I Believe that Children are Our Future (Workforce)

A new blog post from the Brookings Institution calls on the nation’s business community to understand and support the importance of early childhood development if it wants to create a workforce for the future. Authored by Brookings Visiting Scholar Tamar Manuelyan Atinc, a former World Bank VP, the post highlights the fact that while education systems are important to creating future workers, early childhood is where the stage for success is really set.

Says Atinc:

“We know from the scientific literature that attention to the development of human capital needs to start when the brain is developing the fastest and is at its most malleable—that is, right at the beginning of life.  And we know from the economic literature that pay-off to these investments are high for individuals, economies, and societies, and much harder and more expensive to do as children get older and the plasticity of the brain declines. It turns out that much of this pay-off comes from the positive impact of a supportive, nurturing, and stimulating environment on the cultivation of “soft skills” in children that last into adulthood.”

The post also includes a video highlighting how early childhood development investments pay off and presents ideas to engage businesses more as supporters and advocate of our youngest children.