Professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) in the biomedical sciences industry can grow their digital and leadership skills through an initiative launched yesterday.

The Biomedical Sciences Training Community has been set up by NTUC's Employment and Employability Institute (e2i) and the Chemical Industries Employees' Union (CIEU) with the aim of building a community of learners.

One key programme under the initiative is Project Zodiac, a leadership training workshop to help middle and senior managers develop self-awareness and adaptive skills such as effective communication, problem solving and resilience.

It comprises a two-day retreat and three half-day workshops, as well as a 60-day period for them to implement what they have learnt through a project at work.

About 100 mid-management employees from 14 companies have taken part since it started in March, and another 100 will likely attend by the year end.

The Biopharmaceutical Manufacturers' Advisory Council (BMAC), a group of government agencies and 16 companies, started the programme as a pilot two years ago with leadership training company Forest Wolf and now wants to expand it to the rest of the industry.

BMAC co-chair Lim Hock Heng, who is vice-president and site director at GSK's Pharmaceuticals Supply Chain Singapore, said many foreign biomedical firms here are still young and are currently led by people from their home countries.

But over time, as these companies develop more confidence in the local teams, more locals may be appointed to lead the firms.

"There are many bright and young locals with deep technical skills, but as we prepare them for leadership roles, they need to know how to make good decisions, navigate complex environments, take risks and motivate people," he said.

"This requires a conscious investment in soft skills," he added.

Singapore's biomedical sciences industry employs over 22,000 people and includes eight of the top 10 pharmaceutical and biologics companies in the world, said NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng at an industry event yesterday.

Technology adoption by companies is high and more advanced than in most other industries, so workers need to adapt, he said.

"Having the strategy to match Worker 4.0 with Industry 4.0 is key to meeting the demand for skilled manpower in both technical and management positions," he added.

Besides improving leadership skills, workers can also attend bite-sized courses on Industry 4.0 run by Nanyang Technological University and Republic Polytechnic.

They can also learn about digitalisation and industry topics such as microbiology laboratory safety and stem cell technologies, through NTUC's mobile learning app ULeap.

So far, close to 1,500 PMETs have gone through these programmes, and e2i and CIEU aim to train another 1,500 by next year.

GSK senior chemical engineer Charles Wong, 36, attended the Project Zodiac course in March and April and was one of the top graduates. He said he used what he learnt on a yield improvement project he was leading.

He led his team of about 20 people to reduce the scope and cost of the project by 95 per cent, while still achieving the same yield outcome.

He also convinced senior managers to endorse the new plan by tailoring his presentation to their different communication styles.

The team was able to complete the project while he was on paternity leave in June.

"I felt very proud as a person and also for my team," said Mr Wong.

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Building leadership, digital skills in biomedical sciences sector - The Straits Times

Ravens can plan for the future. Octopuses create armour out of coconut shells. Orangutans can talk about the past.

Scientific research constantly gives glimpses into new dimensions of animal cognition. But intelligencewhich is so complex and encompasses such a wide range of adaptive abilitiesremains confoundingly tricky to measure.

One of the biggest challenges is our inability to comprehend how other species process information, says Kristina Horback, an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Science at the University of California, Davis, who studies the cognitive abilities of livestock animals.

Kanzi, a 39-year-old bonobo, became well-known for his language skills. He can communicate using hundreds of symbols that correlate to words.PHOTOGRAPH BY VINCENT J. MUSI, NAT GEO IMGE COLLECTION

Some animals have senses we cant even understand, such as sharks, which have an acute sensitivity to electrical currents, or insects, some of which can see ultraviolet light.

Our own senses skew how we perceive intelligence in animals. The mirror testan animals ability to recognise itself in the mirroris commonly used to assess capacity for self-awareness. Bottlenose dolphins, magpies, and manta rays are among the few species that have passed that test.

Because vision is key to humans, it makes sense that visual recognition of the self would be our default, Horback says. But what about species that rely on smell for identification, like swine? Visual information is not important to these species. Because the mirror test favors species that rely on vision over scent, it doesnt offer an objective measure of self-awareness.

We cant meaningfully compare intelligence among animals. One species might excel in one area but perform poorly in another and vice versa. And so much of an animals ability to pass a cognition test depends on its sensory abilities. Using human abilities as a comparative benchmark reveals the drawbacks of our attempts to measure intelligence across species.

Our vision is good, but not as good as hawks. Our hearing is good, but not as good as rats, says Edward Wasserman, a psychology professor at the University of Iowa who compares cognitive abilities among species. Our sense of smell, he says, is on the poor side, and dramatically outclassed by dogs.

As Wasserman puts it, How we contrive tests of intelligence may tell us more about the sensory abilities of animals than their intellectual abilities.

Add to that our tendency to value cognitive abilities that are human-like as evidence of higher intelligence. Many people say, I hear that pigs are smart, and sheep are dumb, Horback says. This is completely false. Pigs, like humans, are opportunistic omnivoresthey eat whatever they can find. Theyve evolved the ability, she says, to remember food locations and to use deception to keep other pigs away from their stashes. Sheep, on the other hand, are grazers. They have different skills, such as the ability to detect subtle flock movements. They do not need to solve complex food mazes or trick others away from food source, Horback says. It just does not make sense for sheep to have that particular cognitive skill.

Every species is adapted to its own environment. Animals generally have the cognitive abilities necessary to thrive. There are species which simply do not need to retain the capacity for complex problem solving [or] tool use, Horback says, pointing out that having more cognitive abilities than necessary would be wasteful for the animal's survival.

Barnacles do not move. Food comes to them, Wasserman says. Why should they engage in great feats of learning or reasoning?

Although scientists reject the notions of measures of absolute or comparative intelligence in animals, advances in technology are providing new insights.

