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July 19, 2005 |
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 Terri
M. Manning, Ed.DCentral Piedmont Community College AN ASTOUNDING PEEK INTO THE "NEW" GENERATION by Marilynn Bowler As only Tony Zeiss can do, he energized our Charlotte Rotary meeting on July 19th with style and wit, proudly introducing today's speaker, CPCC's nationally-acclaimed Associate Vice President/Institutional Research, Dr. Terri Manning. Dr. Manning took the MIC at that point and never looked back. She is both educational and entertaining, having honed her presentation skills at a myriad of conferences and seminars throughout the United States, speaking on the very topic she addressed to our club: The Millennials. In brief, she fascinated us with the applied research results she conducted on the generation spawned by "baby boomers:" who and what we should expect. The short version is this. They're a pretty impressive, smart, quick-thinking, technologically-capable, goal-oriented group of young people. Born between 1982-2002, Millennials challenge the safe way of doing things; they dare to change jobs frequently; they won't take "no" for an answer; they've been raised on "computer-eze" since birth; they are highly educated; and both racially and ethnically diverse. In Dr. Manning's words, "This generation has been 'plugged in' since they were babies. They don't recognize a world without computer games and they want and expect services 24/7." Cell phones are not an option; they're as common to the Millennials as television is to "baby boomers." They're international/global in their thinking, are master negotiators, share their parents' values, and have major input into family decisions. Millennials expect and need praise. They're extremely well-read and yet feel disconnected … questioning their own existence, purpose and the meaning of life. They sincerely want to feel valued and cared about. Academically, this group of young people is doing better in school than their predecessors, particularly in math and science. On the other end of the scale, there's a decline in writing proficiency and their reading scores show only modest gains through the '90's. They are tolerant of cohabitation and different sexual orientations, and are convinced we may one day have an African-American or female president of the United States. Their career goals are serious: medicine, teaching, engineering, computer science, law, business and marketing. They're multi-taskers who seek security and benefits. The forecast among those who study this group hold high expectations for a whole new set of entrepreneurs. Dr. Manning said, "The workforce will be inundated with Millennials over the next ten years because business owners and managers have not been informed about this new generation" and what makes it "tick." Businesses that plan for and embrace Millennials and all they represent will reap great rewards. We're fortunate to have this enthralling generation coming so close behind us; we'll be able to watch, study, admire and applaud the horizons that will open to all of us because the Millennials will demand and expand it. Note: CPCC's Center for Applied Research conducted a study on the Millennial Generation funded by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board. The presentation presented at Rotary was a much-shortened version of a two-part study surveying students from a community college, a research university, and a historically African-American institution, and the responses gleaned from employers in regard to the challenges facing them as the Millennials enter the workforce. Head Table: Steve Byrum, Dick Klingman, Herb Harriss, Tony Zeiss, Russell Ranson; Invocation: Michael Elder Visitors & Guests: Tom Bartholomy; Health & Happiness: Harley Dickson; Song: Gregg Walker
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Revised: January 24, 2008.