“Then he [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into his harvest.” –Matthew 9:37-38
A friend recently sent me an article from Fortune magazine regarding Gen Z college graduates entering the workforce. The article referenced a survey of 1,000 leaders who have hired recent college graduates. These market leaders admitted that Gen Z graduates are difficult to work with. In fact, one out of six shared they have fired Gen Z employees over the past few months.
After experiencing numerous problems with new hires, one in six of these employers admitted they are hesitant to hire recent college graduates again. Further, one in seven bosses admitted that they may avoid hiring them altogether next year. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed said some or all of their recent college graduate hires were unsatisfactory in some way.
Employment problems for these Gen Z employees include lack of motivation to work; unorganized work skills; tardiness and absences; inappropriate work attire and language; and poor communications skills. Twenty percent of the workers admitted that they could not handle the work pressure and expectations. More than half of hiring managers conclude that college graduates are unprepared for the world of work.
We have a workforce problem!
In his book Full-Time: Work and the Meaning of Life, author David Bahnsen notes that the opportunity for work in our country is not the problem; rather, our greatest challenge is having a willing and prepared workforce.
Bahnsen provides insightful analyses of qualified workers during and after the Great Depression. He asserts that we have a crisis of declining participation rate in pre-prime workers (ages sixteen to twenty-four) and a crisis of declining workers of prime workers (ages twenty-five to fifty-four).
The issue is not fewer jobs (an unemployment issue), but fewer workers. The jobs are there to be had. The problem is that fewer people, regardless of age and reason, are deliberately choosing not to work. Fewer people are intentionally not entering the workforce and are refusing to take jobs that are readily available.
Bahnsen’s observations are sobering and unsurprising, especially related to men. He states that the work rate for men this last decade is lower than it was in the Great Depression. “What we have is an exploding rate of men ‘not in the labor force’ – a statistic that has been consistently rising over the last generation, unlike the statistic of ‘unemployed’ men, which generally varies with economic conditions.”
We are raising a generation of young adults who do not want to work. We are raising a generation of young adults who do not know how to work.
We have a workforce problem!
One solution to the problem is that we can simply wring our hands in despair and bemoan the problems “of this generation.” Every generation seems to embody an intergenerational bias against the next. Like me, you may have heard someone say, “kids today do not know how to work,” or “these kids today do not want to work.” I heard this back in the day when I was in that group of “these kids,” and I regularly hear these sentiments today about the upcoming generation. By way of confession, I have expressed these sentiments more than I care to admit.
Some of this is intergenerational criticism is to be expected. The works of Bahnsen and others do, however, demonstrate this issue is more than just intergenerational bias – we have a problem. And, complaining and despairing about “kids today” will not solve this serious problem.
A Workforce University
Another option is to move past merely criticizing the current situation and to do something about the problem. Williams Baptist University is, at least for me, my effort to do something about this problem.
Founded in 1941 as Southern Baptist College (SBC), the school was initially marketed as “three-schools-in-one,” classical education, ministerial education, and vocational education.
In those early days, SBC students worked while in school. The college had a print shop, a woodworking shop, a farm, a couple of radio stations, and maintenance/landscaping jobs. SBC also had HVAC and auto mechanic certificate programs and businesses. The idea of work wedded with education is embedded in our institutional DNA.
As I have shared in previous articles, I believe the Bible teaches that God made us to work. Our God is a working God, and being made in His image, He made us to work. We glorify God through our work. We worship God in our work. We serve the Lord by our work. And we live as disciples of Jesus in our work, through our work, and as we work. Our work matters to God, and our work should matter to us.
I also believe the Lord birthed in the heart of Dr. H.E Williams and other Arkansas Baptist pioneers a desire to create a unique educational institution that would provide young adults with an exceptional education. A major part of that education was to teach the students the importance of work – to instill in those students a robust Christian work ethic.
I have recently adopted a phrase that I believe captures this legacy as well as describes our current mission – Williams Baptist University is a “workforce university.” This idea is reflected by our mission statement: “Williams Baptist University exists to cultivate Christ-centered leaders who make a difference through their life work.”
Our nation will only flourish to the degree that we have men and women who work. Our nation is currently struggling in our workforce. At WBU, we are committed to helping solve our nation’s and our state’s workforce problem.
WBU is a unique educational institution. I do not know of another institution of higher education attempting to do what we are.
We provide what some would describe as a classical education. We teach and mentor our students in biblical worldview, literature, composition, art, mathematics, history, psychology, biology, chemistry, communications, and so on. We believe this commitment to a robust general education curriculum is vital to holistically preparing our students with critical thinking and relational skills embedded in a biblical worldview.
We likewise are committed to training and preparing students for service to God in and through their work. This commitment is true for those preparing for vocational ministry and those who serve the Lord in their workplace and church.
And we are committed to training and equipping our students on how to actually work. This means we teach them a Christian work ethic as well as provide them opportunities to earn their education through our growing Williams Works work program.
What are we going to do about the workforce problem?
At Williams Baptist University, we have determined to be a solution to the workforce problem. Building upon an incredible legacy, we are doing what I think is innovative and unique – we are building a workforce university!
- A workforce university means educating the whole person – head, heart, and hand – under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
- A workforce university means instilling in our students a Christian work ethic and teaching work skills that will translate into whatever career or job they may have in their lifetime.
- A workforce university means preparing the whole person to be a whole leader who loves the Lord with their whole heart and serves the Lord in their whole life, including their work, and by so doing, become Christ-centered leaders who live and speak the gospel in their deeds and their words.
I believe the best expression of Christian education is a workforce university – cultivating Christ-centered leaders who make a difference through their life work.
This is what I believe our nation needs. I am grateful to God to work at a university – a workforce university – that sees the need and works to meet the need.
WBU has a workforce solution!
At WBU, we have the solution. Now is the time for Arkansas Baptists to join head, heart, and hands in this noble mission to prepare the upcoming generation to be men and women who know how to work, who are willing to work, and who go to work for the glory of God and the good of creation.
Williams Baptist University is “Workforce U.” Now is the time to get to work!