A business heavyweight tells local leaders that education is the key to the nation's future. State Farm CEO Ed Rust was the featured speaker at the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce Public Affairs series.
Business leaders need to get more involved in politics to help ensure they can recruit workers with the necessary skills, said Ed Rust Jr., State Farm’s chairman and CEO.
The CEO of Bloomington-based State Farm Mutual Insurance sounded a call for education reform before an audience of 330 people Friday at a Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce-sponsored breakfast meeting at Four Points by Sheraton.
Yesterday, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Senator Rubio delivered a short but important speech on middle-class opportunity, 21st-century workforce needs, and the need to reform our education system.
Rubio told a gathering of educators at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., that high-tech companies estimate they cannot fill tens of thousands of jobs in the U.S. in part because of an immigration system that does not provide enough visas for foreigners who earn advanced degrees here and want to remain to work. As a result, those jobs are being filled overseas, Rubio said.
Speaking at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as part of a larger event on coordination between the business community and educational institutions, the likely 2016 presidential contender said that a “fundamental obstacle to economic progress is the skills gap that exists in our nation.
A newsworthy number came out of McKinsey & Company’s recently released report Education to Employment: Designing a System That Works: according to estimates by the International Labour Organization, 75 million young people are unemployed worldwide. When taking into account the number of young people underemployed, 75 million triples to an even more astounding 225 million.
Usually this time of year, we dedicate this space to our annual plea to Santa Claus with all the things we had hoped to find under our tree. Despite being good boys and girls for several years now, our list is still mostly untouched and unfulfilled. Since Santa is apparently a selfish bloke, we’re taking our wish list to a slightly less miserly entity—Congress.
A sound economy, thriving business sector, and commitment to equal opportunity are three factors that have played a vital role in developing and maintaining the United States’ position as a world leader. We must remain committed to these factors to ensure our continued global success, and to do that, we must cultivate our greatest resource—the people who live and work here.
The Central Florida Education Summit will be hosted by the Central Florida Partnership and sponsored by the Orlando Regional REALTOR Association, in partnership with the National Chamber Foundation, the Institute for a Competitive Workforce, and the Central Florida Public School Board Coalition.
U.S. News STEM Solutions 2013 will bring together business, education and government leaders who have long recognized the need to connect the dots between STEM education and careers. Adding to last year’s successful conference format, the second edition will give more dedicated time for these leaders to interact and collaborate.
