What You Can Do in Your Community to Support Expanded Training for
Skilled American Jobs
From the
Center for America
What You Can Do in Your Community to Support Expanded Training
for Skilled American Jobs?
How many ways you can help?
Look for resources and links on the CFA website.
Young People and Parents
… Enroll in
after-school programs or summer camps that focus on skills-building projects
… Attend events
sponsored by skills training centers to find programs that are exciting
High Schools and Parents
… Talk with guidance
counselors about careers in the skilled trades and technical fields
… Visit local
manufacturing companies to learn about their jobs, training and factories
… Learn about what
skills training programs are offered by community colleges, nonprofit
organizations and visit the most interesting ones
Teachers and Guidance Counselors
… Invite speakers
from manufacturers to talk about their companies and jobs
… Organize field
trips for teachers and students to visit manufacturers
School System Administrators
… Work with local
business and existing nonprofit training centers to expand cooperative training
opportunities for students
… Consider how to
support manufacturing skills and technical curricula in your schools
Retirees
… Volunteer to teach
your skills to others or help with community outreach activities
Business Managers, Owners
… Invite local
student and youth groups to tour your facilities and talk about the benefits of
careers in manufacturing and technical trades
… Consider whether
you can offer apprenticeships in collaboration with local training programs
… Consider whether
several businesses can work together to support and sponsor local training
programs
… Encourage
employees to volunteer as faculty for nonprofit or public school training
programs
Unions
… Encourage members
to sign-up for additional training to help them transition to better jobs
… Work with local
companies to help support and sponsor local training programs
Foundations
… Develop “seed
money” grants to help startup training programs or fund special outreach
… Seek out programs
that to bring school dropouts back into school and skills training
… Seek out special
projects that will give training program students a real-life experience, such
as rehabbing a house or building a boat
Media
… Consider coverage
on companies seeking and training skilled workers
… Consider series
coverage on the range of local tinkering and training programs for various age
groups and workers in transition
State Officials
… Reassess the
adequacy of state policies and support for nonprofit and public school training
programs in light of future skilled worker needs
… Support and
promote effective public-private training partnerships as role models
Did You Know?
According to a May 2011
survey by Manpower Group among 40,000 employers globally, skilled trades
workers as a group rank number one in the U.S. and 13 other countries as to the
“difficulty of filling jobs due to the lack of talent”.
At the height of the
recession, 32% of manufacturers reported that they had jobs going unfilled
because they could not find workers with the right skills, according to the
National Association of Manufacturers.
2.7 million manufacturing
employees are 55 years of age or older and likely to leave the labor force over
the next 10 years. (NAM) This does not include skilled workers in other
sectors, such as those in the utility and trucking sectors.
By 2018, according to the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, those 55 and older will number some 40 million
and comprise nearly a quarter of the total U.S. labor force. The retirement of
this age group over the ensuing decade has the potential to cripple U.S.
industry unless those fewer entering the workforce have advanced skills along
with science, technology and mathematics attainment.
A 2011 survey by The
Nielson Company among executives from 103 large U.S. manufacturing firms found
that on average, the shortage of skilled workers will cost each company $63
million over the next five years, some as much as $100 million. These costs
include training and recruiting, followed by problems caused by lower quality
and resulting decreases in customer satisfaction.
In 2010, China had 19.8%
of global factory output, compared with 19.4% for the U.S., making China the
world leader in manufacturing, according to IHS Global Insight. However, labor
productivity in the U.S. is three times that of China. The U.S. lead in
productivity can be maintained only by ensuring that a skilled labor shortage
is avoided.
Industry experts are
predicting a shortage of 150,000, 300,000, 500,000 or more [truck] drivers by
[2012],” according to Heavy Trucking Magazine. Roughly one quarter of the
637,000 aerospace workers in the U.S. could be eligible for retirement this
year, according to the Aerospace Industry Association.
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www.CenterForAmerica.org
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