Where the Jobs Are 2022

FILLING THE SHORTAGE

new Healthcare Workforce Training Institute aims t o prepare hundreds of Chippewa Valley residents for health jobs

WORDS: TOM GIFFEY

Afoundation affiliated with a Chippewa Valley-based healthcare provider is taking a unique approach to filling the acute need for health care workers in Wisconsin.

The Dove Healthcare Commu nity Foundation recently created the Healthcare Workforce Training Institute, which will provide specialized training for healthcare workers at sites in Bloomer, Chippewa Falls, Eau Claire, Osseo, and Rice Lake.

“One of the benefits of that is the classroom, the lab, and the clinic are all in one build ing, so the students really get to know that building,” said Paula Gilbert, the institute’s director.

PAULA GILBERT

These facilities are offered as an inkind donation by Dove Healthcare, which operates nursing, rehabili tation, and assisted-living centers across west-central Wisconsin. Two Dove facilities also serve as testing sites for state certification.

But the institute’s training isn’t available only to Dove Healthcare employees, Gibson said: In fact, classes are open to the public as well as to employees of other healthcare providers. (The institute is a separate entity from the Dove Healthcare Community Foundation, which in turn is a nonprofit group affiliated with Dove Healthcare.)

The creation of the institute comes at an opportune time. A tight labor market and the increased

medical needs of an aging popula tion have contributed to a challenge in filling healthcare jobs. Accord ing to the aptly named Long-Term Care Workforce Crisis 2021 Report, which was created by a coalition of Wisconsin provider groups, 40% of long-term care providers say they have staff vacancy rates above 30%. Statewide, there are an estimat ed 23,165 vacant caregiver positions, an increase from 16,500 in 2018. As a result of the staff shortage, 43% of Wisconsin’s longterm care providers say they are limiting admissions. At the same time, the socalled “Silver Tsunami” of an aging population continues to build: The share of Wisconsinites who are age 85 and older is expected to more than double in the next two decades.

“The aging population is growing at a rapid pace, and at the same time, the providers we depend on for care are experiencing caregiver va cancy rates like never before,” said Bert Richard, a member of the Dove Healthcare Community Foundation board. “The Dove Healthcare Com munity Foundation is very concerned about this, and so we are honored to be part of a solution that will surely help to alleviate this challenge.”

The Healthcare Workforce Train ing Institute is approved to teach the nurses’ aid training program, community-based residential facility assisted living classes, and medica tion aide classes, which will allow qualifying personnel to distribute

THE

medication, freeing up other health care workers for more direct kinds of care. The institute also offers classes that may be of interest to a wider audience, such as basic life support for healthcare professionals, first aid and CPR/AED for the com munity, and the Virtual Dementia Tour (which simulates what it’s like to live with dementia).

Workforce Training Institute can help support current healthcare workers amid the challenges they face.

“THE AGING POPULATION

IS GROWING AT A RAPID PACE, AND AT THE SAME TIME, THE PROVIDERS WE DEPEND ON FOR CARE ARE EXPERIENCING CAREGIVER VACANCY RATES LIKE NEVER BEFORE.”

Gibson said the program is on target to grad uate almost 400 students this year (the first two-week class alone had 46 stu dents, most of who signed up to state certification test afterward). Those who complete the program can become certified nursing assistants in a few short weeks and begin providing direct patient care. “We employ a talented, experienced team of nurse educators, and we are actively seeking additional instruc tors so that we can expand class offerings,” Gibson said.

“I also see these amazing people in the healthcare profession, and whether it’s COVID or whatever it might be, who are burning out,” she said. “How can we help them stay passionate and compassion ate, and want to stay within the healthcare profession, be cause they’re amazing indi viduals who put forth years of effort.”

BERT RICHARD

Despite the pressures, Gibson said the healthcare field is also rewarding. She recalled recent conversations she had with students enrolled in the program.

“A lot of them got into healthcare because it paid well, and after taking the class, (they said), ‘But it’s the peo ple that I really like,’ ” she said.

While the program charges tuition, many providers pay that cost for their own employees. In addition, the insti tute is seeking grants to help offset the cost for other students, Gibson said.

Gibson hopes the Healthcare

To learn more about the Healthcare Workforce Training Institute and its upcoming classes, visit healthcarework forcetraining.com or call (715) 726-3849. The public is also invited to attend an open house on Thursday, July 14, from 3-5pm at the Healthcare Workforce Training Institute, 2829 County High way I, Suite 3F, Chippewa Falls.

ARE ROBOTS IN YOUR FUTURE?

