🔒State must match education, job needs

I have the opportunity on a regular basis to talk with the senior leadership of small and middle market manufacturing firms. While our conversations cover a wide variety of topics, one that consistently rises to the top is the lack of skilled people to fill a wide variety of job vacancies.

I took a very unscientific poll recently, asking a half-dozen manufacturing business leaders what current openings they have where they cannot find talent to fill them. The short list includes:

• Electronic assembly technician — $28/hour

• Mechanical assembly technician — $28/hour

• Mechanical inspector — $24/hour

• Lab technician — $15/hour

• Field service engineer — $60,000 - $80,000/year

• E1 or E2 licensed electrician — $50,000 - $70,000/year

• Control systems engineer — $90,000/year

Each these jobs require a specific skill set and experience. Each of the business leaders said they get a lot of applications for the positions. What they do not get are qualified applicants who can meet the skill and experience requirements to do the jobs.

I then saw a video by Kevin Fleming and Brian Y. Marsh (www.brianymarch.com) titled “Success in the New Economy.” In a little over 10 minutes this video clearly demonstrates the underpinnings of the problem manufacturers are having finding qualified people. There is a distinct misalignment between education and the workforce requirements in demand today.

For years we have been told that there is a correlation between level of education and higher income. If you want to make more money, you need a higher-level degree. The truth is the current economic workforce requirements don't support this premise. The education-for-all philosophy is underlying the misalignment between job requirements and workforce capabilities.

Consider, in 1960 13 percent of high school graduates went on to four-year degree programs. Now, 64 percent of the graduates go on to four-year degree programs. In today's economy though, the requirements are different.

In the Fleming and Marsh video they illustrate the difference with the ratio 1:2:7. For every one job requiring a master's degree, there are two jobs requiring four-year degrees. Most significant, there are seven jobs requiring a one-year certificate or two-year associate's degree.

The misalignment is clear. If 64 percent of high school grads go on to four-year degree programs, yet seven of 10 jobs require more focused training, you can see why so many employers have openings going unfilled.

Today's college graduates are finding themselves underemployed. They need jobs, if for no other reason than to pay off the onerous debt they've incurred getting that college degree. They work in jobs that usually do not leverage their skills and training. The new employees are frustrated, and their employers have a difficult time with their lack of motivation.

State economic development agencies have been responding of late with an increased emphasis on community colleges and the certificate and degree programs they offer. These programs are more focused in their curriculum, aligning the education with the economic need. That's a great step in the right direction.

Another positive step would be for those soon to graduate high school students to think in terms of their interests and alignment with a career path. Go through a self-exploration process. Understand their likes and where their passions lie. Then look for career paths that align with those passions. In many instances students may find that the education requirements are more focused, more specific.

Success in today's economy screams for alignment between education and economic need. When the workforce becomes more aligned with job requirements, employees are able to pursue their passions and employers find the skilled talent they need.

Ken Cook is the co-founder of How to Who and co-author of “How to WHO: Selling Personified,” a book and program on building business through relationships. Learn more at www.howtowho.com.