Get ting that perfect job is like hit ting your target. It’s a challenge at first. You need to learn the right skills, find your balance, work hard, and keep your eyes open for traffic. It doesn’t always work out the first time, and falling off can be painful and discouraging. But don’t
despair: Volume One’s special jobs section is here to give you the resources, statistics, and advice you need to take the training wheels off, shift into the right gear, and cruise down the road of success.
W R ITE R S Tom Giffey ,Jerry Poling, Shawn Johnson, Jeanie Stanek • E D ITO R S Tom Giffey & Eric Christenson
B R O U G HT TO YO U I N PAR T BY
FIVE THINGS CHI PPE WA VALLE Y JOB -SE E KE RS SHOU LD KNOW So you’re looking for employment? Here are some facts, figures, and projections to keep in mind WORDS: TOM GIFFEY CHIPPEWA VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE
1. CHECK OUT THE HOTTIES If you’re looking for work, it helps to know what the most in-demand fields are. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development keeps tabs on the “hot jobs” for regions across the state. It defines “hot jobs” as those that are growing faster than the regional average, have greater-than-average job openings, and offer median salaries above the average (cha-ching). Here are the hottest jobs for the state’s west-central region, which includes Eau Claire, Dunn, and Chippewa counties: Installation, Maintenance, and Repair (including bus and truck mechanics, diesel engine specialists, industrial machinery mechanics, and general maintenance and repair workers) Production (computer-controlled machine tool operators, machinists, and inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers) Transportation and Material Moving (heavy and tractor-trailer truck drivers) Office and Administrative Support (billing and posting clerks, first-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers) Sales (sales representatives for wholesale and manufacturing) Construction and Extraction (construction laborers and carpenters) Management, Business, and Financial (accountants and auditors, general and operations managers)
A Chippewa Valley Technical College student operates a computer numerical controlled (CNC) lathe
2. BE THANKFUL Historically speaking, the Valley’s unemployment rate is low – really, really low. In the Eau Claire metro area (that’s Eau Claire and Chippewa counties), it was just 2.6 percent in May (the last month for which figures were available). That’s even better than the statewide rate, which was 3.1 percent (and which is a full percentage point lower than it was last year at the same time). While there are a lot of factors at play when it comes to getting a job, a low unemployment rate is definitely a positive sign.
3. BE THANKFUL (PART 2) If you’re a young-ish person entering (or re-entering) the labor market, you should be grateful for longterm demographic trends that play in your favor, most notably the retirement of baby boomers. The oldest boomers are already retired, and the youngest boomers (born in 1964) are just a couple of years from 55, the age at which workforce participation typically starts to nosedive. Interestingly enough, Eau Claire County
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has the second-lowest median age – 33.7 years – among Wisconsin’s 72 counties, so the workforce around here won’t be tipping off the retirement cliff as sharply as in most places. Our low average age is due in part to the presence of UW-Eau Claire and Chippewa Valley Technical College, and that has pluses and minuses when it comes to the labor market. As a 2016 report from the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development put it, “While Eau Claire’s young popula-
tion may blunt some of the impact of the retiring baby boomers (on) the area’s labor force, it’s important to remember that many of those younger workers are post-secondary students. … However, having a pool of possible workers available after graduation, if the county has the higher-skill jobs to absorb them, is a much better situation than many counties around the state will experience. Employers will need to convince them to stay in the area, which is often an easier prospect for an area than luring in workers from elsewhere.”
4. ON THE OTHER HAND … CHIPPEWA VALLEY TECHNICAL COLLEGE
While unemployment tends to be pretty low around here, so are wages. In terms of per capita personal income, Eau Claire ranks third lowest among Wisconsin’s metro areas, above only Oshkosh and Janesville. (That’s according to 2016 numbers tallied by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.) Per-capita personal income around here is $43,276. That’s about $600 less per year than in Wausau, $1,500 less than in La Crosse, and more than $9,000 less than in Madison. Of course,
this fact is balanced out by Eau Claire’s rock-bottom cost of living. And, wages are growing faster in Wisconsin than most other states (we currently rank 15th in the nation).
5. USE YOUR DEGREE Your high school guidance counselor was right: A college degree really does give you a leg up in the job market. And placement rates for Chippewa Valley university grads are pretty high – meaning that if you recently got a piece of parchment from UW-Eau Claire or UW-Stout, you’re likely to be headed for gainful employment soon. One year after graduation, 96 percent of UWEC’s class of 2015 was either employed or continuing their education, and 98 percent of those working full-time had found a job related to their career goals. Outcomes were similar for UW-Stout grads: Within six months of graduation, more than 97 percent of those who got Blue Devil degrees in August or December 2015 or May 2016 were either employed, continuing their education, or serving in the military. Those are pretty good odds!
