During the month of March the Council conducted a “Workforce Skills Needs Assessment” of our members.  While the results are still being organized and tabulated here are some highlights:

• 60% of respondents reported difficulty filling current positions
• Most vacant positions are in the  areas of production, assembly and customer service which require only a high school degree.
• The next level position that is very difficult to fill – and key to the success of the firms – is at the engineer level.
• 64% of respondents believe the lack of skilled labor is having a negative affect on their business.  Of those 45% say that negative affect is very strong.
• 40% of respondents ranked “Making sure high school students are proficient in basic skills (reading, writing, math) was the most important thing the high schools could do to provide a skilled manufacturing workforce while 22% responded that internships/on-the-job training was the best way to prepare high school students.
  More to come as we sort through the data.