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news Title: Our View: Skilled Labor – A Key To Our Economy
news ID: 1219
Description:
An intriguing barometer of the regional economy was pointed out during Monday’s Yankton school board meeting. (This particular gauge had nothing to do with a possible opt-out, which is another topic for another time.)

At the meeting, Josh Svatos of the Regional Technical Education Center (RTEC) was discussing an inaugural industrial-education expo to be held in Yankton later this month. The expo is a way to introduce educators to the demands and the opportunities presented by local manufacturing industries and the pressing needs for skilled labor. As a case in point, Svatos mentioned that welders are in high demand. He then noted that recently, two firms came to an RTEC welding class, which typically carries about 12-15 students, and literally hired everyone in the class. This has happened to each of the last three classes, Svatos noted.

This kind of story is not a localized event. Skilled workers such as welders, machinists and maintenance technicians are in high demand. (The Columbus [Neb.] Telegram recently reported that there is also a shortage of welders in northeast Nebraska.) Svatos said that those trained in such skills could basically write their own tickets.

It has also been reported that there are many jobs requiring highly trained skilled labor in the James River valley. Additionally, Gov. Dennis Daugaard mentioned in Tuesday’s State of the State address that there are more than 1,400 skilled labor positions in South Dakota that need to be filled. These facts would seem to bode well for the economic future of the region.

On the other hand, here’s a fact that potentially doesn’t: While there are many good jobs available, some of them are going unfilled because there simply aren’t enough trained people in the available workforce to take them.

This could represent a real problem for manufacturers - and as we’ve seen, problems for manufacturers can translate into problems for a local economy.

The trick, then, is to expand the pool of trained workers who are available to fill these jobs. That sounds so much simpler than it actually is, however.

As Svatos noted Monday night, part of that trick is to emphasize that there is more to post-high school education than a four-year, liberal arts route. Technical education is also a viable avenue for professional success, and it can open doors to good-paying jobs.

What’s more, technical education is also essential to the fitness of a local economy. Yankton’s manufacturing base would be in a lot of trouble if it didn’t have the kind of skilled labor needed to make the collective engine work. After all, it was with that thought in mind that local interests helped get the Technical Education Center off the ground a decade ago.

The need for trained labor has never been as clearly defined as it is right now. The economy is lifting up, demand is rising and there is work to be done. But if the people with the right skills aren’t available, it could hinder that momentum on localized levels.

However, this shouldn’t be seen as a crisis moment. Instead, it’s a moment of opportunity. If more people realize the horizons that technical education can provide for them, the better off both they and the local economy could be in the long run. Hopefully, it is an opportunity that will be seized; in fact, it must be. It is the ideal time for it.

SOURCE: yankton.net
 
     
 
 
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