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ALIGNING E DUCATION AN D FUTU R E CAR E E R S
experts at UW-Stout conference say U.S. isn’t doing enough to give today’s students the skills they will need in tomorrow’s workforce WO R D S : J E R RY P O L I N G / U W- S T O U T O F F I C E O F U N I V E R S I T Y C O M M U N I C AT I O N S
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ore than 70 regional, state and national leaders in education and workforce development grappled with questions about how to prepare for careers of the future in a conference held June 19-20 at UW-Stout in Menomonie. How can the U.S. and world economies keep pace with technology? How will workforce voids be filled as Baby Boom generation workers retire? Are employers prepared for the many more minorities expected in the workplace in the coming years? The second annual Career and Technical Education Summit was hosted by UW-Stout, which offers undergraduate, graduate and doctorate programs in the field. “Despite our best intentions and loftiest visions, our nation continues to struggle with a deep misalignment between what the workforce needs and how young people are prepared for careers,” said speaker Kyle Hartung, the Pathways to Prosperity program director for Jobs for the Future. Jobs for the Future is a national nonprofit that develops programs and public policies to increase college readiness and develop a more highly skilled workforce. Hartung said the challenge facing the U.S. is not necessarily preparing students for specific jobs but providing them with skills that they can use as careers change with the times, what he called the “future of work.” UW-Stout Chancellor Bob Meyer said that the amount of information in society is doubling about every two years, but in the near future it’s expected to double every 12 hours. The rapid pace of change improves our quality of life and opens new employment opportunities but also challenges institutions to prepare students for the growing spectrum of career opportunities, Meyer said. For example, a medical X-ray technician today has training options in PET, MRI and ultrasound scanning, Meyer said. Summit presenters included Bryan Albrecht, president of Gateway Technical College; Morna Foy, president, Wisconsin Technical Colleges; David Hay, special assistant to the chancellor, New York City Department of Education; Jay Rojewski, profes-
UW-Stout engineering students at work
“Despite our best intentions and loftiest visions, our nation continues to struggle with a deep misalignment between what the workforce needs and how young people are prepared for careers.” – Kyle Hartung, Jobs for the Future
sor, career and technical education, University of Georgia; and Sharon Wendt, director, career and technical education, Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Jim Morgan, director of New Ventures, said 10,000 people are turning 65 every day. Over the next two decades Wisconsin will go from 750,000 people 65 and older to more than 1.5 million. A concern exists that not enough young people are entering the job market. More than 1 million American youths drop out of high school each year. Internationally, Manpower Group found that 40 percent of global employers reported talent shortages in 2016. Lori Suddick, vice president of learnVolumeOne.org 38 July 12, 2017
ing, Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, noted that by 2020 minorities will comprise the majority of all people under age 18. She shared student success initiatives at NWTC that focus on minority students. Summit participants also learned about successful CTE initiatives that focus on student engagement, workbased learning and education/business partnerships. Chris Neff, supervisor of career and technical education at Racine Unified School District, discussed career academies. “Partnerships between education and employers are vital to the success of the academies of Racine,” he said. Russ Tronsen, principal of Badger High School in Lake Geneva, explained how multiple best practices in career and technical education were used to create a school culinary program, which won state and national awards. The program is based on curriculum developed with the National Restaurant Association Education Foundation as well as the concept of school-based enterprises. The summit expanded on the first event in 2016, also at UW-Stout, which sought input from regional educators and business leaders on how the university could enhance its role as a leader in career and technical education.
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JOBS BY THE NUMB ERS
It’s easy to get snow blindness from the blizzard of employment numbers you hear on the news. Unemployment statistics are updated monthly, sometimes get adjusted when new data comes in, and they constantly fluctuate. In the past few years, fortunately, they’ve generally been fluctuating in the right direction: downward. Between May 2016 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). Meanwhile, the size of the labor force in the metro area shrunk a bit, meaning there are slightly fewer folks with jobs. TOTAL LABOR FORCE (Eau Claire metro area)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (Eau Claire metro area)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (Wisconsin)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (United States):
91,880
2.6%
4.3%
May 2017
3.1%
May 2017
(preliminary, not seasonally adjusted)
May 2017
May 2017
(preliminary)
(preliminary, seasonally adjusted)
(preliminary, seasonally adjusted)
92,487
3.4%
4.1%
5.5%
May 2016
May 2016
May 2016
May 2016
(not seasonally adjusted)
(seasonally adjusted)
(seasonally adjusted)
Source: Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
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WISCONSIN JOB GROW TH L AGS NATION
state ranked 33rd in private sector job growth last year, but wages have risen over time WO R D S : S H AW N J O H N S O N , WISCONSIN PUBLIC RADIO
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isconsin’s private sector job growth ranked 33rd in the country in 2016, according to detailed numbers released in June by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state added private sector jobs at a rate of about 0.5 percent in 2016. By comparison, the national growth rate was 1.3 percent. “What it means is Wisconsin, in terms of employment growth, is falling behind,” said Louis Johnston, a professor of economics at the College of St. Benedict and St. John’s University in Minnesota. Among its Midwest neighbors, Wisconsin lagged far behind Michigan (1.5 percent) and Minnesota (1.3 percent) but grew faster than Illinois (0.4 percent) and Iowa (0.01 percent). The data released Wednesday also provided the most thorough picture yet of job creation since Gov. Scott Walker took office in 2011. Over the past six years, Wisconsin’s private sector labor force grew by about 7.9 percent. That trailed the national rate of 13.2 percent from 2011 to 2016 and ranked 34th among all states. The last time Wisconsin added jobs faster than the nation as a whole was 2010, the first full year after the end of the Great Recession and the year
before Walker took office. During his first campaign for governor, Walker promised to help the state create 250,000 jobs by the end of 2014. The new numbers show that Wisconsin has added 179,778 private sector jobs since Walker took office, which is still 70,222 jobs short of his first term goal. These numbers come from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which economists regard as the “gold standard” of job metrics. The QCEW is based on a hard count of reports from nearly all employers, which is why it’s so accurate and takes so long to produce.