Manufacturing robots, that is. Check out this CVTC event to learn about cool tech jobs.

WORDS: JAMES JOHONNOTT

Want to learn about a career in robotics? Of course you do. At Chippewa Valley Technical College’s MECx event, you can learn about all of their manufacturing education programs – which, yes, do include machine automation, among many others opportunities.

At MECx, you can participate in hands-on demonstrations, get a look at their new state-of-the-art facilities, welding and fabrication labs, and cutting-edge technology, and more. On display will be all of CVTC’s manu facturing programs, including mechanical design, mechatronics, welding, engineering, machine tool operations, electrical maintenance, design and drafting, automation engineering, and more.

In addition, local employers will be on hand to discuss careers in manu facturing. The future of high-tech manufacturing could be your future, too, so save the date for the MecX manufacturing experience later this year.

MECx A Manufacturing Experience • October 6 • 3-6:30 pm CVTC Manufacturing Center, 2320 Alpine Road • cvtc.edu

THE ROYAL TREATMENT

Eau Claire financial institution always looking for new team members who support core values

Royal Credit Union has a lot going for it as a community institution and an employer: a growing service area in western Wiscon sin and Minnesota, new branches popping up on its home turf in the Chippewa Valley, and a beautiful corporate office overlook ing Phoenix Park in downtown Eau Claire.

But what really makes Royal attrac tive as an employer is its culture, explains Joe Underwood, an organizational talent advisor for the Eau Claire-based credit union. In that role, he recruits new employ ees and works with existing team members across Royal’s service area in the Chippewa Valley, the St. Croix Valley, the Twin Cities, and beyond.

“The culture makes it very easy for me to get excited about Royal and for careers at Royal,” Under wood explained.

“If you break it down to the fundamentals of the business oper ation, or the model of being a coopera tive, (Royal) is truly laser-focused on our core values and core purpose,” he said. “That aligns very well with our day-to-day decisions that are made within the organization as well as the actions that we take as team members and the impact that we can make on the communities in which we serve.”

Royal’s core values are as simple as they are fundamental: Make a difference. Make it easy. Do the right thing. Be caring. Take ownership. Be friendly, nice, and respectful.

When Underwood himself joined the organization about eight years ago, he was initially surprised by the centrality of those core values to the oper ation, and the kind of people Royal looked to hire. While applicants’ experience, knowl edge, and education are valuable, “The No. 1 most important thing that we look for in team members at Royal is their alignment with our core values.” Underwood said. “Throughout the recruiting process, there are questions that directly highlight if

there’s alignment with that person and our core values or not.”

And there has been a continual need to find new team members with those values as Royal has steadily expanded in recent years. It now serves a quarter of a million members in 26 counties in western Wisconsin and 16 counties in Min nesota. Right here in the Chippewa Valley, a new branch opened in June at 455 E. Madison St., Eau Claire, and a ribbon-cut ting will be held July 19 at another new office at 1159 Blazing Star Blvd., Altoona. And last year, Royal merged with or acquired two other financial institutions and bought a branch from yet another bank in the suburban Twin Cities.

At any given time, there are 40 to 50 open positions in the organization at all levels, Underwood said, ranging from member

account representatives to senior commer cial loan officers. In addition to competitive wages, Royal offers a full range of benefits, from health, dental, and vision insurance and retirement benefits to child care reimburse ment and student loan repayment assistance.

In addition, Underwood said, Royal puts a “tremendous amount of investment” into developing employees, especially as leaders within the organization. There are always opportunities for advancement and improve ment, he said: Last year alone, approximately 140 employees were promoted within the organization or moved internally.

“Really, the sky’s the limit as far as where you want to take your career,” Underwood said.

“It’s an organization that does incredible things, not only for our team members, but specifically our members and the communi ties in which we serve.”

For more information on employment oppor tunities at Royal Credit Union, visit www. rcu.org/careers.

“THE CULTURE MAKES IT VERY EASY FOR ME TO GET EXCITED ABOUT ROYAL AND FOR CAREERS AT ROYAL.”

JOBS BY THE NUMBERS

So

been a weird couple of years for the job market, both near and far.

years ago at this time, the COVID-19 pandemic had rocketed unemploy ment rates in the Chippewa Valley (and basically everywhere else) into the stratosphere. Those rates dropped back closer to some sort of “normal” (whatever that means) in the spring of 2021. Since then, they’ve continued to drop, reaching one of the lowest points in the past 30 years. Meanwhile, the number of people with jobs in the Eau Claire metropolitan area (that’s Eau Claire and Chippewa counties combined) has climbed toward historic highs. Here are some details from the statistics compiled by the state Department of Workforce Development.

