Good jobs go wanting
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1 comment [ View ]What it is, is ironic.
We speak of the fact that the national economy is slumping, yet good jobs with above-average incomes and great benefits remain unfilled in the Top of Utah. There is definitely something odd about this economic snapshot.
Local companies and education officials are trying to sort it out. Their mission: to educate the under-employed and recent high school and/or college graduates about the opportunities for stable, satisfying employment as skilled technical fields like machining and welding, among other jobs.
Substantial Top of Utah manufacturing employers including Petersen Inc. and Williams International are working with the Ogden-Weber Applied Technology College to create awareness and to train qualified employees.
To that end, as reported by the Standard-Examiner's Jeff DeMoss, Williams and the OWATC opened a $30 million training center last fall at Business Depot Ogden. And while the effort is achieving some success -- about 400 students have received various amounts of training so far -- the shortage of workers remains critical and is expected to deepen in the years ahead.
It's a bizarre problem. Williams needs 25 machinists right now. Petersen resorted to opening a facility in Pocatello, Idaho, last year because it couldn't recruit enough skilled workers in the Top of Utah.
Manufacturers attribute these good jobs going vacant to a misunderstanding on the part of potential employees. High school students or those recently graduated hear about a manufacturing job, the company executives say, and they assume it's a tough, hard-labor job. But these aren't those types of jobs at all. They're highly skilled, technical tasks performed by people who have developed considerable proficiency in their field of expertise. In return, they are paid well.
We've lamented before in this space about a general lack of knowledge in Utah concerning such jobs. And our opinion remains unchanged: Whether parents, high school guidance counselors or others aren't providing this information on potential employment, it's hard to know. But there's a disconnect, for whatever reason.
If the Top of Utah's economy is to continue growing at the pace it could, this mindset needs to change.
Good news!! Lots of skilled workers in Tremonton. Get real, exporting jobs is the new national past time. Why train for one of these jobs, only to watch it go to wherever 6 months later????