There are more than 60,000 jobs in Connecticut that aren’t being filled because of a gap between the jobs and the skills required.
That’s according to findings in a recent labor market study commissioned by The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven and The Valley Community Foundation, in partnership with Blakely Consulting.
A webinar to discuss the report took place Jan. 18 via Zoom. It featured a panel of local employers involved in those case studies, and what they’re doing to help match workers with middle-skilled jobs in the growing fields of healthcare, bioscience, technology and manufacturing.
Valley Community Foundation Sharon Closius CEO said there is a mismatch between what employers need in terms of potential employees and the training programs available to help job seekers get the skills they need to find a job.
One of the webinar panelists, Dorinda Manner, vice president of talent acquisition and development for Yale New Haven Health, spoke of how YNNH has partnered with local high schools and colleges in the region to help train future healthcare workers. YNNH, for example, funds a surgical tech program at Gateway College, and also has a CNA healthcare collaboration with SCSU.
“We have a tremendous need in healthcare, for entry level positions, CNA positions, nurses, radiologists and respiratory therapists, and we are aligning with schools to ensure the programs we have there are strong,” Manner said.
Manner stressed that teaching kids about job opportunities needs to begin at the middle school and high school level, and even with younger kids.
“We’re going out and explaining the roles of the jobs with the younger kids and letting them know that some jobs don’t require four years or more of college, and we bring them in to shadow employees.”
The report was guided by an advisory committee that interviewed dozens of jobs seekers, employers, job training programs and other professionals involved with the workforce system.
The 87-page report lays out some of the barriers that people — particularly women and people of color — face when trying to find a job in the Greater New Haven region.
The report, in part, includes an overview of jobs that don’t require a college degree. It also highlights three case studies of targeted workforce programs based in the Greater New Haven region in bioscience, healthcare and manufacturing sectors that involve partnerships in the private sector to create curricula that are relevant to the current job market.
Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Garrett Sheehan moderated the hour-long webinar. He attributed several factors to jobs going unfilled.
“The COVID-19 pandemic really exasperated the issues in terms of employee shortages,” Sheehan said. “We need to attract a much broader part of the community to fill these jobs.”
President & CEO of Penn Globe Manufacturing Marcia LaFemina oversees a new, nonprofit program called MATCH (Manufacturing And Technical Community Hub). The New Haven-based program is designed to help those who’ve experienced barriers to employment, including immigrants, women, re-entering citizens and unskilled individuals and turn them into a skilled workforce.
Trainees get on the job training in the manufacturing field in areas that best fit their interests. MATCH works to break down barriers by offering bilingual training, flexible schedules for single parents and paid training to participants, according to LaFemina.
More information about MATCH can be found online here.
The webinar panelists and others agree that there needs to be greater collaboration between employers and training programs to help build a skilled workforce and fill those unfilled jobs. In addition to improved collaboration between industry and the workforce system, the report recommends employers modify job application requirements to hire based on demonstrated skills as opposed to education credentials.
“The report underscores the urgent need to connect workers with middle-skill jobs and for training programs to be designed with stronger employer participation and engagement,” said Greater Valley Chamber of Commerce President Bill Purcell, who sat on the Regional Labor Market Analysis Advisory Committee.
Other recommendations from the report include:
*Training programs must be designed with close employer participation and engagement
*Employers must be creative and innovative to include marginalized workers into new fields
*Develop networking opportunities
*Employers need to re-evaluate and improve recruitment processes to ensure equity across employees
Job seekers can also tap into a new website just launched by the State of Connecticut this week. Click this link to go there.
The site, in part, features job-search tools, job-search tips and personal help, free and low-cost training opportunities, certificate and classroom programs and resources for employers to help hire, train and retain employees.
A link to the Labor Market Study can be found online here.