Touchscreens in particular are proving to be a real game changer, Wasserman says. So long as animals can activate the screen by touching, nosing, or pecking, we can craft clever tests of their intelligence.

Here are 14 species from the animal kingdom that have demonstrated notable cognitive feats.

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See 14 Animals That Have Shown Us Their Impressive Smarts - National Geographic Australia

If youre one of the 3.7-million high school leavers or part of the 3.9-million graduating college in 2019, then 2020 is your opportunity to enter the workforce.

Most newbies to the workplace have the dream of landing a job that pays them a fantastic salary. In the world of employment, getting a job that pays an annual salary of over $100,000 is the benchmark for success.

People in this earning bracket are in the top 28-percent of households in America, and they have a far more comfortable way of life than those struggling to make a living.

Many people are under the impression that you need a college education to land a high-paying job. However, there are plenty of opportunities available to earn a high salary, even if you only made it through high school.

We put together this list of high paying jobs available in 2020. If you find an occupation that you think you may enjoy, then make the arrangements to chase your goal and land the high-paying job of your dreams.

Read: 14 High Paying Jobs ($100k+) Without a College Degree

With the success of big tech founding new markets online, there is more demand for computer programmers than at any other point in history. People that can code are valuable employees, and if youre good at your job, then you can expect a tech conglomerate to snap you up quickly.

The average salary for coding is around $134,000, but some individuals can command two or four times that amount depending on their skill level. Coders spend extended periods at their workstations, and the expectations by employers are high. Many coders lead very stressful lives, but their personality suits the pressure of the situation, and they are comfortable with 20-hour workdays.

The demand for qualified coders is astounding. You might not need any qualifications to join the industry if you have a high level of skill. However, most tech firms require you to have a diploma in IT or computer languages.

Professionals that modify or build websites are also in high demand in the workplace. As the digital age advances, more businesses and individuals are going online every day. Most people that want to start a website have no clue on how to design and build a site. Instead, they rely on professional web developers to assist them in getting their company or brand into the online realm.

Most developers attend college to understand the complexities of website architecture and design. However, there are plenty of self-taught web designers that are every bit as talented as those with qualifications. If youre getting started with web design, and you dont plan on going to college, then try to acquire an apprenticeship.

You may not earn much when getting started. However, as your experience and expertise build, you can expect other companies to headhunt you for your talents. If you secure a web design job with a leading company, you can expect to make an annual salary of around $124,000 or more.

If its your dream to take to the skies as an airline pilot, then you could earn a salary of more than $160,000 per year. Commercial airlines require you to have a degree in the aviation industry to apply for a position as a pilot.

Aspiring pilots also need to complete a comprehensive training source that involves several modules. Flight school is a part of the requirement, and you can expect it to take you two years to gain your certification as a qualified pilot. After certification, youll need to log at least 250-hours of flight time.

People who are exiting the military, and spent their service flying choppers or planes can apply for a pilots license without a degree. Most airlines accept pilots that have some experience flying commercially for the armed forces, provided that they attend a course to learn the specifics of commercial flight.

There is a massive shortage of pilots at the moment, and if you receive your qualification, you can expect to get a job without any hassle.

Your parents probably told you that the only way to making plenty of money was to go to college and get a degree. While many of the occupations mentioned in this list are for college graduates only, there are a few that dont require any college education.

Doctors and lawyers earn a bundle, but they spend over 7-years in college and residency to reach a point where they start making big money. Apart from these professionals, there are only a handful of other jobs that can gross you a salary above the $100,000-mark.

Sales are one of these jobs. Typically, sales reps work on commission. If you find a product that costs a fortune and offers decent commissions, you could be on your way to making a fortune. For example, if you get a job selling cellphones, you cant expect to earn much money. However, if you get a job selling Lear private jets, then you could make millions every year.

Great salespeople receive training from mentors that make them masters of the sales transaction. These professionals learn the art of opening, qualifying, presenting, and closing a deal. Every company in the world needs salespeople, but very few salespeople are performers. If you land a job with a sales company, you could expect a starting salary of $116,000 or more, depending on the industry.

If you have a natural flair for dealing with people, then why not give being a real estate agent a go for your career? Real estate agents dont require any university degree. All you need is to take a licensing exam thats easy to study for, and the test is designed to help you pass, rather than to trip you up.

After certification, you can buy, sell, and rent real estate in your state. Real estate agents can earn a salary of $112,000 or more, depending on the market they operate in and the deals they close. For instance, selling single-family homes in Wisconsin is not going to yield you the same commissions as in Bell Air.

Being a real estate agent requires hard work to succeed. Many new agents go nowhere with the job because they cannot market themselves and sell listings. If youre intending on becoming a real estate agent, invest in yourself and study a sales training program.

If you have a knack for the financial markets, and you cant stop watching Bloomberg, then you could have a career as a financial trader. Traders scour the markets every day, looking for opportunities to make money.

Many financial firms have large trading desks, and there are plenty of proprietary trading firms that are willing to take on new traders as well. In most cases, youll need a degree in finance to secure the job, but some institutions will take on traders with no degree.

Traders rely on different strategies in their approach to the markets. Some sell commodities, while others invest in equities or trade the forex market. Whatever your expertise and strategy, there is room to make money. Most traders receive massive bonuses at year-end, which sometimes can be triple their salary. Starting salaries for traders are at an average of $112,000 with additional performance bonuses.

If you watched the movie Pushing Tin, then you understand the basics of what it takes to be an air traffic controller. In the film, John Cusack plays Nick Falzone, a gung-ho air traffic controller thats good at his job. He receives competition from Billy Bob Thornton, a new controller from out of town.

