It’s been six years since I covered workforce issues in Control’s “Close the skills gap” cover story in September 2019. This is unfortunate because researching this topic generates answers that can help optimize control and automation processes.
In this year’s version, “Refill the personnel pool”, Brett Fansler of Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte, N.C., reminded me that the nation’s 1,500 community colleges are “still typically the best kept secret in their communities.”
I can independently confirm this because, long ago when I was a weekly newspaper reporter in suburban Chicago, I learned many residents were unaware of the community colleges in their own towns. They were also often clueless about how nearby community colleges could help—not just students—but also local businesses and working people with retraining and other learning opportunities. I also know there’s nothing community college staffers like better than collaborating with local professionals to develop a curriculum that can provide companies in their districts with the skills they need.
But where does this initial lack of awareness come from?
Of course, people get distracted by multiplying tasks, and right and left hands often don’t know what the other is doing—even in small organizations. Plus, many engineers and other professionals I’ve interviewed over the years also report getting so focused on hyper-specialized problems that it’s usually difficult to look back on bigger pictures, and assess how they and a possible course correction could be helpful.
However, while some awareness deficits are doubtless accidental, I get the sense that looking exclusively in one direction or being blind to what’s right in front of us is increasingly willful, even if it’s semi-conscious. “I can’t see” sounds better than “I won’t see.”
In the case of community colleges, going back to school may feel like getting demoted, punished—or worst of all—being yelled at. To avoid getting scolded, many of us actively insulate ourselves against even the possibility of hearing something we don’t want to, something unfamiliar that might conflict with our prejudices, or something that might show us we’re not as smart as we’d like to think.
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Either way, we develop reflexes and habits of not reaching out and not talking openly with each other.
But again, why?
I think civilization forces collaboration and social interactions on our hunter-gatherer biology, which evolved to survive in isolated environments, and still isn’t psychologically equipped to handle society’s stresses. Much more recently, successive industrial, electrical, computerized and now digitalized revolutions accelerate our required interactions, which continue to grate on and irritate out many individuals. Maybe that’s why many of us dads resist asking for directions.
I’m not excusing personal inertia, indolence, irresponsibility or any other bad behaviors, but what can be done?
Well, as with any transition, even a little preparation and practice can help. It’s better to be braced than blindsided.
Many of the system integrators, suppliers and community colleges in this issue’s cover story are already forming closer and deeper ties, so they can cooperate on effective instruction. They’re also reaching out ahead of time to local schools, families and communities to proactively increase awareness. This lets the colleges promote their educational messages, and lets companies and industries show they can provide good careers that are worth pursuing. Hopefully, more students young and old can be sold on this idea.
