Beyond the Business Suit – For young people, learning office norms is crucial for survival in the new economy.

Earlier this week, I wrote about Year Up http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/2011/01/24/an-education-in-the-ways-of-the-workplace/ , an organization that is unusually successful at preparing young adults from disadvantaged backgrounds for jobs in big companies like banks, investment houses, health care providers and technology firms. What became clear to me while researching the story was that workforce development no longer means giving people job skills; it means giving them the ability to navigate a career in a professional environment.

This isn’t knowledge you’re born with. You pick it up from family and friends and, if you’re lucky, from mentors. Oddly, for something so important, it receives little emphasis in schools and colleges; many job training programs gloss over it.

By DAVID BORNSTEIN

Full Story: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/28/beyond-the-business-suit/