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HARD TO FILL
SO, WHAT ARE THE HARDEST JOBS TO FILL? NATIONWIDE 1. Skilled Trade Workers 2. Restaurant and Hotel Staff 3. Sales Representatives 4. Teachers
OK, eager job seekers: Have you got the skills to pay the bills? Apparently not, at least as far as many potential employers are concerned. Large shares of employers nationally and in western Wisconsin say that they’re having trouble filling open jobs because applicants don’t meet the necessary requirements. Whether you call it a skills gap, a talent shortage, or just bad luck, it’s a problem for the economy. Every problem presents an opportunity, of course, and in this case the opportunity is for those job hunters willing to burnish their skills and adapt themselves to a changing labor market. That means setting yourself up with a toolbox of skills that are adaptable to multiple jobs, rather than planning on finding – and keeping – a single occupation for your whole working life, says Beth Mathison, director of business development in west-central Wisconsin for Manpower, an international staffing firm.
85% of Chippewa Valley employers who responded to a recent survey said they had difficulty filling some positions. Roughly half of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher, although more than 30 percent were open to those with only a high school diploma.
Manpower unveiled its annual Talent Shortage Survey in June, which identified the 10 hardest jobs for U.S. employers to fill: skilled trade workers, restaurant and hotel staff, sales representatives, teachers, drivers, accounting and finance staff, laborers, IT staff, engineers, and nurses. While the survey offered no empirical local data, Mathison said her experience indicates the hard-to-fill jobs are very similar in the Chippewa Valley, with the exception of restaurant and hotel staff. (She speculates those jobs may be easier to fill here because of the abundance of college students looking for part-time service-sector gigs.) In western Wisconsin, Mathison says, there seem to be many openings for people in the skilled trades (everything from welders to quality technicians to CNC machine operators) as well as for laborers (such as entry-level industrial jobs). And while jobs like this don’t often require four-year degrees, they still require skill and attention to detail, she says. “We don’t see as much demand for that limited-thinking,
limited-skill kind of position,” she notes. Beyond specific technical training, employers facing talent shortages typically are looking for job applicants with “soft” workplace skills, Mathison says, including reliability, dedication, and the ability to solve problems. In fact, in the national study, 39 percent of employers said they were having trouble filling jobs because such workplace skills were lacking. (The largest share, 47 percent, said lack of technical skill was the problem.)
5. Drivers 6. Accounting and Finance Staff 7. Laborers 8. IT Staff 9. Engineers 10. Nurses Source: Nationwide survey by Manpower Inc., 2014
ANXIOUS EMPLOYERS The persistent skills gap – 40 percent of U.S. employers surveyed by Manpower reported having trouble filling jobs – has led to changing attitudes among some employers, Mathison says. No longer can they assume, as they may have a few years ago, that they will have a profusion of qualified applicants for every job. Instead, she says, some employers are dividing up job descriptions and work tasks differently to bring less-skilled workers on board. Others are providing more training to workers after they hire them. The challenge for employers is daunting: According to the survey, 56 percent of respondents say the shortage of talent has a high or medium impact on their ability to meet clients’ needs. The talent shortage seems even more acute on the local level, at least according to research by the Narrowing the Skills Gap Regional Taskforce, an ad hoc group formed to address the problem. According to the taskforce, 85 percent of Chippewa Valley employers who responded to a recent survey said they had difficulty filling some positions. Roughly half of these jobs require a bachelor’s degree or higher, although more than 30 percent were open to those with only a high school diploma. And the ongoing retirement of the baby boom generation continues to impact the region’s workforce: Fully two-thirds of employers who responded to the survey said the impending retirement of current employees is a concern. On the other hand, the same retirements are also reason for excitement for people who are looking for work. According to data gathered by the taskforce, in many professions – such as protective services, education, customer service, and welding/cutting – the number of replacement jobs outnumbers the number of newly created jobs in the Chippewa Valley. So with all this in mind, what are your best bets for seeking a job in the Chippewa Valley? There will be more openings in nursing than in any other VolumeOne.org 38 July 10, 2014
CHIPPEWA VALLEY 1. CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machine Operators 2. Computer Programmers 3. Diesel Technicians 4. Engineers (Mechanical and Electrical) 5. Health Care Procedure Coders 6. Information Systems 7. Nurses 8. Welders Source: Narrowing the Skills Gap report, October 2013
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category, according to the above-cited data: Between 2010 and 2020, an estimated 146 nursing jobs will open annually in Eau Claire, Dunn, and Chippewa counties. Next on the list of abundant openings are truck driving (128), protective services (110), customer service (86), elementary education (66), retail managers (61), and sales representatives (57).
