Wadley-Donovan report sees bright spots in local workforce
In last week’s column, I outlined some facts and figures concerning our market’s labor force, which is closely tied to our area’s economic health and development. I got the bulk of my information from a study that was conducted recently by the Wadley-Donovan Group (WDG) on behalf of the Horizon Council of Lee County. What I had to report was less than encouraging, as it showed some serious deficiencies in our area’s ability to attract, retain and adequately pay educated, well-trained workers in high-quality jobs.
The Bad News
In its survey, WDG outlines a variety of workforce-related challenges ranging from a limited supply of young employees, the impending impact of near- and long-term Baby Boomer retirees, seasonal road congestion and job applicants with limited, basic skills. It also cites the following workforce difficulties.
– Sub-standard secondary education. Of the 14 public high schools in Lee County, none has met the average yearly progress requirements under the No-Child-Left-Behind Act.
– High workers’ compensation rates. On average, they are 14 percent higher statewide compared to the rest of the nation.
– Unsatisfactory local skills training for occupations such as engineering, mechanics (aircraft and diesel); specialized banking; computer science (machine and microelectronic); electrical estimating; human resource management; retail management insurance sales; media buying/planning; medical lab technicians/supervisor; and various other technical professions and skilled trades.
– Higher property and violent crime rates than the national average.
– Insufficient availability of childcare services.
– Wage and household income discrepancy.
– Above-average cost of living compared to state and national averages.
– Below-average employment in key, knowledge-based, occupational groups (vs. the nation), which has impaired the county’s ability to attract technology-focused industries.
– An older workforce compared to Florida and the U.S. This was attributed to a high percentage of residents 55 years and older (35.1 percent).
The Good News
At the same time, the report offered some good news.
– Residents with a high school diploma exceed state and national averages. In 2007, 83.0 percent of Lee County’s population had at least a high school diploma, which is higher than the state and national averages (80.3 percent and 80.6 percent, respectively). Also, proportions of residents completing one to three years of college are slightly higher than state and national norms.
– A school district that is proactively engaged in improving the quality of public education. Since 2004, Lee County opened three comprehensive high schools (Ida S. Baker, South Fort Myers and East Lee County) that provide Technical and Career Education Academies in various subject areas, in addition to traditional academic programs. Furthermore, the Ford Foundation designated Lee County and its school district as a Career Academy Innovation Community. As such, it will provide funding, technical support, and mentoring assistance to the district to increase the number of career-focused students.
– A rapidly growing workforce. Despite the area’s older workforce profile, its concentration of young and working-age residents is expected to increase faster than the nation’s – a boon to future employment growth and workforce sustainability.
– Good workforce attitude. Surveyed employers report satisfactory employee work ethics and productivity.
– Low turnover. Employee turnover rates are typically
– Affordable Labor. Below-average labor costs for entry-level and experienced workers compared to state and national averages.
– Pro-business operating environment. Florida is a right-to-work state and has laws concerning employment-at-will. There are no state restrictions exceeding federal ones regarding plant closings, ADA legislation, EEO standards, sexual harassment law or mandated parental leave, and no known statewide restrictions on pre-employment drug testing/testing for cause.
The WDG report says that while these challenges are significant, they can be met by a combined effort of the public and private businesses, agencies and organizations. One employer-based approach would be implementation of higher wages and salaries. This action would help retain their workers caught in a financial squeeze and attract more job candidates.
More competitive wages could make the most difference to residents who are commuting to jobs on the fringes of the county (15.7 percent of workers have one-way commutes of 30 to 44 minutes and 11.5 percent commute 45 minutes or more). Higher wages and salaries could also attract non-working residents as well as more workers from surrounding counties.
Further, WDG notes that Lee County has a “hidden labor force” that will be a key to solving its current and future labor shortages. The county’s colleges and universities enroll approximately 21,915 students, providing area employers with part-time employees, interns and graduates (4,164 annually). This supply of post-secondary students is growing.
In addition to students, potential workers include a mix of not-employed residents interested in working (93,351) and underemployed residents (43,328). More than two-thirds of the not-employed workers (the majority of whom are between the ages of 45 and 64) wanted full-time employment and 45.5 percent of the underemployed indicated a desire for job training to upgrade their skills and career potential, even at their own expense.
While the county needs younger residents to balance its high ratio of 55+-year-old residents, it would behoove local employers to keep as many retirement-ready employees as possible on the job. After all, these individuals typically have the skills, experience and work ethic that make them valued employees. Accordingly, employers need to implement workplace policies that meet the needs of these workers, such as special training programs, job sharing, job transitioning, phased retirement, flex time, part-time employment, telecommuting opportunities, etc.
In its summary, WDG’s survey underscores the need for Lee County’s public and private sectors, educators, trainers and other “key stakeholders” to continue working proactively to meet the county’s workforce challenges. “In our opinion, the area has the resources to achieve these goals.” Although I think that goes without saying, I also think it’s easier said that done. In a future column, I’ll discuss some proposed ideas to ease our workforce woes.
Gary Tasman is executive director of Cushman & Wakefield’s Southwest Florida office. For more information, please contact him at (239) 489-3600 or gary.tasman@cushwake.com.