Why can't 2,000 jobs be filled in Coshocton?
Thousands of jobs across Ohio go unfilled as many people lack the skills employers seek.
Why can't 2,000 jobs be filled in Coshocton? Thousands of jobs across Ohio go unfilled as many people lack the skills employers seek. Check out this story on coshoctontribune.com: http://ohne.ws/1CigZ3e
Jessie Balmert Published 12:09 a.m. ET March 28, 2015 | Updated 10:40 a.m. ET March 29, 2015
Claypool Electric apprentice Nick Schluep measures lengths of wires as he pulls them for a job Monday in the new wing of Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster.(Photo: Matthew Berry/Eagle-Gazette)Buy Photo
Brad Hutchinson had plans to expand his Fairfield County-based manufacturing and fabricating business to 50 stores across the United States.
His dreams were dashed not by a lack of customers or capital, but a lack of skilled employees.
"Unfortunately, I don't have those desires anymore. We can't grow without the people, and we feel like we're at a dead end for adding good people to our army," said Hutchinson, who owns Company Wrench.
He's not alone. Two in five U.S. employers said they had trouble filling jobs in 2014, according to the ManpowerGroup, a human resources firm that started tracking talent shortages in 2006. That's higher than the global average of 36 percent.
"The issue is skills that are necessary to perform the jobs that are available and the skills of the available workforce do not match up," said Bob Bethel, director of the Ohio State Council of Society for Human Resource Management.
Employers have posted more than 2,000 jobs within 20 miles of Coshocton. There are 4,422 jobs open if you expand the commute to 30 miles. That's more than enough jobs for the 1,100 residents who were unemployed and actively seeking jobs in February, the most recent figures available from Ohio Labor Market Information.
The No. 1 reason why employers find filling positions challenging is a lack of technical competencies or hard skills. About 47 percent of businesses surveyed said that was a problem, according to the ManpowerGroup's report.
Several factors contribute to the widening gulf between what employers want in a workforce and what skills applicants have. A younger generation that is more interested in a college diploma than a career in skilled trades, rapidly advancing technology that makes it difficult for trainers to keep up and an aging baby boomer workforce poised to retire all add to the skills gap.
"There are jobs. Either their skills don't match, or they don't want to work that hard. The only roadblock they have is staring back at them in the mirror," Hutchinson said.
I'd rather go to college
Monty Friebel, president and co-owner of Cooper Enterprises, a contract manufacturer of wood and laminated components in Shelby, said he fights against the stereotype that manufacturing and skilled labor are less viable career paths than others that require a four-year degree.
A lot of the pressure to attend college comes from parents who are concerned about their children's futures but not educated on the benefits of a career in manufacturing, Friebel said.
"Children need to realize there are good careers in various trades with both good pay and good benefits," Friebel said. "There's a high demand for those skills."
Matt Claypool, vice president of operations at Lancaster-based Claypool Electric, said there is immense pressure on children from parents, friends, school counselors and society to attend college and complete an advanced degree.
"I don't think it's the kids necessarily. That's what they hear all the time. That's the path they have to take," Claypool said.
However, there's a reason why many parents push for higher education. In 2012, 28.4 percent of Ohioans who did not complete high school were unemployed compared to 11.7 percent of Ohioans with an associate's degree and 4 percent of Ohioans with a bachelor's degree or above, according to the Ohio Association of Community Action Agencies' 2014 State of Poverty report released last month.
But simply having a degree doesn't make a person employable. Certain majors have significantly lower unemployment rates than others.
For example, the unemployment rate for new graduates with education majors was 5.1 percent nationwide between 2011 and 2012 compared to 7.5 percent for all 22 to 26-year-olds, according to a recent Georgetown University report on college majors and unemployment.
However, the unemployment rate for a person with a social sciences or architecture degree was 10 percent in 2011 and 2012 — higher than the unemployment rate for skilled employees with high school diplomas, according to the report.
Some young adults are afraid that manufacturing jobs will leave the area, said Travis Markwood, president of the Lancaster-Fairfield County Chamber of Commerce.
"I think there's some fear. That job's here today. My dad had a manufacturing career yesterday and they left," Markwood said. But there are a lot of manufacturing jobs available in the county and many companies are becoming more technical to keep up with the times, he added.
"We've been telling our young adults for years to go get a college degree and not work in the factory. Where we've missed the boat is encouraging young adults, who maybe college isn't getting the right track for, to go into the manufacturing industry," Markwood said.