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE JOB MARKET

what the future may hold for workers in the Valley

WORDS: TOM GIFFEY

If you’ve watched the labor market over the past couple of years in the Chippewa Valley, you’ve prob ably experienced some whiplash. Erratic trends can make it hard to get a handle on what’s actually happening. Once the pandemic-related static has cleared, what direction is local em ployment really headed? This question and others are addressed by the state Department of Workforce Development in a profile of Eau Claire County’s work force published late last year. Here are six crucial conclusions:

1. WE’RE NOT GETTING ANY YOUNGER.

“The number of retiring Baby Boomers nearly matches the influx of new work ers, resulting in a slow-growing work force and placing constraints on the ability of employers across industries to secure talent,” the report says.

2. BUT WE’RE NOT AS OLD AS WE COULD BE. The median age in Eau Claire County is 35.2, which is tied for the second-lowest in the state. “Eau Claire has focused its livability efforts to attract and retain younger workforce talent, which has contributed to a relatively high rate of in-migration,” the report said.

3. EDUCATION AND HEALTHCARE ARE KINGS.

About 29% percent of employment in the county is in the Education and Health care “super-sector,” and these jobs represent more than one-third of total payroll. There were 15,861 of these jobs in 2020 (and undoubtedly more today).

4. BLUE-COLLAR IS BIG, TOO. The Trade, Transportation, and Utilities “super-sec tor” accounted for 21% of total employ ment in Eau Claire County. That was 11,590 jobs in an average month in 2020. There were also an estimated 5,312 man ufacturing jobs in the county that year.

5. GRAB-BAG OF GROWTH. So what are the fastest-growing jobs? According to an earlier study, the No. 1 growth job in west-central Wisconsin between 2018 and 2028 was projected to be truck driver, with an estimated 517 openings annually. This was followed by sales representatives in the wholesale and manufacturing fields (301 new jobs per year), maintenance and repair workers (277 jobs a year), elementary school teachers (261 annually), and registered nurses (249 annually).

SEARCHING FOR SUCCESS

DWD, Mayo Clinic program prepares young adults with disabilities for rewarding careers

WORDS: WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

‘P

roject SEARCH is where good oppor tunities arise for young adults,” says Bryanna Troutz, an Elk Mound High School student and a recent gradu ate of the Project SEARCH program at Mayo Clinic Health System in Eau Claire. Bryanna will soon begin her full-time job at Mayo in the Patient Appointment Services Department.

Thanks to Project SEARCH, Bry anna says, “(I) learned about new opportunities and different adult responsibilities.”

Jennifer Steffes, Project SEARCH Business Liaison for Mayo Clinic Health System, echoed Bryanna’s comment, and said she believes the program positively impacts all indi viduals by increasing awareness of abilities, diversity, and inclusion.

“We have seen increased job sat isfaction, improved workflows, and improved morale,” she said.

Project SEARCH is a business-led collaboration that enables young adults with disabilities to gain and maintain employment through train ing and career exploration.

“The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development celebrates over 180 Project SEARCH gradu ates throughout the state who have explored new skills, expanded their opportunities, and earned a sense of pride through rewarding work,” said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “In Wisconsin, some 171,000 people with disabilities are not attached to the labor market, yet we know many want to work. With our record-low unemployment rate, supporting these individuals in

achieving their employment poten tial has never been more important.”

The graduation ceremony, held at Mayo Clinic Health System’s Luther Building in Eau Claire recently, marked the completion of an immer sive work experience. Each of the 11 interns recounted their hands-on experiences and talked about their future career opportunities.

In addition to the host site and DWD’s Division of Vocational Re habilitation, the local internship experience was made possible by partners including the L.E. Phil lips Career Development Center, Inclusa, TMG, and the Eau Claire Area School District. Statewide, 25 premier employers are participating in Project SEARCH this year.

Project SEARCH is a collab orative effort among DWD, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, area schools, local employers, and long-term care organizations to help interns acquire marketable, competitive, and transferable skills that lead to employment. The interns complete multiple 10-week rotations to maximize exposure to different career paths, learning employability skills in a classroom and hands-on job skills within the business environment.

Started at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in 1996, Proj ect SEARCH has provided workforce training to nearly 1,500 Wisconsinites since its statewide launch in 2008.

For more information, visit the Project SEARCH Wisconsin website at dwd.wisconsin.gov/dvr/ programs/project-search.