In the movie, Cusack gets a near-collision warning and loses his nerve behind the radar. Being an air traffic controller requires you to have nerves of steel. You also need to make critical decisions quickly. Its for this reason that air traffic controllers dont need a college degree. Instead, they spend years in training school to reach a level where they are proficient at the task of directing air traffic.

Air traffic controllers work short shifts to keep them alert. They also undergo frequent toxin screening to ensure they are not under the influence of drugs or liquor at work. If you qualify as an air traffic controller, you can expect to earn a salary of around $1200,000 or more.

If you spent your youth watching true crime episodes, and have a penchant for solving crimes, then a detective could be your ideal occupation. Private investigators and special detectives are in high demand across the United States and the world. These individuals spend their days following people around and digging through peoples lives to find evidence.

If you have a natural aptitude for sniffing out lies and deception, then you could do well as a private investigator. Most PIs have a starting salary of $138,000 or more. Typically, most private investigators dont need to go to college to get a shot at earning a living as a full-time PI.

However, youll need to apply for the police academy. Many investigators get their foot in the door at a private investigation form because they have a police background.

Do you have complete command over the English language? If so, you could have a promising career as a writer. There are millions of writing jobs available, but most of them only offer an average pay package. However, if you find a job at a top publication, you could land an annual salary thats over $121,000.

Writers need to make deadlines, and they also need to have a clear understanding of how to present ideas to others through the written word. In most cases, writing for a living at a top publication requires you to have a degree in English. However, its possible to start your writing career with another firm and gain experience.

When you have the knowledge and experience behind you, you can move on to another job that pays far more for your writing skills.

Companies rely on marketing to bring their products and services into the public view. Marketing managers are responsible for coordinating marketing efforts, and they manage a team. As a marketing manager, youll need to attend college to receive a degree in business or marketing to qualify for the job.

Marketing managers have excellent compensation packages, with some managers grossing more than $147,000 per annum. Marketing is the key to expanding a companys bottom line and acquiring market share. Therefore, its no surprise that these individuals have high salaries.

Every business requires the help of a CPA to manage their accounting. CPAs typically go to college for four years and then spend another two or three years doing their articles for other companies. After qualifying as a CPA, you wont have much trouble finding a job. The world of finance and businesses continues to grow, even in todays slowing economic climate.

Accountants are crucial for businesses. Without a CPA on your side, youll never have an understanding of your numbers. Therefore, if you have a knack for dealing with figures, and your grades at school are fantastic, then try applying for an accounting degree after you leave high school.

CPAs are among some of the highest-paid professionals in the world. The average starting salary for a CPS is $122,000, and you can expect that to increase as you gain experience.

Looking through this list can leave you feeling more confused than ever about your employment prospects in the future. The key to finding a high-paying job that you enjoy is to work with your natural aptitudes and talents.

If you have a natural affinity for numbers, then youll probably do well as an accountant, and you should pursue this course of study. However, if you are only going to accounting school to satisfy the request of your parents, then you probably wont cut it in the real world.

Whatever vocation you choose, make it align with your interests. This strategy allows you to choose a job that youll love going to every day.

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Which are the Highest Paying Jobs Which Pay $100k+ - MoneyCheck

Advance Market Analytics released a comprehensive study of 200+ pages on Serious Game market with detailed insights on growth factors and strategies. The study segments key regions that includes North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific with country level break-up and provide volume* and value related cross segmented information by each country. Some of the important players from a wide list of coverage used under bottom-up approach are Playgen [United Kingdom],Innovataion Games [United States],Caspian [United States],Virtual Heroes [United States],Morf Media [United States],BreakAway [United States],Blitz Games [United Kingdom],Square Enix [Japan],ESim Games [United States],Designing Digitally [United States]

Request a sample report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/sample-report/46834-global-serious-game-market

A serious game, also known as applied games is game designed for purpose other than entertainment. These games are used in education, healthcare, emergency management, engineering and other fields. The purpose of such games varies from industries to industries. For serious games to be successful, a balance must be established between entertainment and the ad hoc it is designed for.

Market Segmentation:by Application (Emergency Services, Human Resources, Marketing, Product Development, Sales, Training, Support), Platform (Hand-held, Mobile-based, PC-based, Web-based)

Make an enquiry before buying this Report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/enquiry-before-buy/46834-global-serious-game-market

Whats Trending in Market:

Growing Demand for Mobile Based Educational Games

Social Media Penetration Drive Serious Games

Growth Drivers:

High Return on Investment

Improved Learning Experience

Restraints:

Improper Design of Games

Lack of Awareness Among Masses

View Detailed Table of Content @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/reports/46834-global-serious-game-market

Country level Break-up includes:North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)Europe (Germany, France, United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, Nordic, Others)Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, Australia, India, Taiwan, South Korea, Middle East & Africa, Others)

Extracts from TOC

1 Study Coverage

Industry Definition

..

2 Executive Summary

Global Serious Game Market Size (2014-2025) by Revenue, Production*, Growth rate

Analysis of Competitive Landscape Insights on Market Development Scenario

3 Market Size by Manufacturers [Market Share, Global Rank etc]

4 Global Serious Game Production, Consumption by Regions (2014-2025)

5 Market Size by Type

Global Serious Game Revenue by Type

Global Serious Game Volume by Type

Global Serious Game Price by Type

6 Market Size by Application (2014-2025)

Global Serious Game Breakdown Data by Revenue, Volume

7 Manufacturers Profiles

8 Value Chain and Sales Channels Analysis

Buy this report @ https://www.advancemarketanalytics.com/buy-now?format=1&report=46834

Contact Us:CRAIG FRANCIS (PR & Marketing Manager)sales@advancemarketanalytics.com

Ph: +1 (206) 317 1218

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Serious Game Market Is Gaining Huge Growth In Upcoming Years - The Market Journal

Detailsby Helen WilsonPublished: 13 September 2019Hits: 589

Following on from the launch of our Salary & Benefits Survey last week, we are expanding on some of the key issues raised in a series of weekly articles.

