12
F
rom Northern California to Southern
California and all around the nation,
employers are having a hard time finding
qualified workers to fill available jobs.
“We’ve been looking for a quality control inspector
and quality engineer for three months,” said
Michael Bermudez, Vice President and General
Manager of Walker Corporation’s manufacturing
facility in Ontario. “We need candidates who
have good problem-solving skills and a basic
understanding of how to provide leadership on the
manufacturing floor.”
One of the most common misconceptions about
the current economic climate is that there are
no jobs available. While California’s economy
improves and national unemployment rates
decline, employers still struggle to fill positions
because many candidates are unqualified or
under-qualified for high-skilled and technical jobs.
A recent report by the business leaders
organization ReadyNation shows that things
could get worse before they get better if current
economic and education trends continue. By 2025,
California is expected to face a deficit of one million
workers with bachelor’s degrees to fill open jobs,
and another one million workers will be needed
to fill middle-skill jobs requiring more than a high
school diploma, but less than a four-year degree.
Jobs in science, technology, engineering, and math
(STEM) are expected to grow by 22 percent by
2020. When compared with the overall job growth
rate in California, which is 17 percent across all
industries, it is clear that STEM jobs present a
wealth of opportunity for students moving forward.
Yet more often than not, potential employees need
more training and education to be considered for
these types of positions.
“When it comes to an aircraft mechanic, a
fuel systems engineer, a licensed dispatcher,
accountants, insurance risk agents, human
resource generalists, or paralegals, we have
difficulties finding them here in California,” said Joe
Czyzyk, President and CEO of Mercury Air Group.
So what is an employer to do?
Companies like SunPower Corporation, UCSF
Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland, and
Sacramento Municipal Utilities District (SMUD)
are just a few California employers who may have
found the answer.
“We see a lot of need for bringing in talented
people and we want to make sure that we have
that pipeline ready to fill the opportunities that
we have,” said Gary King, Chief Workforce and
Technology Officer at SMUD.
SMUD is part of a growing cadre of employers around
the state who have invested their time in supporting
Linked Learning career pathways to teach today’s
high school students about what it takes to get a
high-skill, high-wage job in any industry.
By integrating rigorous academics with career-
based learning and real world workplace
experiences, California’s Linked Learning education
approach is helping to create an engaged and
By Jennifer Ortega
Tackling
the
Skills Gap
Photos Credited to SunPower Corp.
