FORT WAYNE – The annual Ready Indiana survey released Thursday found that many of the state’s workers are, in fact, not ready to meet employers’ skills requirements.
A whopping 75 percent more employers said they were affected by workers’ skills deficits in 2010 than in 2009. The percentage of respondents reporting weak skills was 65 and 37, respectively.
The survey, conducted for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce, included responses from 218 employers representing more than 16,000 workers in 10 sectors. Ready Indiana is the Chamber’s workforce education initiative.
More than 70 percent of employers surveyed said workers have critical shortages in communication, leadership, creativity and problem-solving skills.
Kris Deckard, Ready Indiana’s executive director, said half of the people drawing unemployment benefits have only a high school diploma or GED.
Another 16 percent have neither, according to data from Indiana’s Workforce Intelligence System.
Education levels are closely tied to skills proficiency.
“It’s not surprising then that, as employers are starting to hire, this is going to be more and more noticed and more and more of a problem,” Deckard said in a prepared statement.
Skills were on the minds of local employers who met with students Thursday on the Indiana Tech campus for the Northeastern Indiana Career Employment, or NICE, expo.
Vicki Downend, a human resources official with Pyromation, was there trying to fill an internship position and find entry-level workers.
The local maker of temperature sensors, which employs 175, can readily find workers capable of doing light assembly work, she said. But the company struggles to find trained CNC – or computer numerical control – operators and coordinators.
“I’ve met some wonderful people today who have great skills,” she said.
Rick Hoffmann, WaterFurnace Renewable Energy Inc.’s vice president of administration, said the Fort Wayne-based manufacturer has addressed workers’ skills deficit with on-the-job training.
The maker of geothermal heat pumps covers the costs by applying for training grants administered through WorkOne Northeast.
By hiring workers who have lost jobs in company downsizings, WaterFurnace becomes eligible for training funds that pay part of an employee’s wages while the employee gains proficiency on the job, he said.
“Not everyone has the skills that makes them a drop-in candidate from day one,” he said.
