Y Talk: Building Skills for the 21st Century by Justin Rose

Recently I had the privilege of being asked to serve on the conference planning committee for the American Camping Association Keystone section and I eagerly accepted the volunteer post. One of the perks of accepting this volunteer position—besides working with other incredibly talented camping professionals—was getting to attend the conference and meet some of the most amazing speakers from around the world. This particular conference had a number of great topics for all walks of life and business, not just camping. However, one particular session really sparked my interest.

During this session the speaker introduced us to an organization called The Partnership for 21st Century Skills. While listening to the speaker, I really became interested in what this organization is doing and how it affects my work as a YMCA professional and the impact we can have on our communities. Once I returned home from the conference I began researching the P21 and some of their work. I found their website to be enlightening and motivating, which is why I was inspired to write this blog.

P21 is an organization made up of some of the brightest and best education professionals in the world. In addition to these teaching professionals, P21 has partnerships with some of the top executives and managers of some of the biggest companies in the world such as Apple, Microsoft, SAP and Time Warner Cable, to name a few. The reason P21 created partnerships with these organizations was to bridge the ever growing gap between skills and knowledge learned in educational institutions and the skill and knowledge needed to be successful in 21st century communities and workplaces. So you are probably asking yourself what the work of this organization has to do with the YMCA. Well, let me share with you some of the findings from a survey conducted by P21 and the American Management Association.

• According to the survey, over half of executives admit their employees are “average” at best in critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication skills.
• Top executives and managers report that only about 30% of all recent applicants possess adequate skill levels in critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication skills.
• According to the survey employee skill levels in critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication has dropped on average by 14% in the past two years.

At this point you may be asking yourself if having critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication skills really matter as long as the employee knows their job inside and out. That would definitely be a relevant question considering the managers and executives in the survey seem to still be hiring people without these skills. Below are some more survey results of 768 top executives of the nation’s leading organizations regarding the importance of these skills in the 21st century business community.

• Of all those executives and managers interviewed, the top four skills identified as the most important skills missing from current applicants were critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication skills.
• 3 out of 4 executives surveyed said that these skills will become the most important skills for employees to possess in the next 3-5 years.
• All executives and managers surveyed admitted that applicants that possess above average skills in critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication are more desirable applicants than those that do not possess these skills.

When I was reading these results I kept wondering who was going to help bridge this gap? Are we as a community, as families, as parents, as mentors doing enough to ensure the youth entrusted to us are getting the skills needed to not just survive in the 21st century but thrive in the 21st century?

These questions got me thinking about what the Y is doing to prepare our youth for the 21st century and what I found is really truly amazing. The Y already is tracking the development of these skills in our youth. The Y has identified these key characteristics in youth and is intentionally developing these skills in our campers each and every summer. To show the impact of your YMCA donation, membership or volunteer hours, just look at the survey results as reported by our campers and parents from last year.

• Over 75% of parents reported that the resident camp experience had between a positive noticeable change and dramatic change in their child’s Responsible Decision Making.
• Over 77% of parents reported that the resident camp experience had between a positive noticeable change and dramatic change in their child’s Self Confidence.
• Over 77% of parents reported that the resident camp experience had between a positive noticeable change and dramatic change in their child’s Independence.
• Over 75% of parents reported that the resident camp experience had between a positive noticeable change and dramatic change in their child’s Teamwork.
• Over 75% of parents reported that the resident camp experience had between a positive noticeable change and dramatic change in their child’s Self Esteem.
• Over 76% of parents reported that the resident camp experience had between a positive noticeable change and dramatic change in their child’s ability to Work Well with Others.

Those are some amazing numbers. I’m always surprised when I see the impact camp can have on youth in plain black and white. I always wonder if others can see what we see as counselors or staff when kids come to camp and leave transformed. As the survey shows, everyone sees the difference, and the difference will carry them through to thrive in the 21st century.

-by Justin Rose, Associate Executive Director