For Immediate Release
Feb. 27, 2008

 

SHORTAGE OF SKILLED WORKERS IN CONNECTICUT HAMPERING
BUSINESS GROWTH AND EXPANSION

 

Connecticut businesses are experiencing greater difficulty in finding and hiring a workforce suitable to their needs. The state is experiencing a two-pronged demographic challenge in the declining population of young people at the same time the baby boomer generation prepares to retire. Consequently, the availability of skilled workers in the state has become a critically important economic issue, affecting business growth and productivity levels.

Those are among the findings of the 2008 Availability of Skilled Workers in Connecticut Survey, conducted by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association (CBIA), Capital Workforce Partners and the United Illuminating Co.

"Connecticut has traditionally prided itself on having a highly educated, skilled and talented workforce,” said John R. Rathgeber, CBIA president and CEO. “If the state is to remain an economic leader, policymakers, educators and the business community must all work together to address the issues that are challenging our ability to produce enough skilled workers and sustain our competitiveness.”

Connecticut businesses are clearly under pressure, with 82 percent of survey respondents saying their company has experienced difficulty in finding qualified workers within their industry.

Among the most difficult types of positions to fill are:

• Skilled professional/technician (24%)
• Skilled machinists and other manufacturers (20%)
• Engineering (9%)
• Sales (8%)
• Customer service (5%)

Employee skills most in demand are:

• Technical, mechanical and manufacturing-related skills (35%)
• Professional or “soft” skills, such as communication, teamwork and leadership (27%)
• Overall employability, such as a positive work ethic and punctuality (21%)
• Advanced computer, scientific, research and development, and engineering skills (13%)

Eighty-three percent of respondents blamed the high cost of living in the state for their difficulty in finding workers. Other factors cited included high housing costs (73%), a perception that the state's educational system does not sufficiently prepare students for the current job market (44%), transportation issues (40%), and “brain drain” — the emigration of young, educated workers from the state (38%). An overwhelming 92% of respondents said housing affordability is very important to attracting and keeping skilled workers in Connecticut .

"The ability of Connecticut businesses to meet the demands of a highly competitive global market hinges greatly on our capacity to provide them with a highly skilled workforce,” said Peter Gioia, CBIA vice president and economist. “This survey clearly shows that top companies in Connecticut are unable to fill the high-tech positions necessary to sustain productivity and income levels. This is a significant challenge that must be addressed to ensure Connecticut remains a top location for skilled workers.”

Respondents said a tighter labor supply has already affected their businesses' growth potential (42%), led to higher overtime costs (40%), decreased production capacity (29%), hampered efforts to exploit new market opportunities (29%) and increased the outsourcing of work (28%).

Connecticut companies are using a number of strategies to attract and retain skilled workers, and more than half (55 percent) are actively encouraging older employees to continue working beyond the traditional retirement age. Incentives most often offered by respondents' companies include enhanced pension/401(k) benefits (58%), more- competitive health insurance packages (54%), in-house training programs (54%), more- competitive salaries (53%), flexible work schedules (50%), tuition reimbursement (39%), and employee longevity incentives and awards (28%).

"In workforce development, we determine the business community to be our primary customer,” said Thomas Phillips, Capital Workforce Partners president and CEO. “This survey helps us better understand the challenges and opportunities that are upon us today and can help us be better positioned for the needs we may face in the future.”

Businesses said the most important steps needed to help ensure new generations of skilled workers include reforming education to provide more work-ready graduates (56%); offering more (51%) and higher quality of training programs geared to high-demand occupations in the state (49%); government subsidies and other incentives to attract and keep young, skilled workers in the state (37%); and measures to increase the productivity of the existing workforce (31%).

One key to ensuring Connecticut companies have greater access to skilled workers in the future is to invest in and improve the education system. An overwhelming majority (85%) of survey respondents said improving the K-12 public education system could have a strong or very strong impact on Connecticut 's future workforce by preparing highly skilled, job-ready young adults.

Almost all, 95 percent, of survey participants said they support greater accountability and higher standards in Connecticut 's public education system. The importance of a quality education is highlighted by the fact that over half of respondents (55%) require at least a high school degree for the majority of new hires; nearly a fifth (17%) require graduation from a trade or technical school; and 18% require at least a bachelor's degree.

"Connecticut 's business community is eager to work with educators and policymakers in addressing the state's shortage of qualified workers,” said Lauren Weisberg Kaufman, CBIA vice president for education and job training and executive director of the association's Education Foundation. Business executives recognize the need for improved educational opportunities for Connecticut 's students as well as affordable living and housing for the state's young, educated workers. They are taking measures to remain competitive so that the state's economy can continue to grow.

"This is compelling information. It is critical that Connecticut's business leaders, educators and policymakers work together right now to ensure that the people of this state develop the knowledge and skills that will enable them to succeed as the workforce of Connecticut in the coming years,” said James P. Torgerson, CEO, UIL Holdings Corp., The United Illuminating Co.

This survey was conducted electronically in October 2007. A total of 563 surveys were returned, for a 14% response rate and a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Supplements of the survey are available by region (Fairfield County and North Central Connecticut), and by industry sectors (manufacturing; finance, insurance and real estate; and hospitality, retail and tourism).

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CBIA is the state's largest business organization, with 10,000 members.

 

For more information contact Nancy Andrews, CBIA media relations manager, at 860-244-1957 or andrewsn@cbia.com.

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