Governors meet to tackle workforce development in western states

Of the five states with the lowest unemployment rates in August, four were located in the western half of the U.S., a region where economic development is increasingly finding itself handcuffed to workforce development.

“Our labor market is way tight,” Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper told a workforce development workshop hosted by the Western Governors’ Association at the Art Hotel in Denver on Monday.

So tight, companies don’t want to relocate to the region because they can’t find the workers they need, he said. When asked about their greatest challenge, businesses don’t list increasing sales or access to new markets, but rather their inability to find qualified workers.

In August, North Dakota, Colorado, and Hawaii ranked Nos. 1, 2 and 3 among states reporting the lowest unemployment rates — all under 2.6 percent. Utah, South Dakota, Idaho and Nebraska all were at 3.5 percent or lower, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Western Governors’ Association covers 19 western states, and its members are focusing more attention on

better aligning the skills workers have with those that employers want. But the task is a challenging one.

“We want to redefine success,” South Dakota Gov. Dennis Daugaard said at the workshop.

One goal of workforce development programs is to make high school students aware of the perils of dropping out and the need to pursue training beyond high school, including options outside a traditional four-year degree, Daugaard said.

For example, an electrician, once established, can make $100,000 a year, Hickenlooper said. But convincing students, not to mention their parents, that rewarding careers can be had in construction or manu- facturing can be a tough sell.

“There is a stigma attached to career-technical training,” said Tami Pyfer, education adviser to Utah Gov. Gary Herbert.

Too many college students pursue majors based purely on interest, only to find out that the expertise they have obtained isn’t in demand or is poorly compensated, Daugaard said. Or they focus on fields, like marketing, where graduates greatly outnumber job openings.

Only 60 percent of those who start college complete a degree within six years, and whether they finish or not, many students pile on heavy debts that weigh them down for years. A study Monday from the National Association of Realtors and nonprofit American Student Assistance found that millennials are delaying home purchases by seven years on average due to student loan debt, which totals $1.4 trillion. Young adults also are delaying marriage and having children because of their financial burdens.

Three decades ago, only 30 percent of those entering the labor force obtained a four-year college degree and many workers could make a living with only a high school diploma. But by 2030, the share of jobs requiring a college degree or specialized training beyond high school will flip.

The worst off are those who drop out of high school or lack some kind of specialized skills or degree. Hickenlooper said a tidal wave of automation is set to sweep over the economy in the next 10 to 15 years, and the first jobs that will be going away are lowpay, low-skill positions.