The impact of the skilled worker shortage is well known—increased costs for products, delays in getting worker done – have you tried to hire a contractor recently? – and increased pressures on workers.
A 2022 report by Conger https://www.conger.com/skilled-labor-shortage/ said those impacts, though, are just the tip of the proverbial iceberg and, in fact, the pandemic is worsening the shortage and its impacts on the future.
Conger’s Skilled Labor Shortage: Causes, Costs & COVID-19 report states that the shortage is impacting the national and international economies, causing far-reaching stresses that will impact every person in this country is left unchecked. Among the startling statistics detailed in the report is a forecast of 85.2 million jobs left vacant globally because of a lack of workers in jobs such as Electricians, Plumbers, Carpenters, Machinists, Steelworkers, Welders, Pipefitters. Nearly all of these industries are related to the construction industry.
Experts, including the authors of the Congers report, offer a series of solutions—one of the most important of which is increases in training programs like those offered by Capital Region BOCES at its Career & Technical Education Center.
“Companies can tap into high schools to recruit a new generation of skilled workers. Conger Industries, for example, has had great success partnering with local high schools to recruit and teach students how to repair material handling equipment,” the report states.
Capital Region BOCES has worked extensively in recent years to boost partnerships with local, regional and even national employers to boost the skilled worker workforce.
The Career & Technical Education Center works with more than 300 businesses, unions, technical schools and institutions of higher education to prepare youths and adults for the in-demand careers in the skilled workforce. A quarter of the programs offered by BOCES provide students a pipeline to careers in the construction trades.
“We hire a number of BOCES graduates and have more here for internships and work-based learning. What they have in common is a better grasp of the basics, the building blocks of what it takes to succeed,” said Bob Rowe, parts manager for Robert H. Finke and Sons, Inc., Contractors Equipment in Selkirk, N.Y.
BOCES also works with dozens of industry organizations in order to provide students with professional certifications. In total, more than 100 professional, resume-building certifications are offered in various career and technical school programs.
Employers said they know career and technical school students will be well-rounded employees that benefit their institutions.
“We value the training and skills Capital Region BOCES CTE students learn and are proud to partner with Capital Region BOCES to address our workforce needs,” said Josh Shaul, Business Manager/ Secretary Treasurer for The Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 157.