OpenAccess for World-Wide Education and Training

The number of people with the desire, focus, and energy to learn skills that require considerable rigor far exceeds the resources that would be required to educate and train those people. By this I mean that the capacity is there (both in the person and the institutions) but the funding is not. This is especially the case with people in less wealthy countries.

One of the cost issues lies in access to the literature. Many authors and others concerned with education and training have recognized the problems that come about when commercial publishers (for-profit and non-profit) get control of the world's intellectual output. Thus, those who produce that output are increasingly turning to OpenSource, CreativeCommons, OpenAcess, GeneralPublic, and PublicDomain styles of licensing. The internet has created a connected world. Within that world, it is relatively easy to produce, store, and index books, articles, seminars, and even entire courses. Additionally, print-on-demand presents a cost-effective means of producing a physical product when that is desired.

I was asked by the University of Zimbabwe, Department of Computer Science, to design a course that would retain rigor and quality study material while not depending on a traditional textbook. You are welcome to read what I found out about freely-accessible material that maintains quality while controlling costs.

Book Review: Share or Die

Share or Die has the goal of talking about sharing as a means of survival in today's economy. The book presents stories collected from young liberal arts graduates and their post-graduation efforts to establish themselves. The stories are most revealing. There are 26 stories. These come from a broad spectrum of situations involving many types of people. I found that these groups of people include: the totally clueless, the totally rebellious, the achievers, and the survivors. Along the way you will find inspiring stories from people who made something meaningful happen in their lives and careers. They tell about what they did and how they got through the down times. These stories offer a lot to think about and many ways to look at difficult situations. You will benefit from the stories offered in this book, even if some of them are an example of what not to do. A detailed review is posted on my website.

STEM Education Websites

It has always been my opinion that the education and training of the next generation of professionals starts in the home. Society can assist though its educational systems but the beginning and foundation of a person’s upbringing has to be provided, fostered, and encouraged by the parents.

Others in the professional community can be called upon to assist in the educational pipeline. To that end, a committee was formed in our parish to develop input to the parish grade and middle school on STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). Part of the committee’s task was to find websites that offer resources for teachers and students. These resources are just as well used by parents as they help their children explore their interests and talents.

Our committee published their results.

For Those Said to be "Over-Qualified"

Often, I hear of people being given the "over-qualified" brush-off. What I do about that is seek out jobs for which most people are under-qualified. I also do not put pearls before swine. What I mean by that is I seek out employers who need, and know they need, people of high skill and long experience. One has to know one's industry and maintain good networking but that does have advantages.

This mentality draws from my concept of a job/skills pyramid. The pyramid has three sections:

1. Bottom of the pyramid. This RED section has tons of jobs, so many that one is easily fooled into thinking that employment will always be available. However, these jobs are so easy that, regardless of the number of jobs available, there are tons more people than there are jobs. Generally, such jobs involve commodity skills. It is a good place to start but no place to stop one's development.

2. Middle of the pyramid. This YELLOW section has fewer jobs but a balance between the number of jobs and the number of people who can do those jobs. Getting to this level takes more personal and professional development than that required for the bottom RED section.

3. Top of the pyramid. This GREEN section has even fewer jobs than the middle YELLOW section but there are always fewer people who can do those jobs than the number of jobs available. Regardless of the economy, companies that need such skill and experience can never find and keep enough of this kind of person. The required skills are definitely not commodity.

To rise through the job/skills pyramid, one needs a strong performance ethic, an on-going cycle of study-learn-work-produce. From this perspective, work ethic is not sufficient, since work by itself will not yield the desired results. One also has to activate the entire performance-ethic cycle.

For more discussion, see: http://informationanthology.net/CareerMentor/Winning-Careers.html.

Maintain Self-Confidence

There is a vast difference between one’s calling, career, and job. God equips us to carry out our calling by equipping us with a set of talents and gifts, and the passion to use them in his service.

JaNee' Yeates reminds us that we have to trust our talents, that we should never second guess our innate gift and passion. These are something that is specifically designed and earmarked just for each person by God Himself. They are tailor-made to suit a particular individual. When your critics speak, they base their opinions on their personal thoughts and opinions. However, just like a suit or dress, it will never make sense to them because they can not fit it.

Read more of what JaNee’ has to say:
http://informationanthology.net/CareerMentor/Self-Confidence.html.

Encouraging Education and Training

Regardless of the economy, most companies have difficulty hiring and retaining quality personnel. One cause lies in the education and training of people that companies wish to employ. Historically, companies ran extensive laboratories and training programs. Some few even ran entire universities. As these companies increasingly focused on producing and selling commodity products, these laboratories, training programs, and universities dried up or were spun off. Companies’ expectation now is that people will arrive fully ready to be profitably engaged. While one should expect to have a background suitable for employment at a given company, it is clear that balance has been lost and that the current approach is not working. This short article I wrote posits means by which companies can encourage the education and training of potential employees while creating win-win circumstances that benefit all concerned.

Tips for your First Job

Narayani Karthik has some excellent advice for those beginning their first job. She says that as your first day begins, you realize it is fun primarily because the feel good factor is still sinking deep inside you. However, this very job will also decide a lot for you, career wise. Your most important learning from your first job experience will be to strike a balance between your personal and professional life. She discusses several tips:

·       Observe more, listen more and talk less

·       Do not get judgmental

·       Learn, Know your job

·       Expand your network

·       Work when you should and play when you are relaxed

Read more about what Narayani has to say at:
http://informationanthology.net/CareerMentor/Advice-for-First-Job.html.