2 + 2 = job
While a college degree might not be necessary for high-paying jobs in the county, a basic grasp of mathematics and literacy is key, employers said.
When Chillicothe-based paper distributor Glatfelter asked South Central Ohio Job and Family Services to screen its applicants, the company set a minimum score on the work keys test, which measures math comprehension and other competencies, and it set a deadline.
"That date had to be extended twice due to not being able to find the people they needed for those positions," said Rick Reynolds, community support manager for South Central Ohio Job and Family Services.
The test focuses on kindergarten through 12th grade applied mathematics, which can be challenging for some test takers, said Amy Guda, an ABLE instructor and career ready facilitator in the area. She offers classes on career readiness and basic math to get job seekers' skills up to snuff.
About 18.4 percent of 10th-graders scored less than proficient in mathematics on state tests during the 2013-14 school year, according to the Ohio Department of Education. About 32 percent of Ohio's high school graduates in 2013 required remedial math in college, according to the most recent Ohio Board of Regents report.
Levi Retterer, who teaches welding at Tri-Rivers Career Center in Marion, includes a basic math class in addition to the hands-on skills.
"Some of these guys have been out of school for a while. They needed to freshen up on their skills," Retterer said.
That's a concern as more careers require additional training above a high school diploma. Across Ohio, the state is projected to gain 1.7 million jobs by 2018 through new positions and retirements, according to a Georgetown University report.
Of those jobs, 57 percent will require post-secondary training; however, only a third of Ohioans have an associate's degree or higher.
The rapid change in technology has left some people behind, said Amy Stockdale, executive director of the Coshocton County Chamber of Commerce. The community finally has job openings but getting them filled with skilled workers is a challenge, she added.
"It's not like when our parents were in manufacturing. People need to be trained to meet the higher technology," said Kerrie Carte, WSOS Community Action planning and development coordinator in Fremont and member of the Ohio Workforce Coalition.
A graying workforce
Those problems are exacerbated by the imminent retirement of many skilled, baby boomer-era workers, said Bethel, director of the Ohio State Council of Society for Human Resource Management. The lack of skilled replacements has people delaying retirement.
"That's keeping people around longer than many anticipated," Bethel said.
Between 1946 and 1964, the United States averaged 4 million births per year, an unprecedented rate known as the baby boom. Those people are now between 51 and 69 years old and many are ready to retire, which is projected to fuel employment gaps in many industries, according to a Bureau of Labor Market Information report.
The retirement of baby boomers will not affect all industries equally. For example, nearly one-fourth of production and installation, maintenance and repair workers were older than 45 in 2000, compared to less than 15 percent of individuals in farming, fishing and forestry, or just over 10 percent of food preparation workers, according to the report.
Sam Conte, who owns Lakecraft Corporation in Port Clinton, said his staff is aging and he's concerned he won't have young blood to replace them when they retire.
Conte, whose business specializes in fabrication, machining and machine rebuilding, is paying an 18-year-old friend of the family to learn the trade and hoping the younger man won't leave for Toledo once his skills are honed. Finding quality welders and machinists has been a challenge for years.
"All the kids want to work on computers or be cops," Conte said.
Employers are looking for more skilled and trained employees and at the same time, their more experienced employees are poised to retired, said Cheri Hottinger, president and CEO of the Licking County Chamber of Commerce.
"We're kind of getting hit by both sides," Hottinger said.
The bad news about good news
While Ohio celebrates the lowest statewide unemployment since the recession, that comes at a price.
Skills gap becomes a bigger problem when unemployment is lower and the economy is improving. People are less likely to be out of work because of the poor economy and more likely to be missing out on jobs because of a lack of skills, Bethel said.
"When unemployment gets this low, it's hard for employers to find employees," said Janet Quaintance, workforce development administrator in Sandusky County.
Skilled, experienced employees have their pick of which business to work for, especially if the career is an in-demand one, Quaintance said.
"During the recession it was an employer's pick. The table's turned now," she added.
jbalmert@gannett.com
Twitter: @jbalmert
Five to thrive
This package is a part of our year-long look into the five most pressing issues for Coshocton County. It details why the state faces a lack of skilled workers for certain positions and what Coshocton and other communities are doing to try to address it.
Future installments of this series will be:
• Creating a drug-free workplace
• Develop the next generation of leaders
• Planning for Coshocton 2050
• Making the community primed for success
Find all of our content for this series at www.coshoctontribune.com/future.
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