West Tennessee Workforce Survey Regional Report

Collaborative Effort

Background Jackson Area Chamber asked JSCC and the Jackson TTC to research the workforce development needs of West Tennessee Survey was created by staff and faculty –Academic Affairs –Continuing Education –Center of Emphasis –Business department –Industrial Technology department –Computer Technology department –Psychology department

Background Gather demographic information on manufacturing businesses Determine educational and specific skill requirements for: –Electro-Mechanical/Industrial Maintenance –Production Associates –Production Supervisors –Office Associates –Computer/Technical Support

Background Sent to 169 businesses… –In JSCC’s fourteen-county service area –In the manufacturing sector –With 50 or more employees Responses received: 44 (26%) response rate

Business Profile Over 43% of responses - Madison Co. –84% from Madison, Chester, Gibson, Haywood, Henderson Counties Over 27% of responses from Fabricated Metal businesses –Industrial and Commercial Machinery (16%) –Rubber and Miscellaneous Plastic Products (14%)

Schedules, Hiring and Turnover Most frequently used work schedules –3 shifts, 8-hours, Mon-Fri, set (30%) –4 shifts, 12-hours, 7-days, rotating (11%) –1 shift, 8 hours, Mon-Fri, set (11%)  Over 84% expect hiring to be equal to or greater than estimated turnover –Estimated hiring is 26% greater than turnover –Larger companies (over 250 employees) reported a turnover less than 10%

Number of Employees Number of Employees per Occupational Category Represented by Survey Results Total: 10, Electro Mech/Indust. MaintProduction AssociatesProduction SupervisorsOffice AssociatesComputer/Tech. Support Estimated 11,500 employees –Sizes ranged from 68 to 1,280 employees –Over 68% had 50 to 250 employees

Education Benefits & Rewards Over 86% of businesses offer education benefits Larger businesses (250+) offered both education benefits and rewards

Education and Skills

Minimum Education Requirements

Minimum Educational Requirements Most common responses –Production Associates: High school/GED (79%) –Production Supervisors: High school/GED (63%) –Office Associates: High school/GED (69%) –Electro-Mech/Ind. Maint: Technical certificate (57%) –Computer/Technical Support: 4-year degree (45%) Larger businesses tend to require a lower requirement for Production Supervisors and Office Associates

Skills Overview “Soft” Skills and Technical Skills from each occupational group Indicates necessity/importance of skill Scores: scale of 0 to 100 –100 = “Always” or “Very Important” –0 = “Never” or “Not Important” Color code –Blues and greens = highly important –Oranges = important –Yellows and pinks = less important

Soft Skills “How often are associates required to…?” Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint Production Assoc. Office Assoc. Computer/ Tech Supprt Follow specific supervisory instructions Complete tasks according to a set work schedule Make decisions with little or no supervisory input Be self-motivated requiring little oversight to complete required tasks Communicate orally Communicate in written form Communicate graphically Collect and interpret data Work in a team environment Learn new skills/technologies relevant to work Interact with customers

Technical Skills “How important are the following skills?” Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint Production Assoc. Office Assoc. Computer/ Tech Supprt Basic math Technical math Telecommunications Quality Control (SPC) Quality Systems (Lean, ISO) Facilities Planning Computer Skills Robotics Engineering Drawing (AutoCAD) Injection Molding Spreadsheets Word Processing Database Management/Data Entry Accounting Desktop Publishing Website Management/Design

Technical Skills “How important are the following skills?” Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint Production Assoc. Office Assoc. Computer/ Tech Supprt Pneumatics or Hydraulics83-- Motors and Motor Controls81-- Blueprints and Schematics80-- Electronics – AC Controls79-- Electronics – DC Controls79-- PLC (Allen Bradley, Fanuc, etc.)79-- Automatic Processes73-- Electronics – Other74-- CNC Equipment50-- Precision Measuring Instruments Computer/Technical Support-- 94 Network Administration-- 91 Help Desk/Phone Support-- 73 Programming-- 73

Essential Skills Basic high school education coupled with soft skills are the key foundation. –Preparation of tomorrow’s workforce –Creates a hirable and trainable employee Specialized training is essential for the development of the incumbent workforce. –Typically provided on an as-needed basis –Improvement of the existing workforce

Action Plan 1)Plan – Sit down together and discuss The situation The vision The plan 2) Do – Stop talking about it and act Put plans into action! Work collaboratively Business Industry Chamber of Commerce/Government

“In life and business, there are two cardinal sins.. The first is to act precipitously without thought, and The second is to not act at all.” Carl Icahn