Finding a good employee-someone who has basic office skills and is willing to learn-can be a frustrating task. Employers today are looking for that perfect employee. But what, really, is a perfect or even a good employee? What skills do businesses require, and what skills do good prospective employees possess? The answer to these questions may be as close as your local high school or college. In 1991 U.S. Secretary of Labor Lynn Martin commissioned a study of businesses across the country to help determine what workplace competencies and basic skills are required for effective job performance. Survey results were reported in the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) report, which defined and linked the competencies and skills. SCANS focused on one important aspect of schooling, which the report referred to as the “learning a living” system. The initial report was titled “What Work Requires of Schools.” As outlined in that report, a high-performance workplace requires workers who have a solid foundation in the following five key skill areas:

• Resources: Manages time, money, material and human resources.
• Interpersonal: Participates as a member of a team, teaches others, serves clients and customers, exercises leadership.
• Information: Acquires, organizes, interprets and uses communications and computers.
• Systems: Understands social, organizational and technological systems.
• Technology: Selects, applies and maintains technology.

These competencies are just what insurance agents need in their employees. However, finding an employee who has these qualities is not an easy task.

The SCANS report charged colleges and universities to develop programs to teach these skills and nurture a capable, competitive workforce. In an effort to address this issue, colleges and universities have developed several programs. In one, a college student performs a project for a business in the community. In another, a student The first type of program requires a student to work with a business on a project or help with a particular part of the business. A national study suggests that such programs improve grades and attendance, and develop personal and social responsibility. Work can include developing an ad campaign, Web page, business card, logo, graphic design or other one-time project. The student receives college credit, and the business benefits from free or low-cost expertise.

The internship program involves a long-term commitment from both students and employers. Students receive college credit for work they do on a regular basis for a business. An increasing number of schools include completion of an internship as part of their graduation requirements. Students typically work 40 to 50 hours for every hour of college credit they receive. For a typical three-hour college class, a student would thus work approximately 150 hours. This might be over a period such as eight weeks, based on a part-time schedule of 20 hours per week.