Home Economy CCRI panel: Fresh tactics required to prepare a next-generation workforce

CCRI panel: Fresh tactics required to prepare a next-generation workforce

By

Christopher Allen

-

07/17/2024

ccri — A PANEL DISCUSSION held Wednesday at the CCRI Newport campus revealed a stark skills gap in both the Newport County and statewide job market. From left are panelists Tom Giordano, executive director of the nonprofit Partnership for Rhode Island; John O’Connor, general manager of Safe Harbor Boatworks; Ryan Camara, Bank Newport human resource manager; and Joe Caparco, director of apprenticeship for LiUNA New England. Other panelists included R.I. Hospitality Association interim CEO Heather Singleton, Senedia CEO Molly Donohue Magee; and Bill Schmeideknecht, chief human resources officer at Lifespan Corp./ PBN PHOTO/ CHRIS ALLEN

NEWPORT – Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., repeated the same message he has been hearing from several large employers in the state during Wednesday’s workforce development summit at the Community College of Rhode Island. “We need employees,” he said, noting Quonset-based Electric Boat is currently seeking to hire more than 1,000 new workers. “Building Bridges: Connecting

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NEWPORT – Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., repeated the same message he has been hearing from several large employers in the state during Wednesday's workforce development summit at the Community College of Rhode Island. “We need employees,” he said, noting Quonset-based Electric Boat is currently seeking to hire more than 1,000 new workers. “Building Bridges: Connecting Education and Industry to Workforce Development on Aquidneck Island” featured state and local officials and industry leaders who were presented with recent labor market data compiled by Hanover Research, followed by a panel discussion on the challenges facing employers looking for talent within a labor pool of younger candidates arriving without many of the basic “soft skills” required to be successful.

Panelists highlighted the common thematic threads running throughout the local and statewide job market, from the defense industry to hospitality and noted how the state’s public school system and traditional four-year higher educational institutions are failing to prepare the next generation of workers for the current needs of the market.

The Building Bridges initiative seeks to identify gaps within the employment ecosystem, facilitate workforce pipelines, and create an action plan to improve the college’s training programs that could be replicated statewide. Hanover senior higher education research adviser Dr. Amy Kurfist said Wednesday that current labor market data shows Newport County is outpacing the state’s average in both employment levels and job growth. The sectors with the largest five-year growth are concentrated in hospitality, professional and technical services, construction, healthcare and management. And a survey of 11,837 jobs posted over the previous year showed that the percentage of openings requiring at least an associate degree or certificate has been on the rise, particularly in health and human services and the medical field. The report showed many vacant positions are also requiring many of the so-called soft skills such as written and verbal communication, being able to work independently, pay attention to detail and be a team player. “Those are the things many of our younger students are not coming in with as much as they had in the past," she said. R.I. Hospitality interim CEO Heather Singleton said that historically, 80% of workers started out in the industry in some fashion. But a growing body of research also shows the age the average worker starts their first job has grown to 22 years old, meaning many recruits arrive at job interviews with much less experience than they would have a decade or two ago. Bill Schmeideknecht, chief human resources officer at Lifespan Corp., which employs 18,000 people in the state and more than 800 in Newport County, said the nonprofit is now experiencing a one-year turnover rate between 30% and 40%. “They are not being prepared by their middle school or high school,” he said. “That grit, communication and critical thinking that is so important are things we need to intertwine into our educational systems.” Joe Caparco, regional director of apprenticeships for the Laborers International Union of North America Local 271, said the building trades – where many employees are “knocking on the door of retirement” – is suffering from similar problems. Younger workers are less adept at responding to issues in real time, thinking long-term and keeping a mindset that on-the-job education part of the process. “It’s not so much a lack of technical training,” he said. “It's the real-life experience. So every day we are behind the 8-ball trying to get people.” Many applicants do not have drivers' licenses and struggle to communicate without using a smartphone, he said. “No matter which sector we are talking about, we need to adapt,” said Caparco. “And promote the value of [knowing] it's not necessarily what you are making today but what you can earn tomorrow.” Bank Newport Human Resources Manager Ryan Camara said he often attends job fairs and visits traditional four-year colleges to recruit, only to find that most students are choosing not to work while pursuing degrees. The bank has increased workplace flexibility to help with hiring, but still struggles to find talent, exacerbated by the general trend of workers sticking with a single company their entire career. “Those ‘lifers,’" said Camara. “We don’t see them anymore.” But Camara is hopeful the initiative would help to uncover “a workforce hidden underneath the surface.” “They are here,” he said. “It just takes some work and effort.” Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com