NumBytes 9: Readin', Writin', and Manufacturing

The whirl of job losses overseas may pale in comparison to the erosion of basic skills among high school students, because if Johnny and Janey can't read, write, or do arithmetic, manufacturers are stuck trying to teach them the basics before actually training them to do industrial jobs such as welding or cutting metal and plastic. US 15-year-olds already lag behind China and other Pacific Rim countries in math and science, according to a 2009 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development report and budgets for community colleges, which manufacturers often tap into for labor, are getting squeezed.

The National Association of Manufacturers became so concerned, it launched a drive to set standardized curricula at community colleges across the US to prep students with certain skills. Well it should: an estimated 2.7 million US manufacturing employees are 55 years old or older. That's almost 25% of your most experienced workers hitting retirement age in an era of ever-increasing product precision.