Study Finds Curriculums and Training Programs Are Not Keeping Pace with Current Workforce...

Study Finds Curriculums and Training Programs Are Not Keeping Pace with
Current Workforce Attitudes and Needs
Creativity Top of Mind for Educators and Employers

NEW YORK, March 31 /PRNewswire/ -- An overwhelming majority of surveyed
school superintendents who educate future workers and employers who hire them
agree that creativity is increasingly important in U.S. workplaces, according
to key findings issued today from a forthcoming report by The Conference Board
and Americans for the Arts, in partnership with the American Association of
School Administrators.
Ready to Innovate: Are Educators and Executives Aligned on the Creative
Readiness of the U.S. Workforce? states that 99% of the 155 surveyed school
superintendents and 97% of the 89 surveyed employers believe that arts
training -- and, to a lesser degree, communications studies -- are crucial to
developing creativity. Yet, there is a fundamental gap between understanding
this truth and putting it into meaningful practice. Findings indicate that
most high schools and employers provide such training and studies only on an
elective or "as needed" basis.
"This study offers a great deal of food for thought and continued
investigation," says Jonathan Spector, Chief Executive Officer of The
Conference Board. "In particular, we believe it is time for employers to
evaluate how well their corporate support of education and the arts, as well
as their own employee-training programs, stack up against the strategic value
they themselves place on innovation and its creative underpinning. It is also
time for greater dialogue within and across all sectors to better understand
and align efforts to foster creativity in current and future employees."
Spector will be discussing the findings tonight at the 21st Annual Nancy
Hanks Lecture, featuring author Daniel Pink, at the John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and tomorrow morning in testimony to
the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment & Related
Agencies on the Role of the Arts in Creativity and Innovation. These events
are part of Arts Advocacy Day, a national convening presented by Americans for
the Arts.
Reads the report: "While creativity is recognized as a critical ingredient
to success in the workplace, schools and businesses need to re-examine their
curriculums and training programs to determine the most effective way to
increase the emphasis on developing this skill. That's the only true way to
effect change and turn out better qualified workers with more creative
talents."
DEFINING CREATIVITY THAT MAKES A DIFFERENCE
Both the superintendents and employers surveyed agree that the ability to
identify new patterns of behavior or new combinations of actions and
integration of knowledge across different disciplines are foremost in
demonstrating creativity. Other responses received reveal a lack of alignment.
For example, employers say problem identification and articulation are the
most important talents indicating creativity. School superintendents rank this
skill only 9th. While these superintendents rate problem-solving the highest,
employers rank it 8th.
These discrepancies bolster the view that while schools teach students how
to solve problems put before them, the business sector wants workers who can
identify the problems in the first place.
In addition, 70% of superintendents presume employers seek out "creative
thinkers" over "technically skilled" individuals. Employers, as a group, are
evenly split (49/51 respectively).
"The findings of the Ready to Innovate report present an opportunity for
school system and business leaders to further engage in a dialogue about how
best to foster creativity among students, not only to produce a competitive
workforce, but also to help all students succeed in life," says Paul D.
Houston, AASA executive director.
HOW TO IDENTIFY CREATIVE WORKERS
Frustratingly, 85% of employers concerned with hiring creative people say
they can't find the applicants they seek. These employers use job interviews
as their primary tool for assessing creativity and they mostly look for
spontaneity and creative responses to hypothetical scenarios.
"There is no question that the arts should be an essential element of
education," said Robert L. Lynch, President and CEO of Americans for the Arts.
"Additionally, the arts are an indispensable tool for building the creative
thinking skills essential to ensuring that American business and culture will
prosper. And this study demonstrates there is increased recognition among
business and education leaders that the arts are a vital factor to building a
competitive and highly effective workforce."
Eighty-three percent of educators and 61% of employers responded that they
feel responsible for fostering creativity. However, only three from a list of
12 creativity-promoting educational activities/experiences are part of the
curriculum in half of the surveyed schools. And of a comparable list of eight
employee activities/training options, less than one in ten employers surveyed
said they provide seven of them to all their employees. In addition, only four
of the eight options are offered even on an "as needed" basis by more than
half the employers.
The situation isn't much better among those employers who cite creativity
as a primary hiring criterion. In this group, 80% provide the three
activities/training options that they say best develop creativity -- working
in departments other than their own, managerial coaching, and mentoring --
only on an "as needed" basis.
In summary, this new research shows that both businesses and schools
recognize the critical role of creativity as a workforce skill, and both
groups accept the role they have in fostering it. Both also recognize that
arts-training is a key way to foster creativity. Yet despite this recognition,
most schools do not include arts training as a mandatory part of the
curriculum, and most businesses provide creativity-fostering training only to
very few employees. With this growing recognition of the role a creative
workforce has on the global competitiveness of American business, both
business and education leaders need to examine what changes can be made to
more widely foster these skills in our current -- and especially our
future -- workers.
The Conference Board
The Conference Board creates and disseminates knowledge about management
and the marketplace to help businesses strengthen their performance and better
serve society. Working as a global independent membership organization in the
public interest, The Conference Board conducts conferences, makes forecasts
and assesses trends, publishes information and analysis, and brings executives
together to learn from one another. The Conference Board is a not-for-profit
organization and holds 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States. Visit
The Conference Board's website -- www.conference-board.org
About Americans for the Arts
Americans for the Arts is the leading nonprofit organization for advancing
the arts in America. With offices in Washington, DC, and New York City, it has
a record of 48 years of service. Americans for the Arts is dedicated
to representing and serving local communities and creating opportunities for
every American to participate in and appreciate all forms of the arts.
Additional information is available at www.AmericansForTheArts.org.
About American Association of School Administrators
The American Association of School Administrators (www.aasa.org), founded
in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational
leaders across the United States. AASA's mission is to support and develop
effective school system leaders who are dedicated to the highest quality
public education for all children. AASA's major focus is standing up for
public education.
SOURCE The Conference Board

Frank Tortorici of The Conference Board, +1-212-339-0231,
f.tortorici@conference-board.org; or Amy Vogt of AASA +1-703-875-0723,
avogt@aasa.org; or Liz Bartolomeo of Americans for the Arts, +1-202-371-2830,
lbartolomeo@artsusa.org