Aerospace
Engineers develop and test systems for the 787 aircraft at the Boeing Integrated Test Vehicle lab in Seattle. (Photo: AP)

Companies can't find qualified applicants; who's to blame for job skills gap?

BY Kim Shepard  on May 16, 2012 @ 6:35 pm (Updated: 6:57 am - 5/17/12 )

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We got a mixed message from the most recent unemployment report. Washington lost 300 jobs in April, although the unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in March.

Manufacturing remained the strongest sector for growth, and aerospace was the biggest piece of that. Four hundred jobs in aerospace were added last month. Even more remain open and unfilled.

Many companies are saying they cannot find qualified applicants. But there are those who say schools, and even the employers themselves, may be at least partly to blame.

"It's said that we don't really have an unemployment issue, we have a skill gap issue," says State Senator Jim Kastama of Puyallup.

Propping up the aerospace industry was a major focus during this past legislative session. Kastama says colleges are too worried about what students find amusing and not concerned enough about creating employable graduates.

"I have seen situations where they have cut programs where, when people graduate, they have a high rate of getting employment, because other programs have more people who wanted to get into those programs," says Kastama.

One idea floated to encourage students toward high-demand fields like aerospace is differential tuition. Students would be offered a lower per-credit rate if they pursue a technical degree.

Washington's Center of Excellence in Aerospace works to better align job training at our community colleges with industry needs. Mary Kaye Bredeson is the director. She says they're working to implement a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor by this fall.

"It's to build capacity in short term, certificates that lead to jobs in aerospace and advanced manufacturing," says Bredeson.

But she says, there is a lot more employers could do to address the skills gap, like offering paid internships.

Bredeson would also like to see employers here recognize a skills certificate from the National Association of Manufacturers. It is already the norm in many other states.

"They're assessed, what they know in applied mathematics, reading for information and locating information. That gives them a certificate that says - I am ready to go to work," says Bredeson.

Boeing requires the testing for new employees at their South Carolina plant, and yet Bredeson says they do not recognize it when hiring here in Washington.

While the test is given to some students at community colleges in our state, she says it should be given at high school graduation along with the SATs.

"A lot of our high school programs are college prep, but only 30 percent go on to a four year. What are we doing to prepare the other 70 percent?" asks Bredeson.

Washington is currently home to the largest portion of America's aerospace industry. In addition to Boeing, about 400 small and medium-sized aerospace companies are based here. Bredeson worries if we don't keep up with the demand for skilled employees, companies could start moving elsewhere.

Kim Shepard, KIRO Radio Reporter
Kim Shepard is a news anchor and reporter for KIRO Radio and the office optimist. She's energetic, quick to laugh and has a positive outlook on life.
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Comments (8)


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  • FreeRange wrote...
    Spot On!
    May 17, 2012 6:17 am
    Look at the UW. They have very limited spots for thechnical careeers such as Aerospce, EE and CS, that even qualified students have to choose other majors just to graduate. I cut depts. with "Pre-unemployment" degrees and expand CS and Engineering. The Universities are partly to blame here.
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  • tuleman003 wrote...
    I understand Boeing's dilemma
    May 17, 2012 7:13 am
    Being a union shop, they don't really want aggressive, fast-learning workers that could potentially put their current employees on the unemployment line.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • ron prevost wrote...
    "But ethnic studies so so much fun - and I got straight '100% participated'. So why won't you hire me ?
    May 17, 2012 7:37 am
    I guess we really don't have an unemployment problem. Its a lack of common sense problem. .. Send everybody to college and forget technical skills. .. Clue - it's not cheaper wages that let immigrants take over construction. .. ... But we can't blame Oz, He said we had all these 'shovel ready' jobs - but no one knows what a shovel is anymore.
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  • kata wrote...
    so...
    May 17, 2012 9:32 am
    what's the holdup for the NAM skills certs being recognized?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mickey Savage wrote...
    Who's to blame?
    May 17, 2012 10:05 am
    Maybe the morons who have been sitting on their couches collecting unemployment for the last 99 months or whatever the outrageous limit is now. Maybe they should have been going to school? Business is finally on the upswing and our company would love to hire several new employees but none of the applicants we get have any skills or experience. As such, we are working our guys into the ground and paying outrageous amounts of overtime.
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  • tuleman003 wrote...
    That would require
    May 17, 2012 10:22 am
    Using current facebook time to fill out paperwork or maybe even an application.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • O-town listener wrote...
    same hiring issue here..
    May 17, 2012 10:55 am
    We are looking for someone and are not getting applications with the right skill set. I wonder though if part of the problem is that the folks who are skilled are currently employed and not as likely to go out on a limb with a new employer knowing if it doesn't work out they won't get another chance.
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  • itiswhatitis wrote...
    maybe they need to start recruiting again in HS
    May 17, 2012 2:36 pm
    We tell our kids that going to college is the end result & what they should strive for. Colleges want kids to get a degree, Employers say they want the degree, but in reality they are going to get overqualified people. I have been employed since high school. I have worked up the corporate ladder, but "know my place in the business". About 10 years ago, I noticed there were too many chiefs and not enough indians, so to speak & no offense. Everyone wants the glamorous work, but not the grunt work. Not everyone needs a degree to do their job. Alot of kids expect to have the big boss job w/o putting in the hard work and that is tragic. Start getting the trades back into high schools so kids will start being interested in that again!
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