Future Jobs

Edward E. Gordon, PhD, is president of Imperial Consulting Corporation in Chicago, IL.

Edward Gordon brings a good deal of data, insight, and clarity to a hotly debated topic: the skills required by the workers of the Postindustrial Age. . . Future Jobs maps out the dimensions of an underappreciated crisis confronting not only the United States but also many of the world's developed and emerging economies: the rapidly growing shortage of adults who possess the basic skills to qualify for high growth, information-intensive jobs of what the author calls the age of 'cyber-mental work.' . . . Future Jobs makes a convincing case that there is an urgent need to provide tens of millions of U.S. workers—both the unemplyed and employed—with advanced cognitive skills. . . He concludes that the only effective means by which America can timely address its workplace skills crisis is through local initiatives: employers collaborating with educators, government, and civic leadership to provide millions of individuals with the specific skills required to perform the jobs of our Cyber-Mental Age.

• Foreword by Kevin HollenbeckAcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Jobs RevolutionPart I: Jobs and Careers1 The "Good Jobs"2 Career versus Jobs: What Are the Issues?Part II: The Roadblocks3 The Widening Job-Skills Gap4 Career Culture—Business Culture Fantasies5 The "Big Lie"Part III: The Breakthroughs6 Regional Talent Innovation Networks (RETAINs)7 Future Jobs at the GrassrootsPart IV: The Future8 A New Business Agenda9 Government Realignment10 Falling Off the Talent CliffAppendix I: Career Analysis ScorecardAppendix II: Training Return-on-Investment: Human Capital ROI Worksheet ExampleAppendix III: Comprehensive Career AcademiesNotesIndex