"Businesses are really crying out - they need to have people who write better,” claims College Board President Gaston Caperton.
A new report sponsored by the College Board documents the importance of clear and professional writing for Miami graduates. The report concludes that:
People who cannot write and communicate clearly will not be hired, and are unlikely to last long enough to be considered for promotion. Half of responding companies reported that they take writing into consideration when hiring professional employees and when making promotion decisions. "In most cases, writing ability could be your ticket in . . . or it could be your ticket out," said one respondent. Commented another: "You can't move up without writing skills." Two-thirds of salaried employees in large American companies have some writing responsibility. "All employees must have writing ability.... Manufacturing documentation, operating procedures, reporting problems, lab safety, waste-disposal operations-all have to be crystal clear," said one human resource director. Eighty percent or more of the companies in the services and the finance, insurance, and real estate (FIRE) sectors, the corporations with greatest employment growth potential, assess writing during hiring. "Applicants who provide poorly written letters wouldn't likely get an interview," commented one insurance executive. More than 40 percent of responding firms offer or require training for salaried employees with writing deficiencies. "We're likely to send out 200-300 people annually for skills upgrade courses like 'business writing' or 'technical writing,'" said one respondent.
For the full report, see www.writingcommission.org/prod_downloads/writingcom/writing-ticket-to-work.pdf
Last modified on 4/2/08 | Content maintained by HWI