SKILLS GAP REPORT Seeing help-wanted ads doesn’t do much good, however, if you don’t have the right education and experience on your résumé. The gap between having hope and having a job prompted the task force of western Wisconsin groups led by the Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corp. – which included many businesses, educational institutions, nonprofits, and workforce agencies – to release a report last fall titled Narrowing the Skills Gap: A Regional Workforce Initiative. Employers sur-
The report also proposed a fivepoint plan to address these shortcomings: gathering local labor marking information more quickly; communicating that data better; reducing barriers for economically challenged students (such as microgrants for tuition, child care, and transportation); developing a regional strategy to recruit workers who have skills not taught locally; and knocking down impediments to getting students (and adults) to explore careers and gain work experience. Like gaining job skills themselves, achieving these goals won’t be easy. However, the skills gap taskforce is already working to implement its recommendations. Among other things, employers will meet this month to discuss recruiting talent to the region, and a new website will be launched in late August to increase interactions between students, teachers, and businesses, says Brian Doudna, executive director of the Eau Claire Area EDC.
Beyond specific technical training, employers facing talent shortages typically are looking for job applicants with “soft” workplace skills, says Beth Mathison of Manpower, including reliability, dedication, and the ability to solve problems. In fact, in the national study, 39 percent of employers said they were having trouble filling jobs because such workplace skills were lacking.
veyed for the report identified jobs that were hard to recruit for in the region, many of which overlapped with the occupations identified in the nationwide Manpower survey: engineers, nurses, welders and diesel technicians (both skilled trades), and a number of computer-related fields, including programmers and information systems workers. The report identified five major reasons for the gap between the skills of the local workforce and the jobs that need to be filled: those entering the workforce don’t always have the critical skills they need; information about local labor trends isn’t easily available to consumers (for example, it’s hard for students to use this data to choose career paths); communication and coordination efforts (such as those between businesses and educators) aren’t effectively aligned; and targeted resources (including money) are needed to fill the gap. VolumeOne.org 39 July 10, 2014
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BY THE NUMBERS Unemployment statistics fluctuate all the time, but in the past few years they’ve (mostly) been fluctuating in the right direction: downward. Between May 2013 and this May – the last month for which stats are available – the share of the workforce without jobs fell in the nation, the state, and the Eau Claire metro area (which consists of Eau Claire and Chippewa counties). The total size of the labor force in the metro area fell during that period as well, but only by a smidgen. TOTAL LABOR FORCE (Eau Claire metro area)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (Eau Claire metro area)
UNEMPLOYMENT rate (Wisconsin)
UNEMPLOYMENT rate (United States):
91,180
4.7%
5.7%
6.3%
May 2014
May 2014
(preliminary, not seasonally adjusted)
May 2014
May 2014
(preliminary)
91,428
5.9%
7.0%
7.6%
May 2013
May 2013
May 2013
May 2013
(not seasonally adjusted)
(seasonally adjusted)
(seasonally adjusted)
Source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
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THE BIG GUYS Looking for work? Keep an eye on these places. According to stats gathered by the state, these are the biggest employers in Eau Claire County.
3,000+ EMPLOYEES Sacred Heart Hospital
Mayo Clinic Heath System
RCU IS HIRING High Energy Member Focused Service Professionals
In the Chippewa Valley
Visit rcu.org for more details and to apply online.
