NATCHEZ &8212; A high-profile report early in October paints a drab picture of young people entering the workforce.

&8220;Most young people entering the U.S. workforce lack critical skills essential for success,&8221; the report says.

Do local business, education and other leaders agree with the report that young people are ill prepared as potential employees?

The report is the result of a survey made in April and May by four entities interested in stability and development of the U.S. economy. They are The Conference Board, Corporate Voices for Working Families, the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and the Society for Human Resource Management.

A press release providing results of the survey, in which more than 400 human resource officials were included, says young people do not present &8220;a core set of basic knowledge and the ability to apply their skills in the workplace.&8221;

The report especially targets communication skills, saying that 72 percent of high school graduates &8220;are viewed as deficient in basic English, writing skills, including grammar and spelling.&8221;

Graduates of two-year and four-year institutions of higher learning also exhibited weaknesses in communication skills, according to the survey.

Kaye Harris, assistant dean of career and technical education at Copiah-Lincoln Community College, said communication skills are a major emphasis for students in the career and technical programs at the Natchez campus.

Core requirements for students include speech and English courses, which emphasize oral and written skills as well as grammar.

&8220;We try to prepare students for jobs, and communication skills are vital,&8221; Harris said.

Furthermore, because the college receives federal funds for the programs, &8220;we&8217;re held to a very high degree of accountability.&8221;

At Receivable Solutions Specialists in Natchez, owner Bruce Brice Jr. said he identifies with the survey.

His call center business requires specialized communication skills, and he frequently is disappointed in prospective workers&8217; level of skills &8212; from typing to telephoning.

&8220;We have to be a reflection not just of our local clients but our national clients, as well,&8221; Brice said.

He puts emphasis on on-job training and provides opportunities for hard-working employees to develop their skills further after employment begins.

Entergy spokeswoman Ann Becker said that company has not experienced the decline in communication skills among prospective employees.

&8220;We have a deep and thorough interview process,&8221; Becker said, adding that a prospect without those skills would not move far along in the process.

The company also refreshes employees&8217; skills through continuing education and cross-functional training within the company.

Developing communication skills begins early in life, said Anthony Morris, superintendent of the Natchez-Adams county public schools.

&8220;I have an old-school education,&8221; he said. &8220;It involved three institutions, home, school and church, all working together.&8221;

Without those three units working in tandem, children may miss links in their oral and written skills, Morris said.

Morris would like to see a revived interest in teaching grammar. &8220;It has not been taught with the same intensity; there is not the emphasis on grammar,&8221; he said.

Then, as young people get into higher grades, they begin to associate written and oral skills with what English majors study and don&8217;t put as much emphasis on them, he said. &8220;But English, especially grammar and communications, is integrated into all areas of work now. Everyone needs those skills.&8221;

In the perfect world, those skills begin in the home and other settings, including the church, Morris said.

At Trinity Episcopal Day School, Delicia Carey, head of school, said her teachers try to emphasize grammar from the students&8217; earliest grades through senior high school.

&8220;We&8217;re struggling to identify curricula that will address what we believe is a very important aspect of educating our children,&8221; she said. &8220;We&8217;re disappointed with what we can get from mainstream publishers. That&8217;s an ongoing struggle.&8221;

Taking a look at the survey from the financial industry angle, Bazile Lanneau Jr. expressed small concern for the statistics.

&8220;It&8217;s a survey,&8221; he said. &8220;I have a suspicion that if you had the same kind of survey 30 years ago, to some degree you would have employers saying the same thing &8212; it&8217;s not like it used to be.&8221;

Lanneau said the workforce in the United States probably compares favorably to workers in other developed countries. In some of the developing countries, where productivity may be high, the basic workers often are illiterate.

&8220;Today, preparation for life and for work is a little more complex than it once was. There are more demands and more requirements,&8221; Lanneau said.

A survey such as this recent one can serve as a wake-up call, Lanneau said. &8220;Something like this gets you very focused.&8221;

Morris is encouraged by the latest education initiatives proposed by Hank Bounds, state superintendent of education.

Bounds spoke in Natchez recently as part of a tour around the state to talk about a redesign of education to prepare Mississippi children for workplace readiness.

In literature prepared for the booklet, &8220;Redesigning Education for the 21st Century Workforce,&8221; Bounds addresses some of same issues found in The Conference Board survey.

&8220;Bill Gates has stated that American high schools are obsolete by comparing the antiquated model for today&8217;s high schools to attempting to teach students about today&8217;s computers on a 50-year-old mainframe,&8221; Bounds said.

The initiative Bounds proposes includes redesign of courses with emphasis on integrating academic and some new vocational education courses, with the result of creating a &8220;career pathway&8221; for young people.

Morris hopes the state will fund the program. &8220;It does make education more relevant. That&8217;s the most exciting part,&8221; he said.

More information about the program is available on the Mississippi Department of Education Web site.