Firstly, a significant factor which can influence a candidates decision whether or not to stay with their current employer is the training and development opportunities offered. In the current candidate-driven market, the professional development opportunities that are on offer could be the make or break between accepting a role or deciding to stay put.

There are an array of benefits to offering training and development:

In order to implement an efficient training programme, a Training Needs Analysis (TNA) should be undertaken, looking at three tiers:

The training should be designed and delivered taking the above in mind. Off the peg training is often cheaper but doesnt always meet the objectives. Training that has been designed specifically from a TNA will be more aligned to help your company meet corporate objectives and offer a feel-good factor to employees as they feel their needs have been catered too.

Its easy to see why training is overlooked. One of the main reasons it doesnt have a tangible effect is because it isnt used back at the desk. People return from a training session and put the training material back in a desk never to see the light of day again. This means that behaviours dont change and skills may not improve.

Making sure that training programmes are tailored will ensure that any training delivered is utilised and therefore an investment, not a cost leading to a more content workforce.

Helen Wilson,Sales Director, GPRS Recruitment

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On 3rd September 2018, the Department for Educations statutory guid

More than 1 in 4 companies are considering changing apprentice provide

The government yesterday (11 Sept) confirmed Michelle Donelan as Parli

University of Cambridge Must Do More to Retain StudentsHighly selectiv

NAO report on Support for pupils with special educational needs and di

Today (11 Sept) the final report from the Forgotten Third Commission r

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Do you offer on-going training and development?: Benefits to the employer and individual - FE News

Erick Trickey is a writer in Boston.

NEWBURGH, N.Y. Suriana Rodriguez is only 19, but shes already lined up a full-time job at IBM. After her junior year in high school, she interned at the tech giants Poughkeepsie, N.Y., campus, 20 miles north of her hometown, for $17 an hour. For a year, Rodriguez has worked 40-hour weeks as an apprentice test technician, examining IBM mainframes to confirm they work before shipping them to customers. In January, shell move to a permanent position with a future salary that she says is definitely much more than I ever thought Id be making at 19.

Rodriguezs opportunities with IBM came to her thanks to her high school, Newburgh Free Academy P-TECH. Its part of an innovative public-school model that combines grade 9-12 education with internships and tuition-free community college. P-TECH, which stands for Pathways in Technology Early College High School, has spread to 10 states and 17 countries since its founding in Brooklyn in 2011. The P-TECH network is growing fast. By the end of 2019, there will be 220 P-TECH schools in operation. With 93,000 students nationwide, it is one of the most extensive career and technical education programs in the United States.

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For public school districts, starting P-TECH schools is a way to try to address the skills gapAmerican educations often-elusive goal of tying vocational training to what actual employers such as IBM and Cisco and Microsoft want. It focuses on the much-valued STEM subjectsscience, technology, engineering and math. It aims to prepare students for so-called new collar jobs: work in tech that requires more than a high school diploma, but not always a four-year college degree. And at a time when free college education is surging toward the top of the progressive agenda, its an affordable free-college program thats taken root in poorer cities, boosting high school graduation rates and two-year-college completion rates among students of color and immigrants.

P-TECH interns showed off their projects at an exposition hosted by IBM in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

In 2014, Newburgh, an industrial city of 28,000 in New Yorks Hudson Valley, was struggling with widespread abandoned properties and the states highest murder rate. A majority-Hispanic city where 31 percent of people are impoverished, Newburgh embraced a statewide expansion of the P-TECH program as a strategy for building opportunity. It launched its P-TECH school with a class of 50 ninth-graders.

Rodriguez signed up. Since none of my family had ever really graduated from high school or college, she says, I was very interested in the aspect of getting a free college degree. Rodriguez and 16 classmates who jumped onto P-TECHs fast track finished the six-year program in four years.

In spring 2018, Rodriguez graduated with both a high school diploma and an associates degree in cybersecurity from Orange County Community College. An undocumented immigrant, Rodriguez couldnt get federal financial aid to attend a four-year college. But shes authorized to work through the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals program, so she took advantage of another part of P-TECHs model: a job interview with IBM after graduation. This August, she became the first Newburgh P-TECH grad to get a full-time job with IBM. Earlier this year, she spoke, along with IBM CEO Ginni Rometty, at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Rodriguez is now a night-school student at Dutchess Community College, with a goal of getting a bachelors degree in electrical engineering in two years, and a masters in five years.

Newburgh, N.Y. has struggled with unemployment and crime. Mayor Torrance Harvey, bottom right, believes the P-TECH program can help the city improve its economic profile by training students to fill well-paying jobs in the area. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

Rodriguez is the first Newburgh graduate to go from IBM intern to apprentice to full employee, but others are likely to follow soon. IBM, which helped launch the first P-TECH school in 2011, is now affiliated with at least 30 P-TECHs worldwide. It has hired 30 of the 240 students whove graduated from IBM-affiliated P-TECHs so far, paying each a starting salary of at least $50,000.

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The P-TECH experience really helped me feel more confident overall, and it helped me learn a lot of skills that I am still today using, says Rodriguez, like collaborating and communicating, professional e-mail writing, and knowing when to ask questions and when to just listen.

Newburghs mayor, Torrance Harvey, is also a full-time P-TECH history teacher. He says the school helps Newburghs efforts to recover from its early-2010s crime epidemic. Public safety is always our No. 1 priority, but the next thing is how to create meaningful employment for our residents, Harvey says. Newburgh P-TECH students complete associates degrees in either computer networking or cybersecurityfast-growing fields, Harvey notes, whose importance has grown after Russias interference in the 2016 U.S. election and enormous data breaches suffered by corporate giants such as Target and Equifax.

