“Our schools are trying to focus on critical-thinking skills, problem solving and cooperative learning, so (students can) acquire the highly technical training that many companies, such as Motorola, now provide.” -Edward Gonwa, regional superintendent, Lake County Schools
“People’s perceptions of factory workers came from what they saw on television shows like `Laverne and Shirley.’ But today’s factory workers are much more skilled, require more training and, at Motorola, have a passion for their work.” – Jay Schapple, production supervisor, Motorola’s Libertyville plant
“A lot of employers are finding that in order for their employees to be able to accept the higher-level training because of increasing technology, they have to (educate them in) the basic skills.” – Tim Budd, associate dean for economic development, College of Lake County
“The untrained workers who are the refuse of the public school system are not going to get a factory job at a union wage because union jobs have
disappeared and unskilled factory jobs have disappeared.” – Jim Heckman, professor of economics and public policy, University of Chicago
“As U.S. companies are forced to compete globally, they’re going to have to improve quality and cut costs, and that’s going to put on even more pressure to have workers who are flexible.” – Jeffrey Sundberg, assistant professor of economics, Lake Forest College
