In July, 2004, Pinellas County, Florida, is recognized for having a labor pool far superior to that of any other county in the Southeastern United States. The labor pool's strength lies in its skills and abilities&endash;not the knowledge of any specific skill, but the desire and ability to learn new skills rapidly. The greatest challenge that the county&endash;business, education and government together&endash;had to overcome were the methods and systems for transferring the arts of the 21st Century Samurai to existing and potential employees.

Describe how employees acquired the New Arts. What was the process of learning, and how long did it take? Where did learning take place, and what technologies were most valuable? What kinds of programs were most valuable to employees and employers and how were those programs delivered?

You have 90 minutes to do this exercise as a team. Do your scratch work on a two-panel wall and prepare your presentation on a single-panel wall. Be prepared to present your work to the rest of the group when we reassemble.

Team 1 Report

Arts are acquired through the establishment of partnerships, and collaborative efforts between management, education, and the community. Cross-cultural awareness is gained through the community and various assignments. Employee benefits and employer-supported initiatives are important in the future. Employees also need some play time for balance and learning in their lives. Self-teaching and outside classes, experiential learning or distance learning will become more important in the future and will be on going.

The most valuable programs in the future will be those involving work in the community, telecommunication opportunities, and continuing education.

Team 2 Report

People learn through conferences, virtual reality, with blended learning through online, television, etc. We need to focus on the best learning style for an employee. We can learn anywhere, anytime, anyplace &emdash;in the home, office, on the road. Employability skills need to be learned, as well as socialization skills, and conflict resolution. The corporate culture is changing, so employees must be part of change. Keep in mind that some people need more time to learn skills and there are various levels of skill development and learning potential.

Technology is the method by which people will be learning in the future. Personal Wellness both physical and mental will need to be stressed. Ethical values will be important. People need survival skills to interact within the culture and society, in addition to the core needs. Training will need to be flexible in when and where taught, and method used.

Team 3 Report

Business, government and education need to look at identifying existing clusters and at the support system in place. They need to work with the school board to meet business needs.

We realize that education is the correlating factor between business and government. Virtual learning needs to become premier, business-motivated, and accessible through distance learning centers, while maintaining a strong educational opportunity.

Business depends on a good labor market. Labor depends on good learning opportunities. And, learning programs rely on a good support system. When this is all in place, a good community will result with a good quality of life.

Team 4 Report

The community needs business/college collaboration on curriculum development to respond to the business needs for employability, life and community skills. These will need to be accessed through a variety of delivery processes, i.e., Internet, videos, hand-on classes, customized classes, through exchanges, and just-in-time learning.