MANUFACTURING Wisconsin lost manufacturing jobs in 2016, but it was hardly alone in that regard. A total of 28 states lost manufacturing jobs in 2016. Nationally, the manufacturing workforce basically broke even. Because of that, Wisconsin ranked 30th in manufacturing jobs compared to other states even as it lost 3,784 manufacturing jobs in 2016. “Manufacturing right now is not a growth area for employment,” Johnston said. “It’s more a matter of automation, of substituting capital for labor – that is putting machines in place and computers in place of human beings.” The job losses came at a time when
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS / GRAPHIC: WISCONTEXT
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WAGES Average weekly wages for private sector jobs also fell in Wisconsin and the nation in 2016, which is unusual at a time when the unemployment rate is historically low. The average weekly wage for private sector jobs dropped by 1.7 percent nationally. In Wisconsin, wages fell for those same workers by about 1.3 percent. “That’s a pretty big drop when you’re thinking about the average standard of living of a household,” Johnston said.
Wages also fell in Illinois (2.2 percent), Michigan (1.8 percent), Iowa (1.1 percent) and Minnesota (0.8 percent). When looking back six years, the picture improves for Wisconsin. From 2011 to 2016, the average weekly wage of private sector workers grew by 11.9 percent, which outpaced the national rate of 10 percent and ranked 11th in the nation. This article was originally published by WisContext, which produced the article in a partnership between Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, and Cooperative Extension. Visit WisContext.org to learn more.
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS / GRAPHIC: WISCONTEXT
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SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS / GRAPHIC: WISCONTEXT
the state of Wisconsin was spending nearly $300 million per year on a new tax credit for manufacturers.
L AU NCHING A HE ALTH CAR E CAR E E R your path can start with three letters: CNA WOR D S : J E A N I E S TA N E K / D OV E H E A LT HC A R E
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ave you ever considered a career in healthcare? Maybe as a kid you dreamed of one day becoming a doctor, but you haven’t thought much about it since. Or, maybe you are still weighing your options for a career path and nursing is at the top of the list. Whether you’re looking for a mid-career change, or you’re still planning for a future career after high school, there are endless possibilities with a career in healthcare. But, how do you get started? Take a state-approved Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) course and become a CNA. As a CNA, you’ll be introduced to the rewarding field of healthcare while providing care to people with a wide range of health conditions. Once enrolled in the CNA course, you’ll have both classroom and clinical time, and the opportunity to gain real experience with patients. Coursework includes nursing skills, infection control, safety, resident rights, and more. After successfully completing the 120 hour program and passing the competency exam, you’ll have the opportunity to work for a skilled nursing and rehabilitation facility, such as Dove Healthcare. If you are a compassionate person with good communication skills, thrive on multi-tasking and working with people of varying abilities, and have an eye for detail, becoming a CNA may be the perfect fit for you. From there, the possibilities for your career in healthcare are truly endless. Whether you go on to become a certified medication aide or a registered nurse; or you decide to follow a different career path in healthcare all
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together, you’ll be grateful for your experience as a CNA. Interested in becoming a CNA? Dove Healthcare offers CNA classes year-round in Eau Claire and Chippewa Falls. Learn more and apply online at dovehealthcare. com/CNAclass. Students must be at least 16 years of age to take the CNA class. You can also pursue CNA training at Chippewa Valley Technical College in Eau Claire. A three-credit nursing assistant technical diploma is offered starting in August, January, and June. According to CVTC, “This 120-hour course is a combination of classroom lecture, lab experience, and clinical practice conducted in long-term care facilities.” Learn more by going to cvtc.edu and entering “nursing assistant” into the search bar.
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