Commentary; Posted: 12/13/06
Worker training needs cooperative effort
By Don Heinzman
Minnesota business leaders are hoping for more cooperation from two-year technical colleges and other post-high school colleges and universities to train more workers to fit their needs.
This comes at a time when public school leaders are having to focus on more rigorous math and science curricula so students can pass the tougher state tests to graduate.
In the process, the technical classes and specialty skills may not be getting the attention and dollars.
The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has a program called Grow Minnesota which is based on visiting businesses and surveying them. Members visited nearly 800 businesses and among the top five needs is a shortage of trained workers, such as welders and machinists.
This concern is growing because some businesses may be forced to leave Minnesota if they canít find enough trained workers.
While the chamber members were quick to point out that the public schools and the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities do a good job in training workers, more needs to be done. This is a complex task starting with students wanting the training, having it available in high schools and being able to develop higher skills in college.
Business leaders realize that there is a disconnect between the employers who need the workers and the colleges that are training them, particularly outstate.
While some business people were critical of colleges that train students for specialty jobs, they also know they must do more to train students. Wayne Freese, chairman of Prairie Holdings, Inc. in Worthington, says his firm, which services agricultural businesses, is providing lab space for Worthington Community College students.
In the Cambridge area, businesses are partnering with the Cambridge branch of the Anoka Ramsey Community College to maintain a Business Development Center and provide instructors. Now the Business Development Center has hired a full-time counseling staff.
In other states, businesses help create special training at local colleges and universities and are bringing basic technical skills to high school students.
Meanwhile, at the college level there are business development centers designed to train students to fit the needs of local businesses.
Rather than just this being a state problem, it is more a problem for local chambers to step up and communicate their needs to local colleges.
In the same chamber survey where more and better trained technical workers was identified as a critical need, respondents identified health care and state taxes, particularly local taxes, as the main cost burdens.
This matter of training students for technical jobs is a two-way street. Minnesota and local chambers need to be out front in supporting legislation to fund the programs, which the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce intends to do.
Having better communication at the local level on the needs of business enabling higher education to respond to those needs makes good business sense for everyone.
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