These are inner-city Newburgh kids, the mayor says of his P-TECH students, and this program has changed the trajectory of their earning potential and their career potential and their education.

Newburghs P-TECH campus opened in 2014. Principal Kevin Rothman talks to Mayor Torrance Harvey, who also teaches history at P-TECH. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

Newburghs trajectory is changing too. Gun violence has declined 80 percent since 2015. City Hall has launched an aggressive revitalization plan, bulldozing buildings that had stood abandoned for decades. We were able to get businesses to return back to the city, Harvey says. We were able to get new home ownership. People are investing in our city like you wouldnt believe.

***

The P-TECH idea was invented in 2010, when then-IBM CEO Sam Palmisano was chatting up his friend Joel Klein, then New York Citys schools chancellor. During a rain delay at the U.S. Open tennis tournament, Palmisano told Klein that the tech industry was having trouble finding young people with the skills it needed. Klein proposed opening a six-year school with the City University of New York and curriculum input from IBM. Students could work IBM internships and, if they passed a company certification test, would be first in line for job interviews at IBM. Palmisano agreed. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced the plan in September 2010 and gave the partners a year to open the school.

When Klein and Palmisano shook on the deal, vocational education was just beginning to emerge from the academic backwater where it had languished for decades. Conceived a century ago so high school students could learn a trade if they werent going to college, vocational education had developed a reputation as a dumping ground for students who werent doing well in regular academics. Harvards influential Pathways to Prosperity report, released in 2011, warned that nearly two-thirds of new jobs of the 2010s would require more than a high school educationyet only 40 percent of Americans had obtained a bachelors degree or associates degree by their mid-20s.

Downtown Newburgh has been hit hard economically. Vincent Lacertosa, 18, from Newburgh, is a P-TECH graduate and an apprentice at IBM where he tests main frame computers. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

By contrast, the report noted, 40 to 70 percent of high school kids in many European countries spent three years in career programs that combined classroom and workplace experience, where they earned diplomas or certificates strongly valued in the labor market. Eight years later, critics of American career and technical education, as its called today, still complain that it needs to become more academically rigorous, better prepare students for education beyond high school, and provide actual work experience based on the needs of todays employers.

The first P-TECH, in Brooklyn, emulated the workplace learning focus of European vocational education while eliminating tuition costs. It established design principles that still apply to all the 200-plus P-TECH schools today. The entire program, including the community college courses, is cost-free. (P-TECH schools are funded through various combinations of local tax dollars, state funding, federal career-ed grants, and cost-sharing with local community colleges.) Theyre open-enrollment schools, with no testing or grade requirements for admission, and they focus on disadvantaged youth. The high school, the community college and the industry partner work together. The curriculum includes workplace skills, such as public speaking, as well as company mentors and paid internships. Graduates are first in line for job interviews at the partner company.

Suriana Rodriguez, 19, is the first Newburgh P-TECH graduate to get a full-time job offer from IBM. Shes currently an apprentice at IBMs campus in Poughkeepsie, above. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

Political leaders quickly embraced the model, excited by its combination of career and technical education, paid internships and early college. Barack Obama praised Brooklyns P-TECH in his 2013 State of the Union address and visited the school later that year. This is a ticket into the middle class, and its available to everybody whos willing to work for it, Obama said in an address at the school.

A year earlier, in 2012, Chicagos then-mayor, Rahm Emanuel, had inked a deal with IBM, Microsoft, Cisco, Verizon and Motorola to open five P-TECHs there. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo debuted a state P-TECH program in 2014, pledging $28 million over seven years for 18 new schools, including Newburghs. Connecticut opened its first P-TECH school, in Norwalk, in 2014, with then-Gov. Dannel Malloy cutting the ceremonial ribbon. P-TECH schools are popular in Northeastern cities and states, but have also caught on in Dallas, Baton Rouge and Colorado. Though Democratic governors and mayors have championed them, their public-private collaborations have also won over Larry Hogan, Marylands Republican governor.

Danille Jager is the liaison between Newburgh P-Tech and IBM. At a recent exposition for P-TECH interns, attendees got their passports stamped after they heard presentations from the students. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

In Baltimore, a conversation between Hogan and Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels, soon after the citys 2015 riots, led to the creation of two P-TECH schools in 2016. One is affiliated with IBM, while the other, located on the edge of Johns Hopkins hospital campus, is focused on health care, with the hospital and Kaiser Permanente as industry partners. This summer, 10 of its 200 students completed internships at the University of Marylands shock trauma center and John Hopkins anesthesiology, neurology and orthopedics departments.

Now, eight P-TECH schools are operating in Maryland, including four in Baltimore, with some state funding. The Maryland Chamber of Commerce has organized a consortium of 400 businesses to offer mentors, internships and job interviews to P-TECH students. The challenge in the P-TECH schools is not whether or not the individual jurisdiction wants to do it, says Keiffer Mitchell, a special adviser to Hogan. Its just finding enough businesses that can take on internships for the kids, and also have ideas [about] hiring those kids.

This May, Hogan signed a bill allowing for three more P-TECH schools in Maryland, after the state Senate killed his proposal to remove a state cap on the programs expansion. Were not against it, Paul Pinsky, chairman of the Maryland Senates education committee, told the Baltimore Sun. Its just we havent gotten the data back about whether its working or not.

