Guest Column: Can civics education build a better workforce?

On Election Day 2022, dozens of business and community leaders packed the former Ladies’ Literary Club in Grand Rapids. 

They did not come to discuss politics or local elections. 

Instead, they attended a forum hosted by the Bill of Rights Institute on the importance of civics education. 

That may sound counterintuitive, and such a forum may not have been successful even five years ago. 

But business leaders are increasingly aware that a strong civics education helps students develop crucial lifelong skills — including skills that translate effectively to the workplace. 

At the Bill of Rights Institute, we teach civics and work with more than 68,000 civics and history teachers nationwide — including nearly 1,400 Michigan teachers. 

Civics education can have a lasting effect on students by helping them develop good citizenship skills and gain foundational knowledge about their communities, our country, and America’s founding principles. 

But it is apparent students who receive a quality civics education also can add real value to the business community. 

A survey of small businesses conducted last year by Goldman Sachs revealed recruiting and retaining qualified employees is the top challenge for businesses. 

Business leaders are looking for employees who have the right combination of hard skills (i.e., the technical acumen to perform a job) and soft skills (i.e., character, reasoning skills and work ethic). 

Civics education can help students develop the crucial soft skills that employers covet. 

A 2021 report from the Association of American Colleges and Universities asked employers which education skills they highly value. 

More than eight out of 10 employers said civic skills and civic engagement were important. 

It makes sense employers would value employees who are community-minded and who know how to work with others to solve problems. Civic-minded individuals also help build strong communities — and strong communities can produce high-performing workforces that help businesses thrive. 

But researchers also found employers value several other skills that can be effectively developed through civics education. For example:  

  • 95% of employers rated critical thinking skills as very important or somewhat important. 

Civics education can be highly effective at honing critical thinking skills. 

At the Bill of Rights Institute, one of the foundational aspects of our curricula is point-counterpoint lessons where students consider multiple perspectives on important issues and learn to analyze their own positions critically. 

You commonly see this multi-perspective approach in civics classrooms. Civics teachers take great pride in helping students develop as critical thinkers. 

  • 91% of employers valued ethical judgment and reasoning as very important or somewhat important. 

Every business is looking for high-character individuals. In our curricula, we stress civic virtues such as honor, integrity, respect and responsibility. 

Teaching civic virtues is crucial to helping students understand their rights and responsibilities as citizens, and civics teachers often incorporate this type of content into their lessons. 

  • 89% of employers said it was very important or somewhat important for potential employees to communicate and work with people from different cultural backgrounds. 

A quality civics education emphasizes civil discourse, where students learn to engage with people who may have different backgrounds, perspectives and beliefs. This is an important citizenship skill that translates well to the workplace.  

The best place for business leaders to support civics education is at the local level, where the real learning happens. 

Support your local civics teachers and make sure your school board knows you value civics education. Offer to speak to a school civics class to give your perspectives as a business and community leader. 

The investments we make in civics education today will pay dividends down the road for our businesses, our communities and our nation. 

David J. Bobb, Ph.D., is president and CEO of the Bill of Rights Institute, a nonprofit that teaches civics and history through curricula and educational experiences for teachers and students.