As the EIU Critical Skills Shortage Study begins to wrap up and the report compiled for the region, it is becoming more apparent by the day that the business community, through the Chambers and the state associations are going to have to not only engage in the workforce discussion, but become investors in the solutions.
When the study that my staff and EIU are collaborating on is finished, the State of Illinois will want to give this region a grant to address the solutions portion of the critical skills shortages. The main beneficiaries are the manufacturing, healthcare and transportation, distribution and logistics industries. But unlike in the past, the solutions will have to be co-investments in creating a stable and sustainable pipeline of skilled labor that will be supported by the businesses that benefit from the investment. The Crossroads Workforce Investment Board (CWIB), a majority of which are business owners or managers, understand the strategic implications of this decision. Where will we invest? As a funder of workforce training programs, mostly delivered by our community colleges of Lake Land, IECC, and Kaskaskia, as well as Eastern Illinois University, we need to get the most return on our use of these federal funds. How will what we fund improve the economic climate of this region? Can this region attract the highest talent in the country to grow our economy and expand our local businesses?
These are just some of the questions the CWIB board members will be asking before we invest grant dollars from the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO). The grant money we receive today goes to retrain workers so that the skills they have are marketable in today’s environment.
But the challenges are great. The youth of today have little awareness and understanding of most career choices they have. At career days, where we provide school aged youngsters the information of careers in demand for this region and encourage them to stay in school. Apprenticeship programs in the trades, specific skill training and college are just a few of the many options they have. I would encourage you to go to www.2mminutes.com and view the trailer. We are in a globally competitive world and our American children do not seem to understand the gravity of their decisions for their future, and the competition that is building in other countries out there. The US ranks 25th in math when compared with the top 30 countries in the world. The jobs of tomorrow will demand better results. I will post this on my blog and you will be free to comment, I would like to hear what you think. Jim McShane – CWIB Executive Director www.webpro.blogspot.com/
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