Results have taken a while to emerge, since P-TECH schools are six-year programs, and most arent six years old yet. But the inaugural class at the original P-TECH in Brooklyn achieved a stunning 100 percent high school graduation rate, followed by 87 percent for the second class and 93 percent for the thirdcompared with graduation rates of 71-74 percent for their peers across New York City. Fifty-seven percent of the first class and 39 percent of the second class also graduated with the no-cost associate degree in a computer science field. Brooklyn P-TECHs principal, Rashid Davis, notes that many students who didnt get the associate degree took college courses, then transferred the credits to four-year colleges.

At Norwalk High School in Connecticut, P-TECH students study web design. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

About 70 percent of the Brooklyn P-TECH students are low income. Just under a third of the student body female and 55 percent of the students are black males. And P-TECH is not achieving those high graduation rates by taking it easy on the students. Davis says students at the open-enrollment Brooklyn P-TECH are achieving results on New York state college-readiness tests that are comparable with New York Citys screened and specialized high schools.

Students are buying into the culture, Davis says. Our attendance rate still hovers above 90 percent. That is a key indicator that students are wanting to be in this environment.

***

Vocational education used to teach students how to weld or how to fix a car. Todays career and technical education means something much different. Students are learning to code software, design websites, or operate robots and AI systems that have replaced manual-labor jobs across much of the economy.

China Tinnen and Nico Tullio are juniors in the P-TECH program at Norwalk High School. As part of the six-year program, P-TECH students take classes at nearby Norwalk Community College. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

This August, rising seniors at the P-TECH high school in Norwalk, Conn., gathered at Norwalk Community College for the P-TECH Norwalk Intern Expo. To mark the end of their summer internships, the students gave presentations on their work for their parents and their IBM mentors.

Bianca Velez and Pongsa Tayjasanant, both 17, stood behind a table and told passersby what they did with their summer. For eight weeks, at IBMs offices in White Plains, N.Y. (a half-hour from Norwalk via school bus), they worked in IBMs digital sales team. They used the companys Watson Language Translator, an artificial intelligence tool, to translate sales documents for IBM employees around the world.

Bianca Velez and Christian Tapper, both P-TECH students, take classes at Norwalk Community College. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

Instead of translating word for word like Google Translate, it looks at a document holistically, Tayjasanant explained, his polished presentation reflecting the public-speaking element in P-TECHs curriculum. Its able to keep the tone, able to keep the diction, the nuances to language that are so important.

Velez and Tayjasanant have each taken seven college courses already. Theyre on track to graduate next spring, in four years instead of six, with associates degrees as well as high school diplomas. At first, says Velez, the personal draw to me was, obviously, free college. Then she embraced P-TECH Norwalks path toward an associates degree in web development. Im really into things like design. I was thinking, maybe learning how to code and design websites was something I would really like to do. Now she knows she likes coding websites, but shes also considering careers in chemistry or chemical engineering, attending a four-year college, and working with IBM.

Velezs mother, Annette Velez, says P-TECH, especially its college classes and public-speaking course, have helped her daughter grow as a student. She was a very timid child, she recalls. Now shes very open, loves talking, sharing ideas.

Karen Amaker, principal of Norwalk High School, in a P-TECH web design class. | Mark Peterson/Redux Pictures for Politico Magazine

Karen Amaker, has been the principal at P-TECH Norwalk since 2014, when it was founded as Norwalk Early College Academy and adopted the P-TECH curriculum. She says the model works for students like Velez and Tayjasanantour high flyers who are on that fast track and for the typical P-TECH student, who completes the program in 5 to six years. For those families for whom college wasnt necessarily in their plannot because they didnt want it, because they didnt see it as accessibleI think P-TECH makes that accessibility and opportunity very much visible. Most P-TECH Norwalk students go on to pursue a four-year degree, Amaker says, and some choose careers outside tech. For instance, a recent graduate, accepted into the Rhode Island School of Design, didnt finish the associates degree, but transferred her college credits to her new school.

The Norwalk school, one of four P-TECH schools in Connecticut, launched with state funding. When that dried up after a year, Norwalk Community Colleges then-president used discretionary funds to pay for the students free college courses. Now P-TECH receives an extra $1,000 per pupil from the Norwalk school district to help cover the cost. Pell grants also help, as does federal funding from the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act.

I think one of the biggest mistakes Ive seen in education is this trend to do away with technical skills, Amaker says. Instead, she says, schools need to help students to develop those skills, be that auto mechanics, computer science, [or] now culinary arts, and all the things in between. We have to move away from this cookie-cutter model of doing education as rote memorization and really think about project-based learning and design thinking.

See the article here:
How Vocational Education Got a 21st Century Reboot - POLITICO

Friday, September 13, 2019 at 6:19 pm |Back to: Shared News

An artists rendering of the Royal Saint Lucia Turf Club

The first of 12 slots in the 2019 Pitons Cup, the feature race that will mark the launch of the Royal Saint Lucia Turf Club Dec. 13.

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, owner Sol Kumin and EliTE sales and bloodstock agent Bradley Weisbord have teamed to purchase the first slot for $20,000 to guarantee their spot in the field for the $150,000 race, to be contested at a mile and an eighth on the dirt track.

The endorsement of Todd, Sol and Brad in securing a slot on top of the level of enquiries we have received since announcing the Pitons Cup has been beyond expectation, said Eden Harrington, director of the RSLTC. Todd, Sol and Brad are leaders in the American racing industry, they have records of excellence and confirmation of their involvement in Saint Lucia is exceptionally rewarding. Not only are they passionate racing fans, they raise the standard of competition and bring great awareness of Saint Lucia with them.

The slot holders for the Pitons Cup may enter a racehorse of their choice, ownership of one of 12 selected unraced 2-year-olds currently in training in Florida (inclusive of flights to Saint Lucia and pre-training costs in the US); and an entry for that horse in the $20,000 supporting feature.

For additional information, visit https://rslts.com/the-pitons-cup/.

