|
 The
future of Preble County’s economic health lies
in the quality and readiness of its workforce.
A competitive workforce helps Preble County
compete for new business and helps existing
business expand.
A November 2010 survey of corporate real estate
executives in Site Selection magazine revealed
that “workforce skills” was the number one item
that mattered most when making site selection
decisions, ranking ahead of “state and local tax
scheme.”
The economic growth that may result from a
skilled workforce increases the tax base, in
turn, providing for infrastructure needs and
public services.
Unfortunately, Preble County faces the same
danger experienced by other rural areas.
Competition for jobs is fierce; globally,
interstate, and intrastate. Rural areas may be
at a disadvantage.
"Many rural areas can't attract workers because
there aren't any jobs, and businesses won't
relocate there because there aren't enough
qualified workers. So they are caught in a
downward spiral," says
Mark Mather, associate vice president of
the Population
Reference Bureau, a research group in
Washington, D.C.
One could argue that the symptoms of a downward
trend already exist in Preble County. According
to census data, the Preble County population
decreased slightly from 2000 to 2009. Meanwhile,
the median age increased significantly from 37.5
years in 2000 to 40.6 years in 2009. This
suggests that young people are getting educated
K-12, only to leave the county and not return.
A key comparison of two educational attainment
levels for the population age 25 or higher seems
to confirm the loss of talent that we are
experiencing. Among the 25 or older age group,
Preble County exceeds the U.S. average for high
school graduates (85.6% compared to the U.S.
average of 84.6%).
However, among the same demographic age group,
the percentage of Preble County residents with
educational attainment of Bachelor’s degrees or
higher is only 11%. This is less than half the
national average of 27.5%. With a declining
population, this again suggests that young
people are graduating from high school and
leaving.
Additionally, the data for Labor Inflow and
Outflow depicts that Preble County had 14,673
residents were employed in private sector jobs
in 2009. Among the same demographic of Preble
County private sector workers, almost three out
of every four (73.7%) traveled outside of the
county to work.
Our ability- or inability- to respond to this
declining trend will determine the economic
future of the county and its residents for
generations. The time to act is now. While other
cities, counties, and states have implemented
workforce development programs to help retain
employers and attract new business, the State of
Ohio has been slow to act decisively. We must
raise our standards to match competition from
other communities.
We can do better, both for ourselves and for the
next generation. Improving educational
attainment is a worthy goal, but it is not
enough. Besides, the problem isn’t so much that
Preble County residents aren’t achieving higher
educational attainment levels. Rather, it is
that they are leaving the county to obtain
higher education and not coming back.
Improving the skills of our current and emerging
workforce is our best economic development
strategy right now. It increases productivity
and makes us more attractive to site selectors
and their business clients.
Consequently, the Preble County Development
Partnership, Inc. has set a goal for Preble
County to become a Work Ready Community by the
end of 2013. Achieving this goal will make
Preble County a leader in the State of Ohio for
Work Readiness. By becoming a Work Ready
Community, individuals will have an opportunity
to assess and improve their present skill set,
and also earn a National Career Readiness
Certificate.
Work Ready programs have been used successfully
by many communities and states to improve worker
skills, reduce employer training and hiring
costs, market communities, and attract new
business. Notably, the State of Kentucky
recently enacted a statewide Certified Work
Ready Community program even as the northern
Kentucky region draws industry and jobs away
from Ohio.
The State of Louisiana’s Fast Start program,
hastened to help rebuild the state’s economy in
the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, is
nationally acclaimed for matching skills and
training to employer needs and is marketed
aggressively on business cable television.
In our case, we have already begun Work Keys
testing with the help of a variety of partners
within the Workforce Development Committee of
the Preble County Development Partnership, Inc.
The Preble County Job Center began testing the
unemployed two months ago. The Preble County
Educational Services Center has helped
coordinate Work Keys testing among a population
of students. The Sinclair Community College and
Miami Valley Career Technology Center are also
helping to coordinate segments of the population
for testing.
The standard we have set for ourselves mirrors
the State of Oklahoma standard:
-
Existing workforce with Career
Readiness Certification – To be an
Certified Work Ready Community, a minimum of
3% of the existing workforce must be
credentialed with CRC’s.
-
Available, or unemployed, workforce
with Career Readiness Certificates –Certified
Work Ready Communities are required to have
a minimum of 25% of their available
workforce Career Readiness Certified.
-
Emerging Workforce –A minimum high
school graduation rate of 82%will be
required to become an Oklahoma Certified
Work Ready Community or a
minimum of 82% of high school seniors with
CRC’s will be required to become an Oklahoma
Certified Work Ready Community.
We also want to provide assessments to all high
school juniors and help them earn Career
Readiness Certificates as early as possible.
We recognize that Work Keys testing and Work
Ready Communities are not a panacea. However, it
is a solid start. The commitment to become a
Work Ready Community shows that the private and
public sectors are serious about working
together to provide opportunities and grow. In
the coming months, we pledge to educate the
public on the benefits of Work Keys and update
our progress.
If you would like to learn more about Work Keys
assessments and job profiling, please see their
web site at
www.act.org/workkeys . You may also contact
Shawnda Combs at the Office of Economic
Development at 456-8188 or Matt Appenzeller at
the Preble County Chamber of Commerce at
456-4949. We will point you toward one of our
community partners.
|