1,000+ EMPLOYEES EC Area School District
UW-Eau Claire
Menard Inc.
Philips Medisize
500-999 EMPLOYEES United Healthcare
City Of Eau Claire
Hutchinson Technology Inc.
Marshfield Clinic
Eau Claire County
Nestle USA
Voted Best Employer in Volume One’s 2013 Best of the Chippewa Valley Reader Poll
250-499 EMPLOYEES Cascades Tissue Group
Mega! Co-op
Chippewa Valley Tech College
Midwest Manufacturing
Eau Claire Press Co. IDEXX Laboratories L.E. Phillips Career Dev. Center
Precision Pipeline Target Walmart Market & Johnson Inc. EEO/AA EMPLOYER/Veterans/Disabled Source: Eau Claire Area Economic Development Corp.
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staying or going By the numbers, a healthy SHARE of college graduates stick around Eau Claire after they’re done with school. Typically, colleges send out surveys to recent grads every year to keep track of things like how long it took them to find a job, whether or not they’re attending grad school, and where they end up geographically. According to the most recent UW-Eau Claire survey of students who graduated in December 2012 and May and August 2013 (in which 63 percent of grads completed the survey), 55 percent of the respondents are still in Wisconsin and 25 percent are still in the Chippewa Valley. “I’m happy with that number,” said Staci Heidtke, associate director of Career Services at UWEC. “But I think we could always improve upon that.” To some extent, it goes without saying that nearby cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Milwaukee, or Madison tend to have more job opportunities than the Chippewa Valley does – but that’s in terms of sheer volume. More economy, more businesses, more workers, more people – it’s cyclical. Heidtke was quick to put a lid on the suggestion that those places are empirically “better,” though. “One of the things that Eau Claire has going for it is that is has a really nice hometown feel
HOW MANY GRADS STICK AROUND? CVTC:
with family-run businesses and employers that really value their employees,” she said. “And I’m not sure that doesn’t happen in the Twin Cities or Chicago, but I’m really positive it does happen here.” And she said a lot of students who walk through her door for job counseling and advice are looking for community-focused employers, and they place a generous value on community citizenship.
“One of the things that Eau Claire has going for it is that is has a really nice hometown feel with familyrun businesses and employers that really value their employees, and I’m not sure that doesn’t happen in the Twin Cities or Chicago, but I’m really positive it does happen here.” Staci Heidtke, UW-Eau Claire Career Services
Now, it’s difficult to bring up jobs – with a capital “J” – and not mention the economic development happening in the Chippewa Valley, and specifically in downtown Eau Claire.
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91%
OF GRADS ARE EMPLOYED WITHIN ONE YEAR OF GRADUATION
69%
OF THOSE FIND A JOB IN THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY
91%
OF THOSE FIND A JOB IN WISCONSIN
UW-EAU CLAIRE:
94%
OF GRADS ARE EMPLOYED OR CONTINUING EDUCATION
25%
OF THOSE FIND A JOB IN THE CHIPPEWA VALLEY
55%
OF THOSE FIND A JOB IN WISCONSIN
UW-STOUT:
97% 50%
OF GRADS ARE EMPLOYED OR CONTINUING EDUCATION
OF THOSE FIND A JOB IN WISCONSIN
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Heidtke singled out the Confluence Project and JAMF Software as two big examples of having the massive potential to give downtown the economic power drink it needs to start creating capital-J jobs. Of course it’s somewhat speculative, but having those opportunities so close to home could keep postgrads and young professionals working in the area, instead of giving in to the pressure of the wide open job boards in cities 10 times our size. So what needs to happen in the meantime? Heidtke said it starts with capital “I”: internships. “Part of the internship process or the first job after graduation is to get a better understanding of what it means to have a full-time professional job, and what are the demands of an employer, and what’s typical,” she said. If those internships happen while they’re here, they get students off
campus, getting comfortable with the Chippewa Valley’s professional environment, and networking within the area so that come graduation, maybe sticking around is neither jolting nor a tremendous letdown. It shouldn’t sound like trickery, because it isn’t. Either way, students are only going to stay in the Chippewa Valley if they want to stay in the Chippewa Valley. Some plan to get jobs based solely on location, while others leave it open-ended. In the end, there’s no pressure on students to stay if that’s not their plan. “I certainly don’t steer any one person to stay here if they don’t want to. But I certainly encourage them to explore all different options,” Heidtke said. “(But) the more students that we can keep here that are bright, educated young people that are motivated to affect their community, the better.”