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First Pitons Cup Slot Snapped UpFirst Pitons Cup Slot Snapped Up - Thoroughbred Daily News

Stephanie ByrdCo-OwnerThe Block

What her business does: The Block is a casual, gastropub-style dining restaurant on Woodward Avenue between Selden and West Alexandrine streets. She also manages the adjacent Garden Theater, an events space for wedding receptions and banquets.

How she got started: Byrd left Detroit to get a college education at Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she studied marketing and communications. She lived and worked in D.C. for most of her 20s in marketing at H&R Block and XM Radio. In 2013, she moved back to Detroit to join her family's restaurant business. Her father, Michael Byrd, is the longtime owner of Flood's Bar & Grille on St. Antoine Street, adjacent to the headquarters of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. Michael Byrd and his business partner, George Stewart, own all of the buildings on Woodward between Selden and Alexandrine, known as the Woodward Garden Block Development. In building out an 88-seat restaurant at 3919 Woodward Ave., a group of consultants convinced the Byrds to open an upscale restaurant in November 2013, during construction of the QLine streetcar track on Woodward Avenue. "That was definitely our valley, that time during QLine construction," Stephanie Byrd said. After less than two years, the Byrds pulled the plug on Grille Midtown. "We found the concept didn't work, so we rebranded to something much more casual," Byrd said.

In rebranding the restaurant, the father and daughter were initially at an impasse over the new name. "We were considering calling it Byrd House or Byrd something," Stephanie Byrd said. "Me and my dad had a little argument about it and he said, 'Just call it The Block.' He didn't think I would take it and run with it. But I did run with it."

Keys to growth: In her years of going to college and working in Washington, D.C., Byrd saw restaurants come and go in multiple cycles as a "fickle" base of patrons never became loyal to any one establishment. In Detroit, she's found that loyalty is everything after four years of running The Block with a neighborhood bar and grill vibe. "Folks really want that Cheers environment they want their bartender to recognize them by name," she said.

Advice to other restaurateurs: Understand your clientele and be ready and willing to make changes. Byrd acknowledges she and her dad were too "hands off" with the Grille Midtown restaurant in 2013 competing with other nearby upscale establishments like Selden Standard and Grey Ghost. "That was a learning experience for us," she said.

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Meet 10 black entrepreneurs on the rise in Detroit - Crain's Detroit Business

Like a lot of my pieces, this one came about as the result of a question. A member of the cycling industry Facebook group was pointing out how hard it is to find a new position in the bike business and asked, where have all the bike jobs gone?

I should point out this was not the form this question usually comes in, which is from a person outside the business who wants to get into the industry for the first time. I still hear that version a lot (and I bet you do too, if you've been in the business awhile). I even published an answer to it a few years ago with the help of industry recruiter Terry Malouf. But this question came from a long term industry professional with solid credentials and a stable history who is currently between jobs for what seems like an unreasonably long time.

So I started thinking about it, and came to three tentative conclusions. See if you agree.

1. Traditional industry sales are down

Make no mistake. Bicycle sales in units have been essentially flat for the past 20 years; increases in average selling price have not kept pace with the changing value of the U.S. dollar. Net effect is that an industry traditionally run on lean margins makes less money on bikes than ever. And of course, more and more of those sales are channeled outside the traditional bike shop channel, often to consumer-direct brands.

A couple months ago I mentioned Its the same pair of pants; were just shuffling the money around to different pockets. What I failed to mention is that those pants now have not just fewer, but smaller, pockets as well.

As I mentionedin this space a couple months ago, "The fundamental truth is that across all channels, adult bikes aren't putting any more real dollars into the industry today than they were at the end of the Clinton administration. It's the same pair of pants; we're just shuffling the money around to different supplier and retailer pockets." What I failed to mention at the time is that those pants now have not just fewer, but smaller pockets as well.

Traditional equipment categories (PA&R, and variations thereof) have had their profitability gutted by the effects of internet discounting; on the other hand, price increases, particularly on top-end equipment, have outpaced the rising cost of money, unlike bikes. But more of that money is leaving the traditional retail channel orders of magnitude more than with bicycles and all too often, the country itself. Overall, my feeling is that fewer consumer dollars are entering the traditional equipment market, and this impact is felt across all segments in the supply chain.

Point of all this being, fewer dollars coming into the channel means fewer jobs available.2. The industry is consolidating, and so are the jobs

Further to my point about pockets and pants, as companies consolidate, so do the overall number of available positions. At both the retail and supplier levels, fewer employees cover more lines or locations to generate the same number of dollars, and fewer total employees are needed.

The most notable exception is mechanics. While the total number of shop locations stays relatively constant (although they may be consolidating under fewer owners), new bikes and equipment are becoming increasingly labor (and therefore time) intensive to service. Think electronic shifting, suspension systems or e-bikes and their various complex subsystems. Now think about all the different proprietary formats for all these categories. As the installed base of sophisticated products grows while the overall labor pool shrinks, what happens to the value of highly skilled mechanics? Demand begins to exceed supply, that's what. In fact, being a high-end mechanic might just be the best form of job security in an increasingly insecure industry.

3. Growth comes from new product categories ... and new job descriptions.

As the industry consolidates, the middle always tends to fall out. Companies at the bottom just don't have the resources to hire new folks. And increasingly, we see the ones at the top larger and often more agile players are sourcing talent from outside the traditional industry recruiting pool.

The current generation of industry-leading brands were all founded by entrepreneurs working with landlines and fax machines. The mountain bike was born before the desktop computer and a full decade before the web browser.

There are relatively few sharp young people working the supplier help desk or retail sales floor nowadays who have formal training in digital marketing, for instance. It was the same with back end social media skills ten years ago. And ten years from now, young people will be bringing those and other skills with them when they enter the bike business. But for the time being, there are a lot of industry folks often smart, hardworking and ambitious lower and midlevel people getting caught in the middle. And that's a shame. But it's also the reality in which we find ourselves.

