

American Millennials are among the world's least skilled - paralelogram
http://fortune.com/2015/03/10/american-millennials-are-among-the-worlds-least-skilled/

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johnkchow
My parents immigrated to America in the 80's from China, and they simply
thought that a college degree was the gateway to social mobility. They never
thought that the skills learned in college would matter that much. Most
parents in my community thought the same way. Most parents didn't speak
English, so my generation was further isolated from the job market demands.
Going to college, my friends and I had little idea of what we wanted to, not
because we were indecisive but because we simply didn't know what jobs we
could do. I saw many friends study history, music and foreign languages, and
they struggled after graduating because they realized that their degrees
aren't guarantees for good jobs.

The struggles weren't due to lack of desires or efforts. In my opinion, it's
the disconnect between the perceived value in education and the actual skills
needed for the work place. Raising awareness, such as vocational classes in
high school and required internships as a prerequisite for college graduation,
would have been tremendous for my generation. At the very least, it would have
helped us realize that there's this gap between what we're learning in school
versus what's actually needed in the work force.

~~~
redthrow
Take a look at Roger Shank's "Education Outrage" blog.

"Community college wouldn’t be necessary if the high schools weren't broken."

[http://educationoutrage.blogspot.ca/2015/01/free-
community-c...](http://educationoutrage.blogspot.ca/2015/01/free-community-
college-why-how-about-we.html)

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lnlyplnt
The one big problem with this exam is that the candidates are not well
normalized across countries. You don't really get an apples to apples
comparison since countries like Japan have a tendency to cherry pick who takes
the test.

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dllu
Looks like they got an American Millenial to design their quiz:
[http://i.imgur.com/j4b73bz.png](http://i.imgur.com/j4b73bz.png)

~~~
bshimmin
I got as far as an impressive message which said, "The content in the
Education & Skills Online Exam only supports Firefox 10+. Please close the
browser you are currently using and re-launch using Firefox."

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rquantz
I'm imagining the scene where a bunch of American Millenials were asked to
solve basic math problems and computer literacy tests. "Jeez this is
pointless," one said. "Yeah, reminds me of high school," said another. And
they twiddled their thumbs until it was over.

While I'm sure these are relevant statistics, I don't see it having much
bearing on real competitiveness going forward. There's no measure of
creativity, adaptability, or tenacity. Show me Americans are lagging in those
and I'll start to worry.

~~~
consz
What proof is there that creativity, adaptability, tenacity are better skills
to have than the ones tested in the article? Or that the skills you mentioned
are not consequences of the ones mentioned in the article?

~~~
greenyoda
For that matter, the ability of these tests to predict success hasn't been
very good over time. From another recent article on HN:

 _" In truth, though, the United States has never done well on international
tests, and they are not good predictors of our national success. Since 1964,
when the first such exam was administered to 13-year-olds in 12 countries,
America has lagged behind its peers, rarely rising above the middle of the
pack and doing particularly poorly in science and math. And yet over these
past five decades, that same laggard country has dominated the world of
science, technology, research and innovation."_[1]

[1] [http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-stem-wont-make-
us...](http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/why-stem-wont-make-us-
successful/2015/03/26/5f4604f2-d2a5-11e4-ab77-9646eea6a4c7_story.html?hpid=z3)
(via
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9285423](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9285423))

~~~
throwaway43
Because America imports all the best brains from all over the world using the
H1B program ?

~~~
tfussell
But why don't other counties do this if they're so smart?

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sandworm
Least skilled at skills western employers do not care about.

I totally disagree that literacy and problem solving are what employers look
for today. Maybe in the 80s. Today it's about non-written communication and
teamwork skills. In short: Networking. The ability to write a good memo
doesn't enter into things because in today's climate information only flows
top-down. Does anyone believe that Starbucks passed the #RaceTogether idea
past even a single barista? A single store manager? Entry-level employees
don't express ideas through writing. That's for management.

Evidence from local governments trying to help:
[http://www.careers.govt.nz/plan-your-career/not-sure-what-
to...](http://www.careers.govt.nz/plan-your-career/not-sure-what-to-do/skills-
employers-are-looking-for/#cID_115)

(1) communication skills

(2) customer service skills – in person, on the phone, and online

(3) ability to work well in a team

(4) literacy and numeracy skills FORTH!

[http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-
skills.htm](http://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/top-ten-skills.htm) (Commentary
by me)

1\. Verbal Communication. ("Here!")

