Group Tackles Work Force Issues Forum Launches Process For Improving Spokane Area’s Labor Pool

A group of businesspeople, educators, students and government officials gathered Tuesday to look for ways to improve Spokane’s work force.

Among the goals were: identifying gaps between employers’ expectations and employees’ qualifications, preparing for future employment needs, and finding ways to move people from underemployment or welfare to work.

About 200 people attended the Workforce Development Summit at Spokane Community College. They broke into small groups, each assigned the task of finding solutions to problems.

The issues the groups handled were different, but common themes ran through their suggestions. People repeatedly stressed the need, for example, for better communication between the business and education communities. Businesspeople need to visit classrooms and students need to have more job shadowing opportunities, participants said.

One common problem was finding ways to eliminate the stigma against professional technical education. One group suggested developing a regionwide marketing program to spread the message that training in skilled trades can lead to successful futures.

“How much word is getting back to the parents?” asked Jack Ranck, of Top Ranck Management.

Jesse Snyder, a junior at Mt. Spokane-Mead High School, said many students mistakenly think that people who take skilled trade classes do so because they have bad grades.

A group searching for ways to move people from welfare to work suggested creating an inventory of the skills of people on welfare so employers know the qualifications of those potential job applicants. That group also suggested setting up a speakers bureau to educate people about welfare-to-work experiences.

Improving workers’ basic skills also was a focus. Employees need to be better trained in areas such as: reading, writing, critical thinking, problemsolving, team work and leadership. Schools, businesses, parents and students all need to know the importance of these basic skills, said Jim Cravens, of Cravens Consulting.

Many people stressed the need to begin educating students about career awareness as early as elementary school. The groups searched for ways to increase parents’ involvement in their children’s futures.

One group suggested “Take-a-parent-to-school day,” in which students would show their parents what they do during a day of classes. Groups also suggested businesses give their employees more flexible schedules to allow them time to become involved in their children’s educations. Talking to parent-teacher organizations about the issues also was suggested.

Jeremy McKee, a senior at Havermale Alternative School, said parents, teachers and students need to plan together for each student’s future. McKee said students should discover as early as possible what they want to do in life so they don’t end up switching from job to job.

“For me, that’s scary,” McKee said. “I don’t want to have another, then another, then another (career).”

, DataTimes