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FROM THE EXPERTS Fewer than 20 percent of people get jobs from the Web. The best way to get a job is to network: make connections, go to events, call companies. Your network is your best job resource. When writing a résumé, don’t use a template. Know what the company is looking for and change your résumé to fit it. There is no standard, so personalize it. One of the biggest mistakes people make is making career choices out of desperation. Don’t lower your standards. Try something new. Look long-term. Don’t limit yourself. Look for nontraditional ways to use your degree. One of the best things you can do is intern. Internships offer you experience that you just can’t get anywhere else. They may not pay at first, but they definitely pay off in the long run. Sources: UW-Eau Claire Career Services; Scott Hodek, Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development
OR START YOUR OWN THING... Jump-Start is a competition for entrepreneurs looking to open a business or relocate an existing business to downtown Eau Claire. Though open to any type of business, participants must be 18 years or older to compete. Grand prize winners have received start-up capital funds, a Downtown Eau Claire Inc. membership, entrepreneurial classes, and free advertising. Applications must include a business plan for the proposed business. This year’s competition closed in June, but you can start planning for next year! The award ceremony is usually held in August. Past winners include Smiling Moose Deli, Dessert First, Willow Creek Women’s Clinic, Body Focus, Just Local Food Cooperative, and Café 420. Learn more at www.downtowneauclaire.org/ doing-business/jump-start-downtown.php.
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HOW DO WE ATTRACT JOBS? EAU CLAIRe’s economic DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATOR MIKE SCHATZ GAVE US AN INSIDE LOOK AT HOW THE CITY ATTRACTS EMPLOYERS AND BOOSTS THE LOCAL JOB MARKET
Play Up Natural Advantages
Take Education Into Account
We try to recruit industry that makes sense for the advantages we have in raw materials and natural resources: lots of food products and agricultural land. (Silver Spring is one such success.) We have lots of plastic companies and computer product companies. … We want to create a connection with the type of workers already here. We try to document our great location on I-94 for businesses’ transportation needs, and the fact that our city is highly connected through fiber optics.
We look at programs that the UW-Eau Claire or Chippewa Valley Technical College might have, like material science programs. We have a ready supply of labor because we’re a university town with fresh graduates every year.
Market For A Specific Building We might be doing a marketing campaign for a certain building, like the vacant 3M building in the Gateway Industrial Park. It’s 200,000 square feet, so we’re looking for more of a high tech computer related company –
“People can choose where they live now, not just follow big companies. And our area meets the requirements of intelligent and skilled people.”
Diversify We also recruit to diversify so that we’re not linked to one single industry like we used to be with rubber. We like to keep the recruitment focused but not so narrow that we might miss different opportunities.
Roll With The Times I’ve been in Economic Development for over 30 years, and the expansion opportunities you see now are much less, especially in manufacturing. Our big competitor now is overseas. We might want to start going toward service-related industries or entrepreneurship.
Focus On Quality Of Life People can choose where they live now, not just follow big companies. And our area meets the requirements of intelligent and skilled people.
maybe chip design or a manufacturer of circuit boards or medical devices, using infrastructure that’s already in place.
Tailor The Fit If they have intensive labor costs, we highlight the costsaving aspect of the area because we have lower labor costs. One company wanted a place in Sky Park but they needed a lot of outside storage, so it wasn’t a good fit and we tried to find a different location for them.
Target Free Agents As Well As Companies We can show them that they can do well here through our website and brochures. We have a user friendly site (www.eauclairedevelopment.com) that documents the basics, but one of the drawbacks is that you don’t know they’re looking.
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