On Connecting School and Work

Abstract

Few American employers see schools as effective partners in their search for skilled workers. This growing disconnection between the nation's schools and its businesses threatens to undermine the educational quality of the workforce, on which American productivity depends. The challenge is to develop initiatives that require neither new funds nor another government agency; rely on the market to create incentives for firms to invest in human capital; and lower the costs to employers of screening and hiring workers. Given these problems and constraints, this article proposes the following solution: to foster education and training; to forge better, more substantive exchanges between employers and schools; to create internships that are administered at the state and local levels; and to make grades and school reputation important criteria when hiring young workers.