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Lebanon Reporter
Business
Board examines work force issues
By Laura Goodenow
Lifestyle Reporter
Lebanon - In hopes of producing a strategic plan
that will improve the quality of Boone County's workforce,
the Circle 7 Workforce investment board led an open
meeting last week.
Circle 7 is a volunteer government-appointed group that
was established under the Workforce Investment Act of
1998 and is responsible for developing initiatives for
the seven counties that surround Indianapolis.
The informative meeting brought 12 Boone County residents
to its rectangular table. Attendees included Lebanon's
Mayor Jim Acton, Boone County Commissioner Wendy Brant,
Boone County Economic Development Corporation Executive
Director Katie Culp and area business owners.
"Boone County makes up 3 percent of the eight county
area," said Lance Ratliff, executive director of
Indiana Workforce Development, referring to county statistics
from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
"You have the second highest per capita income
in the state, about $32,000," he added. Ratliff
also said the December 2000 unemployment rate was one
of the lowest of the eight county areas at 1.3 percent:
310 workers were estimated available then.
The largest employers were found to be in services,
such as insurance and banking, followed by retail and
manufacturing.
Basic, or "soft", skills are most in demand
over specialized knowledge, or hard skills.
In April, Boone County employers ranked the top 20 skills
wanted in workers. Near the top were adhering to safety
procedures, applying good listening skills, maintaining
a safe work environment and working as a team member.
The ability to use a computer came in at number 20.
To some at the meeting, the low ranking of computer
use was troubling, especially since computer skills
were ranked eighth in a total eight-region survey.
"That tells you there are not any skilled jobs
in Boone County," said Shirley Lasley, human resources
personnel for Relizon, a form distribution and management
company in Lebanon. "There are openings here but
not tech companies."
"I think we do have openings in skilled areas,"
Brant suggested, "but the pay (is not enticing)."
Margie Thomas of M.A.T Consulting in Lebanon led the
group in a brainstorming session.
Attendants were asked to write down employment issues
on sheets of paper that were then spread out on an open
table.
Concerns included such issues as public transportation,
availability of labor, a lack of technology jobs, written
and oral communication, loyalty, quality of the workplace,
attitude, benefits, dependability and a lack of common
sense in the younger workforce.
The sheets were organized, reorganized and voted upon
in order of importance.
Congruent with the top 10 skills wanted from employees,
soft skills education in the workforce was the number
one concern: not a surprise to Ratliff. The other counties
ranked, "very similar issues" as their top
concerns, he said.
The group agreed that the most serious problem is youths
entering the workforce have not been trained well.
"Do you think (soft skills are) not being modeled?"
questioned Brant, who was answered with a general, "yes."
However, pinpointing the problems are less than half
of the battle. Jerry Erskine, owner of Laminque, has
heard the same thing before. He is ready to move toward
a solution. Circle 7 will be mailing out a strategic
plan in approximately three weeks to those who attended
the meeting.
Erskine is skeptical that one plan can cure such a big
problem.
"The same results come out of every [similar] meeting
and in my opinion it is zilch," Erskine said. The
problem "starts at home and it starts at school,"
he explained, adding that some youth who come to him
for a job do so without a shirt or shoes. Some cannot
even read a ruler.
The group agreed that a solution will not happen overnight,
and some cited parents lack of accountability and government
intervention as sources of the problems, issues that
are bigger than one county.
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