How well do you write? Whether it's an e-mail memo or a complex report, fully one-third of the U.S. workforce does not meet the minimum writing requirements of the jobs they currently hold, according to a survey by the College Board's National Commission on Writing.
"Businesses are really crying out. They need to have people who write better," College Board President Gaston Caperton, told The Associated Press. The survey was done with 64 companies across six industries representing 4 million employees: mining; construction; manufacturing; transportation and utilities; services and finance; and insurance and real estate.
With a computer on every desk, writing is more important now than it has ever been. Fully 66 percent of all salaried workers in large U.S. companies have jobs that require at least some writing. Sadly, not everyone is up to the task.
The top writing problems for most employees:
• Accuracy
• Clarity
• Spelling
• Punctuation
• Grammar
• Conciseness
Those who have mastered these writing skills are among the most sought after employees. "There's no way to say that writing has gotten worse," said Susan Traiman, director of the education initiative for the Business Roundtable, told AP. Rather, "the demand has gotten greater."
That demand has spread to jobs that once were filled by employees who didn't have to know a verb from a noun, including electricians, engineers, and foremen. Improving your writing skills is worth the time and effort. More than half the companies surveyed said they do assess writing skills when they make hiring and promotion decisions for salaried employees.
