This week Jobs for New England Now posted three blog posts.  Access to Broadband Creates a Better Prepared Workforce says that if we want to have a better educated, more reliable workforce, access to modern technologies must be widespread. Access to broadband is required for a quality education, a must for conducting extensive work searches, and used daily in most businesses. Students who do not have at least a basic understanding of broadband technologies are at risk of being unprepared for their adult lives, and are less likely to be productive members of the work force. A look into the Connecticut Business Market highlights that 29 percent of Connecticut business owners who said they planned to trim their workforce, while about a quarter said they expected to reduce compensation and/or benefits, according to a recent survey conducted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and Farmington Bank.  Rep. Herb Font-Russell: Broadband is vital to economic well-being covers an op-ed in the Times Argus by Representative Herb Font-Russell of the Vermont House Commerce and Economic Development Committee.  The piece talks about the importance of broadband for the Vermont economy. We agree that access to broadband is important for job growth and a more stable economy.

News articles from this week include:

Nashua Telegraph: Officials try to make state attractive as a business’s home – This is the first in a six-part series examining various aspects of the “New Hampshire Advantage” and whether the Granite State has been able to maintain its competitiveness in these areas.When Phil Macy was considering moving his company and employees to New Hampshire, he was looking for a building that would make a statement.

Penn Patriot Blog: Broadband Brings Exciting Opportunities for Students – When we think about the advantages of broadband access, many of us think first about the economic growth and professional opportunities this technology brings. These benefits are important to communities and businesses, of course. But access to high-speed broadband is also vital because it delivers new and exciting educational opportunities for our children.

Reuters: Fed’s Rosengren says fuller action needed on economy – Fiscal problems “have increasingly limited the response we would normally expect in a severe economic downturn and a painfully slow recovery,” Eric Rosengren, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, said in remarks prepared for a speech to the Boston Economic Club. The U.S. economy remains at risk from financial shocks at home and abroad, he added, pointing to recent jitters in financial markets from turmoil in Greece, a country “roughly the size of Ohio.”

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About 29 percent of Connecticut business owners said they planned to trim their workforce, while about a quarter said they expected to reduce compensation and/ or benefits.  That’s according to a recent survey conducted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association and Farmington Bank. 32 percent of respondents used financing in the last three months, which is the same percentage reported in the third quarter survey and 40 percent of respondents said that if credit was available they would be investing in new equipment.  Another 18 percent said they would use the funds to expand into new stores, branches or operations.  The upside was that 17 percent said they would be hiring new employees if funds were made available. Read more about the survey here.

When schools use outdated or inaccurate books to teach children the public becomes outraged, but should we react in the same manner when schools are unable to provide their students access to essential new technologies such as computers and high-speed broadband? One Pennsylvania mom writing for Penn Patriot Blog thinks we should.

“Without broadband access, students are at a competitive disadvantage and may not be able to achieve their full potential. It’s important that future generations have access to the tools that will help them succeed, and children in these underserved communities deserve to have the same access as those in other locations.”

If we want to have a better educated more reliable workforce they must have access to modern technologies. Access to broadband is required for a quality education, a must for conducting extensive work searches, and used daily in most businesses. Students who do not have at least a basic understanding of broadband technologies are at risk of being unprepared for their adult lives, and are less likely to be productive members of the work force. Now more than ever we need to create a highly skilled and innovative workforce that is capable of keeping up with how technology is changing and shaping our economy.   Read the full post here.