Winning the Global Talent Showdown: How Businesses and Communities Can Partner to Rebuild the Jobs Pipeline

I have had the opportunity to work with Dr. Gordon for many years. He has always provided insight and guidance in the work he has done. In his latest work; "Winning the Global Talent Showdown: How Businesses and Communities Can Partner to Rebuild the Jobs Pipeline" he sets the bar at a new level. With the economy and global situation in its current state, our nations leaders would do well to look at his research and insights in how to make a difference. I recommend this book to all looking to understand and make a difference in the identification and development of talent. George Vukotich, Ph.D. - Roosevelt University

Deserving of ongoing recommendation is Winning the Global Talent Showdown: How Businesses & Communities Can Partner to Rebuild the Jobs Pipeline. It considers the education-to-employment world system and its pitfalls and latest crisis, arguing that the system needs to be reinvented, and showing how such is already in the works. Business Libraries will find this a powerful presentation perfect for college-level collections strong in global business practices.

Dr. Gordon has written a thorough and very readable book on the upcoming problems with shortages of educated people throughout the world, which is hard to believe (but undoubtedly true) given the current high levels of unemployment. The first half of the book presents the talent availability problems in all of the major world economies, and the second half reports successes and discusses solutions. I particularly enjoyed hearing about the Kalamazoo Promise (which should be copied in thousands of cities), the 1 to 7 ratio of tutors in Finland's elementary and secondary schools, and the workforce development success of the new wine making industry in North Carolina. In my opinion, too many economic developers are caught in the Ready, Aim, Ready, Ready, Aim, Aim, . . . cycle. In his new book, the author provides a very useful model for communities to approach workforce development successfully, and to actually Ready, Aim, and FIRE! If people could just get together and do what Dr. Gordon advises.

This book is a follow up to "The 2010 Meltdown". In both books Ed Gordon has "done his homework"! He sets the stage for exactly what has happened and has accurately predicted what is going to happen if we don't wake up as a nation. The thing I liked best about both books is the fact he is not all "doom and gloom"! He offers examples of what other areas and communities have done to successfully ease the pain of job loss and how they have worked together to rebuild the jobs pipeline. We are in more than just an economic crisis. We are hurting for the talent and skills to continue to be a country that is innovative and strong. we must start NOW to teach our children what it will take to succeed. This book should serve as a textbook that should be studied, learned and suggestions implemented to win the global talent showdown!

Ed Gordon has written a short, easily readable, fact-packed analysis of the talent shortage that is striking every country around the world and will cripple industrial growth unless it is solved. This shortage of skilled workers will challenge every economy globally while businesses world-wide try to compete in the knowledge-based economy of the future. There are just not enough skilled young workers to fill the needs of future job demands. The author describes how the deficiencies in schooling and education have produced young people world wide who cannot fill the need for the skilled jobs required. He reports how these worker shortages are being creatively overcome world wide by businesses, non governmental organizations and community based organizations working together locally to produce talented workers from the young, poorly educated, people to meet the workforce demands of the future. The globalization of world economies has produced this demand for skilled workers that schools or shortages of young workers cannot fill at present. The demand to retain retiring, skilled, workers will skyrocket in the future everywhere. The failing economies world wide will force the retirees back to work with employers only too eager to have skilled, experienced, workers to solve their needs. The re-employment will also solve the needs of the retiree to have funds to live on in their extended lives. This book is an excellent sequel to Gordon's "2010 Meltdown" and is a must read for any business person in any country and also for government leaders making decisions locally, or on a larger scale. This is important for educators to help prepare their strategies creatively for the future education of the workforce that will be in high demand. The book is superbly researched but still easily read and enjoyably written. 5 stars!!!!! J. Ausman, MD, PhD; President, Future Healthcare Strategies, Professor, UCLA; Editor, Medical Journal