2\. Teamwork. (doesn't punch people)

3\. Work confidently within a group. (not afraid of being punched by others)

4\. Commercial Awareness. (doesn't click phishing links)

5\. Analyzing & Investigating. (doesn't bother the boss with questions)

6\. Initiative / Sell--Motivation. (can work unsupervised)

7\. Written communication SEVENTH!

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simonswords82
I'm not sure how the stats here in the UK compare with the US but I'd be
interested to know. Especially as we have a government backed apprenticeship
scheme which takes largely unskilled young people of age 16 upwards and funds
their training on the job.

I've had countless apprentices work for my software company and it's such a
win-win for employer and employee. My company gets dedicated, passionate,
diligent and most importantly enthusiastic young people to train in the art of
building websites. In return our apprentices get paid and they get to learn a
skill in a workplace environment. We end up with employees who are
ridiculously loyal, and they end up with a career.

I'm sure we've saved a large number of kids from menial jobs at <insert large
megacorp> while they work out how to get a career. Does the US have a similar
scheme? If so it must surely be one way to help resolve this issue?

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dismal2
Good way to explain away the lack of jobs and wage growth this generation
faces. I think the solution is either more unpaid internships, more debt or
both.

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thebear
I looked at the first math question:

[http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/figures/sample_num1.asp](http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/figures/sample_num1.asp)

First off, the statement describing the graph ("The following graph shows the
number of births in the United States 1957 to 2007. Data is presented every 10
years.") is a bit odd. The graph shows the number of births per year for 6 of
the 51 years from 1957 to 2007, at 10 year intervals. That's not really "the
number of births in the United States 1957 to 2007." But let's say that's
fine. Then they ask, "During which period(s) was there a decline in the number
of births?" There is no such thing as "a decline in the number of births." The
number of births always increases. There can be a decline in the rate of
births per time, e.g., the number of births per year. But giving the number of
births per year every ten years is not enough information to make a complete
statement about births per time during the ten year periods. There may have
been (and probably were) declines during each of those periods. In other
words, it is impossible to "click all that apply."

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ffk
The tech section of the test looks poorly designed to me.

It takes a poorly designed website, asks users to navigate it, and scores them
upon following an expected path.

In the example question, to determine whether you need to pay for a job
searching site, you should click on "Learn More" which takes you to a sign up
form and asks for a CC.

Sample Tech questions:
[https://www.oecd.org/site/piaac/Problem%20Solving%20in%20TRE...](https://www.oecd.org/site/piaac/Problem%20Solving%20in%20TRE%20Sample%20Items.pdf)

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xexers
Is there enough information in this question to answer it?
[https://i.imgur.com/qoSuV4Z.png](https://i.imgur.com/qoSuV4Z.png)

Is the loan fully paid off after 12 months? Is it an "interest only" loan?

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3pt14159
23.6% interest rate of "simple" interest (ie, non-NPV accounting). Pay 103 per
month for 12 months. = $1236 per $1000.

~~~
xexers
I get that math if it explicitly said that this is a 1 year loan - but it
doesn't. How do you know this wasn't a 4 year loan? and you pay $103 per month
for 4 years?

or how do you know that this wasn't an "interest only loan" and you pay $103
in interest every month... and if you want to pay down any principle, then
that would be anything that you pay above $103/month.

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woofyman
It says 12 equal monthly payments. 4 years would be 48 monthly payments. The
terms of the loan are clearly stared.

~~~
hifier
I see how it can be read that way, but it is far from clear. Not to mention
that the design of the 'ad' makes it susceptible to misinterpretation.

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bbwharris
That's the point right?

The problem is very clear when you read it carefully. Which is also one of the
skills its trying to tease out. It is rated as a 5 out of 5 being the most
difficult.

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xigency
Speaking of literacy, Gen Yers has to be the most clumsy abbreviation I have
ever seen.

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twrkit
Oh yeah? Well American Millennials are by far the world's most educated and
knowledgeable about anthropology, sociology, race and gender studies,
psychology, social media activism (aka, changing your Facebook default pic to
#KONY2012), beer pong, how to find a good deal on Etsy, et al. When would we
ever need to use that math stuff when uploading selfies, binging on Netflix,
or ordering pour over coffee?

~~~
sehr
Are you really including the humanities with beer pong, selfies and Netflix?

