State Farm CEO challenges business to step up on education
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- Published on Friday, 08 February 2013 15:10
- Written by Paul Gordon
Business in the United States is in trouble if education doesn't keep up with its needs so this country can continue to compete, the chairman of State Farm Insurance said in Peoria on Friday.
Ed Rust, chairman and CEO of State Farm Insurance Cos.Ed Rust, the first speaker in the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce's new Public Affairs Series, said one needs only to compare technology today with five years ago to recognize how rapidly things change and why keeping up is so important.
"Our country is, perhaps now more than ever, still a nation at risk," Rust said, invoking the name of a study on the U.S. education system performed 30 years ago. That study, he added, is still a good and pertinent read today.
"Businesses here and across country are having challenges finding people with the skills now and who have the skills to grow the skills they will need going forward. What are we doing to make sure to live productively and rewardingly in world? We need to do more," Rust said before an audience of nearly 350 at Four Points Sheraton.
Noting that it's well known in central Illinois that Caterpillar Inc. has struggled to find workers with the skills the manufacturing giant needs, Rust said the problem isn't limited only to heavy industry. He said a recent study by Manpower Inc. has shown many businesses are having trouble filling positions.
"We're facing some of the same problems at State Farm. Expanding customer expectations is a challenge. Remaining strong and viable as an organization means going through necessary change to stay relevant to our customers," he said.
"There is a way back from the edge," Rust added. "It is critical for us as country to establish benchmark standards in order to compete globally. Kids need to have the academic skill set. One and one should equal two whether you are in Peoria, in Chicago or anywhere else in the country."
He challenged the business community to step up and "drive a consistent focus on finding a way for our young people to learn the skills they must master if we are going to compete across the world. This is something business can have a profound, positive impact on."
Rust, who also is chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce this year, also talked of other challenges facing the country, challenges that affect individuals and businesses alike. He nutshelled some of those challenges, including keeping the country safe from terrorism, immigration and the financial consequences facing baby boomers as more and more of them reach retirement age.
"There is no shelter from these realities here in Illinois," he said, citing this state's credit downgrade, pension shortfall and other fiscal problems.
There are signs the economy is improving, including a strengthening in housing starts. But, he noted, that strengthening is relative considering the lower base it was starting from the last few years.
"These are indeed interesting times that we face as individuals, businesses, as a state and as a nation," he said.
Rust said the United States must continue to find ways to safely produce energy, to find trade opportunities around the world and to grow the economy while being careful not to over-regulate those items. "Too much can create unintended consequences," he said.
He cited the Dodge Ram television commercial about agriculture that was one of the most talked-about Super Bowl ads. It featured the late commentator Paul Harvey detailing everything our nation's farmers do in a typical day besides growing crops.
As good as that commercial was, Rust said, it left a few things out, such as the requirement by the U.S. Department Agriculture for an annual farm census report or the chemical certification required each year by the U.s. Environmental Protection Agency or the mileage calculations required by the Department of Transportation.
"Regulatory overkill can stifle business and stifle growth," he said. "I favor well-thought out regulations, but if they go over the line it creates more problems."
Rust discussed the nation's financial woes. "To insure long-term growth we have to get our financial house in order. A growing debt without limits ultimately will bring day of reckoning. Look at the problems in Europe," he said.
Another way that makes this an interesting time in business are the rapid technology changes. He said we use things today that were unheard of five years ago and what we learn today will be inadequate five years from now. "We have to make sure we have the infrastructure in place to help our children and ourselves going forward," he said.
