ERIC ED425346: Workforce Training. Supply, Demand, and Gaps.

68 Pages·1998·1.1 MB·English

by  ERIC

DOCUMENT RESUME
CE 077 748
ED 425 346
Workforce Training. Supply, Demand, and Gaps.
TITLE
Washington State Workforce Training and Education
INSTITUTION
Coordinating Board, Olympia.
PUB DATE 1998-00-00
68p.; For a related document, see ED 413 522.
NOTE
Descriptive (141)
PUB TYPE
Reports
EDRS PRICE MF01/PC03 Plus Postage.
Demand Occupations; *Educational Needs; Educational
DESCRIPTORS
Planning; Employment Patterns; *Employment Projections;
Futures (of Society); *Job Training; Labor Needs; *Labor
Supply; Postsecondary Education; Secondary Education;
Statewide Planning; *Technical Education; *Vocational
Education
IDENTIFIERS
*Washington
ABSTRACT
A study identified the gaps between supply and demand for
training in Washington State and recommended strategies for reducing them.
The study considered the perspectives of both employers and workers and
separately analyzed the needs of three groups: youth, adults, and adults with
barriers to employment. The study found the following:
(1) there is a
shortage of skilled workers that has been getting worse, with the most severe
shortage being of workers with a postsecondary vocational diploma or
(2) the shortage of skilled labor is affecting the state's
certificate;
(3) there is also a gap in meeting
opportunity for further economic growth;
employer and worker demand for upgrading current workers' skills;
(4)
although there are more than 250,000 economically disadvantaged adults in
Washington State, only about one-third of them receive some training or
(5) at least 200,000 Washington adults
postsecondary education during a year;
are deficient at the most basic skill levels; and (6) only 10 percent of
employers provide even 4 hours of basic skills instruction per year. The
following strategies to reduce the gaps in needed skills and trained workers
were identified: continuing education reform, especially school-to-work
transition, and vocational education; increasing the availability of
secondary and postsecondary vocational-technical education; compressing adult
vocational training; funding customized training linked to specific job
openings; creating one-stop career centers; increasing training through the
Job Training Partnership Act for adults who need basic skills; integrating
basic skills with work and vocational training; and adding basic skills
training in community and technical colleges.
(KC)
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TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOUES
INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)
Points of view or opinions stated in this
document do not necessarily represent
1
official OERI position or policy
411
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a
a
1998
Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
2
WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
The Vision
The Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board is Washington State's
valued and trusted source of leadership for the workforce training and education system.
Mission Statement
The Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board's mission is to bring business, labor,
and the public sector together to shape strategies to best meet the workforce training needs of all
of Washington's students, workers, and employers in order to create and sustain a high-skill,
high-wage economy.
To fulfill this mission, Board members and staff work together to:
Advise the Governor and Legislature on workforce training and education policy.
Promote a system of workforce training and education that responds to the
lifelong learning needs of the current and future workforce.
Advocate for the nonbaccalaureate training and education needs of workers
and employers.
Facilitate innovations in policy.
Ensure system quality and accountability by evaluating results and supporting
high standards and continuous improvement.
Board Members
Gay Kiesling
Carver Gayton
Betty Jane Narver
Representing Labor
Chair
Commissioner
State Employment
John McGinnis
Security Department
Terry Bergeson
Representing Labor
State Superintendent
Earl Hale
of Public Instruction
Joseph J. Pinzone
Executive Director
State Board for Community
Geraldine Coleman
Representing Business
and Technical Colleges
Representing Business
Dick Spangler
Jeff Johnson
Representing Business
Representing Labor
Ellen O'Brien Saunders
Executive Director
The Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board does not discriminate or deny services on the basis of
race, color, national origin, sex, age, religion, or disability.
This publication is available in alternative format upon request.
3
Workforce Training
Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
Building 17, Airdustrial Park
P.O. Box 43105
Olympia, WA 98504-3105
[phone]/Fax [phone]
http://www.wa.gov/wtb
Email: [email protected]
4
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction
1
The Shortage of Skilled Workers
5
Youth
15
Adults
19
Adults With Barriers to Employment
39
45
Recommended Strategies
55
Appendix
57
Budget
57
Methodological Issues
59
Customer Satisfaction Survey
5
WORKER TRAINING: SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND GAPS
Executive Summary
This report identifies the gaps between
The following are the major findings
supply and demand for training in
and recommended strategies. Most
Washington and recommends strategies
of the strategies do not require additi-
for reducing them. The Workforce
onal appropriations beyond current
Training and Education Coordinating
budget levels.
Board (WTECB) prepared this report
in response to an assignment established
in RCW 28C.18.090.
Shortage of Skilled Workers
To assess the supply and demand for
There is a shortage of skilled
training, the report considers the
workers, and it has been getting
perspectives of both employers and
worse during continued economic
workers, and separately analyzes the
growth. In 1995, 55 percent of
needs of three groups:
employers had difficulty finding
qualified job applicants. In 1997,
Youth
1.
73 percent of Washington employers
had difficulty finding qualified job
Adults
2.
applicants in the last 12 months.
Adults With Barriers
3.
The most severe shortage is for
to Employment
workers with a postsecondary
vocational diploma or certificate.
The strategies for reducing the gaps
Adjusting employer responses to
include both changes in the way we do
reflect the makeup of their
business and growth in the supply of
workforce, 64 percent of employers
training in order to better meet demand.
had much difficulty finding qualified
Consistent with the mission of WTECB,
applicants. This is higher than the
this report emphasizes training for jobs
percentage reporting much difficulty
that do not require a bachelor degree-