It's sometimes hard to remember that the current generation of industry-leading companies were all founded by entrepreneurs working with landlines and handwritten orders, sent over those landlines via fax machine. The mountain bike was born before the desktop computer and a full decade before the World Wide Web. The guys at the top don't have to keep abreast of the latest technology. But to stay on top, they have to hire people who do. And that's the way it's always been.

So, here's the bottom line. The bike industry job market is shrinking. But more importantly, it's changing, just as it always has. And hopefully, always will.

See original here:
Vosper: Is the cycling job market growing or shrinking? - Bicycle Retailer

Previously, Ive proven four undeniable truths. Its time for Undeniable Truth #5: An idea is not responsible for who believes it. Thats another way of saying each of us is responsible for our own thoughts and for what we believe. A perfect example is the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. If youve never heard of the Bhagwan, look him up; youll be astonished. The Bhagwan was a Hindu spiritual guru in India back in the 1960s and 70s. He developed a large following of new age, Rajneesh spiritualists, which led to problems between the Bhagwan, his followers, and the Indian government. In 1981, the Bhagwan bought 65,000 acres in a sparsely populated county in the Oregon desert and moved his entire operations over here.

ONCE THE Bhagwan arrived in America he established a large commune. To join the commune, the new age adherents had to pledge loyalty to the Bhagwan; and they had to give him all their possessions to include their spouse (i.e. wife). The Bhagwan was very charismatic and somehow convinced over 1,000 people to join his desert paradise. The commune, specifically the Bhagwan, became very wealthy from the hundreds of people who gave him everything they owned. While his followers meditated most of the day, slept on mats in open-bay dormitory type housing, and disavowed all material possessions; the Bhagwan grew extremely wealthy, slept with a different woman each night, and bought luxury car after luxury car.

IT WASNT long before the commune came into conflict with local ranchers and county officials, mostly over land use issues. Since the county was sparsely populated, the Bhagwan sent busses around the West, rounded up hundreds of homeless people, brought them to the commune so they could vote in local county elections with the goal to oust the county officials and replace them with Rajneesh spiritualists. Eventually, the Bhagwan and the commune ran afoul of the law and warrants were issued for the Bhagwans arrest. The Bhagwan, and several of his lieutenants, fled to India before they could be arrested. When authorities raided the commune they were amazed. The Bhagwan had over 50 Rolls Royces, a luxurious mansion, and flaunted his ostentatious wealth while his Rajneesh followers lived a subsistence existence with no material possessions whatsoever.

REMEMBER, AN idea is not responsible for who believes it. With that as a truth, who were the fools, the Bhagwan or his gullible followers? In order for anyone to believe something, first, we must be presented with an idea; then, we ponder that idea; and finally accept or reject it based on common sense. Its obvious that the Bhagwan didnt believe his own rhetoric about the path to enlightenment; yet he managed to convince hundreds of people to follow his teachings that they might gain spiritual oneness but to do so, they had to forego all material possessions. The Bhagwans followers were living an impoverished existence; they could see the luxurious lifestyle the Bhagwan was living; still they continued following him. Thirty five years later, Im still astounded that so many people allowed the Bhagwan to scam them.

ANOTHER IDEA that amazes me is climate change (CC). For Earths entire history there has been climate change. Climate change is an absolute FACT, and the ice ages are the best proof. There have been at least five ice ages in Earths history. Climate scientists tell us that right now we are in an interglacial period of the Pleistocene ice age. The Pleistocene glaciation began 2.58 million years ago. Over that span, the climate has changed numerous times. The cycle is as follows: First, the climate cooled creating continental ice sheets that covered much of the northern hemisphere and Antarctica. Then, after hundreds of thousands of years, the climate warmed and, except for Antarctica and Greenland, most of the ice sheets melted. Each time the glacial ice sheets advanced the oceans receded. Then, when they melted, the oceans rose. In the past 2.58 million years, this cycle has repeated itself at least four times, possibly five.

THE UNANSWERED question is what caused the glaciers? Why do ice sheets advance and then recede? The weather and climate is probably the most dynamic, complex system on Earth. Some of the factors that affect the climate include wind and ocean currents, volcanic activity, continental drift, the global vegetation coverage, global ice coverage, composition of the atmosphere, changes to Earths axial tilt (41,000 year cycle), precession of the planet (26,000 year cycle), variations of earth orbit, and solar activity. Each of these factors affects the climate in some manner. How much? We dont know. Climate scientists tell us that theres more we dont know about the climate than what we do know. Heres proof of how little we know; tell me what the weather will be on Oct 11th, 30 short days from now. Will it be hot? Cold? Sunny? Or rainy? If you cant tell me what the weather will be one month from today, then dont try telling me what the climate will be 50 or 100 years from now.

HOWEVER, DONT worry about why the climate changes because we have climate change gurus, such as Al Gore and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. They have it all figured out. The climate gurus insist that human activities that burn fossil fuels - such as driving your car, heating and cooling your house, etc. are causing the planet to warm thus creating climate change that will melt glaciers and raise ocean levels. The climate gurus insist that the only way to save the planet is for you to forego all activities that burn fossil fuels. However, just like the Bhagwan, the climate gurus dont believe their own rhetoric. If they did, Barack Obama would not have bought a $15 million ocean-front mansion. Also, if mankinds burning of fossil fuels changes the climate, explain how the climate changed so often before mankind existed?

WEEKLY THOUGHT: An idea is not responsible for who believes it.

Excerpt from:
JUST THE WAY IT IS: Believing something doesn't make it true - Monroe County Reporter