Fewer Connecticut manufacturers this year reported it was difficult to attract qualified candidates for job vacancies, according to results from the 2012 Survey of Connecticut Manufacturers compiled by U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy and Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Approximately 70 percent of respondents said it was difficult to fill open jobs with qualified employees, down from 87 percent the previous year. A total of 191 manufacturers responded to the survey.
“This survey shows that Connecticut manufacturers are confident, can-do job creators ”“ most planning to hire new workers and raise pay ”“ but still struggling to find people with the right skills to fill positions,” Blumenthal said in a prepared statement. “The federal agenda must emphasize skill training and workforce development at our technical high schools and community colleges, so manufacturers can fill present and future openings.”
The majority of respondents still found hiring difficult, but the nearly 20 percent decrease is reflective of the gradual progress the state has made with its education initiatives, said Kathy Saint, president of the Bridgeport-based stamp manufacturing company Schwerdtle Inc.
“There”™s a lot of good stuff going on to support manufacturers and our efforts to get skilled workers on board,” said Saint, who sits on a number of education business community advisory committees. “It”™s definitely improving but the skills that we need aren”™t just hatched overnight.”
Today”™s manufacturing jobs don”™t require pushing a button anymore, they require custom engineer and design skills, among many other traits.
In last year”™s jobs bill, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy allocated roughly $18 million to fund community college manufacturing programs in Bridgeport, Waterbury and Danielson. There”™s a growing revitalization of apprenticeships, giving students more real-world experiences, and there have been competitive updates for technical high schools based on suggestions from the business community.
Approximately 77 percent of respondents are confident in the financial future of their business and 52 percent said they expect to see an increase in gross revenues, according to the survey. These results were nearly identical to last year”™s survey.
“Connecticut manufacturers are confident about the future, and we share their optimism,” Murphy stated. “This report gives us the data we need to make the case for Connecticut manufacturing to policy-makers in Washington and across the country.”
To develop a skilled labor pool, Blumenthal has introduced the Pathways Back to Work Act, cosponsored by Murphy, and the Community College Innovation Act. The Pathways act would provide funding for low-income youth jobs and work-based training programs for unemployed and low-income adults. The Innovation act would provide community-based job training grants to modernize community colleges.
With many regional job vacancies in the manufacturing industry, there are a number of programs for unemployed adults to received training to fill positions. But Saint emphasized the need to recruit the best students in school at a young age.
“We need the smartest kids in school,” Saint said. “Students that like making things, working in multiple dimensions ”¦ We”™ve started producing students who are well adapted to today”™s market, but that”™s still a transition that”™s still progressing.”
