the number of university graduates as an attempt to meet the inevitable crisis just over the horizon.
On the previous page of the same newspaper, Paul White, director of Stronghold School Systems in Ventura, claimed: “Some 60 percent of all the VUSD [Ventura Unified School District] students who will receive their diplomas this month won’t be able to start college because their skills are too low to qualify them for college-level classes.” (2)
Not coincidentally, the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office informs us that the Public Policy Institute of California estimates that by 2025 California will face a shortage of one million college degree and certificate holders needed to fuel its workforce, and that with baby boomers retiring as the best educated and most skilled workforce in U.S. history, labor experts are concerned that California will lack workers with the critical aptitude needed to replace them. (3) Perhaps “panic” would be a more fitting reaction.
To loosely paraphrase a quote used by astronauts who were reporting a very serious technical problem on board their Apollo 13 spacecraft to the control center in Houston: “California, we have a problem.” What does this mean for our state, for our children and grandchildren? Stay tuned until next week in this column.
(1) Ventura County Star, A wave of college celebrations, June 8, 2014, p. 9B
(2) Ventura County Star, More to worry about beyond students eating cookies, June 8, 2014, p. 8B
(3) California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Key Facts about California Community Colleges, February 5,2014, http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/PolicyInAction/KeyFacts.aspx
— David Magallanes is a writer, speaker, entrepreneur and retired professor of mathematics. You may contact him at adelantos@msn.com. You may visit his web site for better health at www.wellness4families.myshaklee.com.
Condenándonos a nosotros mismos en California—1ª Parte
Por David Magallanes / Columnista invitado
Dr. Richard Rush, presidente de CSU Channel Islands, y Dr. Jamillah Moore, Canciller del Ventura County Community College District, escribieron junta y recientemente en una columna periodística, “California está enfrentando una escasez de trabajadores calificados… (1)
Siguieron diciendo que los colegios comunitarios y el sistema de universidades estatales estaban colaborando para aumentar la cantidad de graduados universitarios como un intento para confrontarse con esta crisis inminente.
En la página anterior del mismo periódico, el Sr. Paul White, director de Stronghold School Systems en Ventura, proclamó, “Aproximadamente el 60 por ciento de todos los estudiantes del Ventura Unified School District (distrito escolar de Ventura) quienes van a recibir sus diplomas este mes no podrán comenzar sus estudios en nuestros colegios porque sus habilidades académicos están muy por debajo de lo necesario para que califiquen por sus clases a nivel de colegio”. (2) [Mi traducción]
No es una coincidencia que la Oficina del Canciller de los Colegios Comunitarios Californianos nos ha informado que el Instituto de Política Pública de California estima que para el año 2025, California enfrentará una escasez de un millón de graduados universitarios para alimentar su mano de obra. Además, hay que tomar en cuenta que los “baby boomers” (nacidos entre 1946 y 1964), la mano de obra más educada y más adiestrada en la historia de Estados Unidos, se están jubilando. Los peritos laborales se preocupan de que a California le faltará trabajadores con las críticas aptitudes necesarias para reemplazar a estos jubilados. (3) Quizás el “pánico” sería una reacción más adecuada.
Para citar libremente a los astronautas que estaban informando al centro de control en Houston sobre un problema técnico muy serio a borde de la nave espacial Apollo 13: “California, tenemos un gran problema”. ¿Qué significa esto para nuestro estado, para nuestros hijos y nietos? Quédense sincronizados a esta columna hasta la próxima semana.
(1) Ventura County Star, A wave of college celebrations, June 8, 2014, p. 9B
(2) Ventura County Star, More to worry about beyond students eating cookies, June 8, 2014, p. 8B
(3) California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Key Facts about California Community Colleges, February 5,2014, http://californiacommunitycolleges.cccco.edu/PolicyInAction/KeyFacts.aspx
– David Magallanes es un escritor, orador, empresario y profesor jubilado de matemáticas. Se puede comunicar con él por e-mail a: adelantos@msn.com. Usted puede visitar su sitio cibernético para la salud en www.wellness4families.myshaklee.com.
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