in finding workers at any other level
80 percent of all jobs.
of education.
WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
6
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The shortage of skilled labor is affecting
Jobs requiring no education
the state's opportunity for further economic
beyond high school will, however,
growth. Seventy percent of employers
remain a substantial share of
say the difficulty in finding qualified job
employment, although wages will
applicants has lowered overall productiv-
be relatively low compared to jobs
ity, and 67 percent say it has reduced
requiring higher skills.
production output or sales. (See Figure 1.)
Employers who hire workers
with only a high school education
most frequently report difficulty
Youth
finding job applicants with job-
specific skills, computer skills,
Supply, Demand, and Gaps
and general workplace skills, such
as good work habits and attitudes,
Employers anticipate a significant decline
communication skills, and the
in the hiring of workers without a high
school diploma.
FIGURE 1
Impact of a Shortage of Well-Rained Applicants
(Has the difficulty your firm experienced in finding applicants caused any
of the following? Percentage of employers responding yes among the
73 percent of employers experiencing difficulty.)
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0')/0
Caused to
Prevented
Reduced
Reduced
Prevented
Lowered
Move Some
From Developing
Product or
From
Production
Overall
Operations Out
New Products/
Service Quality
Expanding
Output or Sales
Production
of Washington
Services
Facilities
WORKER TRAINING: SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND GAPS
ability to solve problems. Job
Federal funds that provide employment
applicants with basic skills are less
and training services to economically
difficult to find. (See Figure 2.)
disadvantaged youth have been
significantly reduced in recent years.
The number of secondary school youth
will rise 14 percent in the next 5 years
after which growth will be slower.
FIGURE 2
Difrwulty in Finding Employee Skills for Employers
Hiring Mostly at High School Level
(Percentage of employers reporting difficulty finding a specific skill among the 73 percent of
employers experiencing difficulty finding skilled applicants.)
100%
Some Difficulty
,
90%
Much Difficulty
'.
80%
ft
v
o
.
-Y. -
70%
.
.
60%
50%
,*+
48%
40%
60%
59%
430/0
42%
30%
38%
34%
61%
33%
29%
20%
30%
60%
26%
70%
22%
10%
16%
44%
13%
3%
0%
Reading
Work Writing
Computer Commu- Problem
Job-
Math
Adapta-
Accepts
Team-
Habits/
Specific
work
nication
Super-
Solving
bility to
Attitudes
Skills
Change
vision
WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Adults
Strategies to Reduce the Gaps
Changing the Way
Supply, Demand, and Gaps
We Do Business
There is a substantial gap between
Education Reform: Continue education
supply and demand for workers
reform, especially progress on state
with two or three years of
education goals 3 and 4, which
postsecondary training. There are
include the ability to solve problems
about 38,000 projected net job
and understand future career oppor-
openings per year for workers with
tunities and the importance of work.
postsecondary vocational training,
yet the state produces less than
School-to-Work Transition: Continue
20,000 graduates at this level per
the development of a school-to-work
year. (See Figure 3.)
transition systemcombining
vocational and academic education,
There is an additional gap in meeting
integrating classroom and work-
employer and worker demand for
based learning, and articulating
upgrading current workers' skills.
K-12 education with continued
Surveys of employers and adults
postsecondary education.
indicate that there is demand for
about 300,000 training "episodes"
Vocational Education: Continue
per year. It appears that the present
improving vocational education by:
system falls short of meeting this
1) increasing the academic content
demand by over 100,000 training
of vocational programs; 2) increas-
episodes per year. Moreover, the
ing the use of career clusters; and
demand for upgrading will increase
3) improving the capacity to measure
with population growth and
student results.
increasing occupational technical
skill requirements.
Growth
The state's Worker Retraining
Secondary Vocational-Technical
Program (ESHB 1988) provides
Education: Add 9,880 secondary
retraining for about 12,000 dis-
vocational-technical education
located and other unemployed
student FTEs by the 2003-04 school
workers per year. Funding is
year in order to match demographic
scheduled to expire June 30, 1999.
growth and maintain current
participation rates.
(Strategies for out-of-school youth are
included below under strategies for
individuals with barriers to employment.)
9
iv
WORKER TRAINING: SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND GAPS
more efficiently. One-Stop Career
The Job Skills Program:
Washington's program for
Centers will provide access to basic
customized training linked to
employment-related services such as
particular employers and job
assessment and counseling, informa-
openings, is funded at one-tenth of
tion about government programs,
the national average for state-funded, labor market information, consumer
information about training provider
customized training programs.
results, and job placement assistance.
Most employers do not provide even
four hours per year of classroom
training to the majority of their
FIGURE 3
production or service workers.
Annual Labor Market
Strategies to Reduce the Gaps
Demand and Supply for
Postsecondary
Changing the Way We Do Business
Vocational Credentials
Compress Adult Vocational
Training: The community and
technical colleges should compress
the amount of time spent completing
training programs in order to reduce
the time participants spend out of the
workforce and the time employers
must wait for training to be
completed.
Job-Linked Training: The state should
ensure funding for customized train-
ing linked to specific job openings.
Such funding could provide retraining
for dislocated workers, skills
upgrading for incumbent workers,
and provide training for workers with
barriers to employment, including
Net Job Openings
Current Net Supply of New
low income workers and those
Requiring Two or Three
Vocational Associates Degrees,
moving off welfare, among others.
Years Postsecondary
Vocational Certificates,
Educationffraining
Terminal Academic Associates
One-Stop Career Centers: The state
Degrees (Community and
Employment Security
should proceed with the implementa-
Technical Colleges and
Department Projections of
Degree-Granling Private
tion of a system of One-Stop Career
Average Net Job Openings
Career Schools), and
Centers in order to serve customers
Over the Next Five Years
Apprenticeship Completers
V
WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD