In Westchester, it pays to be in biotech, health care or working in human resources.
Those are some of the hottest jobs according to two Westchester employment agencies. Other hot jobs include digital marketing and accounting.
“Those are the jobs that we”™ve been hearing about over the last six to nine months,” Richard Greenwald of White Plains-based Concorde Personnel Inc. said. “I think companies are realizing the bottom is not falling out and they need more people.”
As the economy continues its recovery, businesses are buying up buildings and selling more products, especially with interest rates at low levels.
“I”™m surprised it”™s ramped up so quickly,” Greenwald said. “It”™s gotten very busy over the last six months. Companies are spending money and bringing in additional people.”
Greenwald credits the rising stock market as another reason companies have money to hire. He said when companies are hiring, they generally look for employees with specific skill sets.
“If they don”™t have it, then they need to have the ability to adapt,” Greenwald said. “Employers look for someone with good energy, a great attitude. They are looking for people who are very can-do.”
Greenwald said companies now seek digital marketers and people who can analyze search engines like Google, since companies are concerned about their web presence.
“It”™s web this and web that; companies want bigger growth,” Greenwald said. “Does a company get discussed on social media? How many clicks does it get? Anything web related has to be part of the way you think and talk about these days. What can companies do to get more visible?”
Greenwald said businesses are looking to staff legal departments, particularly with so many mergers and acquisitions going on. He thinks companies that perhaps laid off six people might rehire three back. With more hiring, human resources has become another popular job.
“There”™s definitely a reason to hire,” Greenwald said. “These companies have gotten busier. You need more people.”
Allison Madison, who runs White Plains-based Reinhard-Madison Approach Staffing said the skilled worker is sought after in Westchester.
“Journeymen, skilled craftsmen, high-end trade, it”™s in high demand,” Madison said. “The skilled craftsmen are harder to find. Fewer people go into them. It”™s an in-demand skill.”
Madison said she would tell a student they”™d be better off going to trade school than going to a traditional university.
“The field is saturated with college kids who don”™t have job prospects,” Madison said. “If I stand on a street and throw a stone, I”™ll hit a few lawyers. I won”™t hit a plumber.”
Madison said employers are looking for positions like accounts, particularly tax accountants, and bookkeepers.
“Employers realize that QuickBooks is harder than they thought,” Madison said. “If you take classes in QuickBooks and get certified, it can help you move toward becoming an accountant. You get your foot in the door.”
Madison said health care and biotech jobs have also become popular in Westchester, especially in science with its years of training and niche focus.
“You cannot just walk off the street and say I want to be a scientist,” Madison said.
Health care has become a particularly hot field, though it remains to be seen how the Affordable Care Act will impact the industry. Madison said nursing and physicians assistants are the most in-demand careers.
“Doctors are going to become harder to access,” Madison said. “You”™ll see an intermediary, which will be the physician assistant. The physician assistant will take on a more day-to-day role.”
Madison said the best education is a trade school or majoring in a so-called STEM regimen: science, technology, engineering, mathematics.
“We are lucky that Westchester has a diverse economy and is not heavily weighted in one sector,” Madison said.
Marsha Gordon, CEO of The Business Council of Westchester, sees many areas with growth potential in Westchester.
“We have seen the growth of biotech and anything related to health care,” Gordon said. “Not just scientists, but a lot of the support jobs that go along with the development of this hot sector.”
Finance and professional service jobs remain strong in Westchester, Gordon said, and destinations like Empire City Casino and the county”™s Meet Me in Westchester tourism campaign have added jobs and led to the growth of the hotel industry.
“We”™ve done a great job marketing Westchester,” Gordon said. “That leads to job creation.”
I’m sorry, but high demand biotech employees? I doubt it. With the rug being pulled out from under the NIH there is a glut of qualified people in biotech and a large number of unemployed people even at the doctoral level over the age of 50. Many of these jobs are going to guest workers from India and China squeezing out Americans. For all the STEM hand wringing out there, salaries are flat to down and guest workers are gobbling up what employment is available at much lower salary points. This article is just echoing the usual spin thats out there on the STEM situation. Seen it all before and its not real. Here is a link to a recen study that indicates guest workers are creating a GLUT and that many people who invested precious time and financial resources at a STEM career are not using those skills. It was put out about a month ago by the Economic Policy Institute:
http://www.epi.org/publication/bp359-guestworkers-high-skill-labor-market-analysis/