Business & Economy

New push aims to close skills gap between graduates and jobs

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By BRIDGET BUSH
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan lawmakers, university officials and local school systems have taken up the fight to improve how well the state’s students learn to be high tech producers and consumers. Just this fall, Michigan State University redesigned a course that will teach 175 student teachers to incorporate computational thinking into curriculum. And the university is offering a new graduate certificate in creative computing to about 250 teachers for professional development. Aman Yadav, MSU associate professor of counseling, educational psychology and special education and director of its Masters of Arts in Educational Technology program, sees the greater purpose of this new approach to be “moving students from consumers of technology to creators and producers.”
Meanwhile,  lawmakers are considering a bill that would allow computer programming to count as a foreign language or arts requirement. The bill was approved by the House in May and is in the Senate Committee on Education.

Business & Economy

Government jobs open, but not in Michigan

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By JUSTINE McGUIRE
Capital News Service
LANSING – This could be a good year to get a public sector job in parts of the country, according to the International Public Management Association for Human Resources. But apparently not in Michigan. The association’s new survey reveals that, nationally, more governmental bodies plan to hire for new positions while fewer plan on layoffs, compared to recent years. The Michigan Municipal League, Michigan Townships Association and Michigan Civil Service Commission didn’t have statewide projections for hiring and layoffs in 2013. Alpena and St.

Business & Economy

Local government jobs still lure new college graduates

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By SILU GUO
Capital News Service
LANSING – For recent college grads wanting government jobs, the overall number of opportunities continues to shrink. But there is still hope — local governments in some areas are hiring more staff, according to Phil Gardner, director of research for the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University. “Right now, public sector jobs really depend on retirements,” Gardner said. “Government is one sector where retirements have been and are expected to provide opportunities for new graduates.”

Gardner added, “But retirements have not started in big numbers yet — unless forced.”
According to Michigan Labor Market Information, local governments in Wayne County hired 386 employees in the first quarter of 2012, ranking first among all counties, followed by Macomb and Ingham. But the total number of local government employees decreased slightly, according to Michigan Labor Market Information, compiled by the Department of Technology, Management and Budget.