Too many job applicants lack the most basic skills, companies tell congressman

 

By Ed Jacovino  Journal Inquirer,  August 9, 2011

 

HARTFORD — Manufacturers in Connecticut want to hire skilled workers but aren’t able to do so because they can’t find enough qualified job candidates, according to a new survey released Monday by one of the state’s congressmen.

“It should serve as a caution to Congress to not make drastic cuts in funding for education and vocational training,” said U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy, D-5th District. “We need more skilled workers in America, not fewer.”

Murphy’s survey paints a generally rosy picture of manufacturing in the state. Most of the employers who responded said they expect their revenues to increase, and with them to give raises and add jobs. Very few indicated that they think Connecticut is going in the right direction to being “business friendly,” but three in four business executives said their companies are “rooted” in the state, the survey found.

Murphy presented the survey’s results Monday with U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal in a news conference at the state Capitol. Blumenthal, D-Conn., later visited Manchester Community College to talk about jobs.

 

On education, 87 percent of the manufacturers said it’s difficult or very difficult for them to fill vacancies. And those vacancies exist: 89 percent said they plan on hiring or maintaining their current workforce for the rest of the year.

But it’s not just specific skills and talents that job candidates are lacking — employers said they’re not afraid to teach those. The problem is more general job skills.

“We need to be able to hire people who require training only in the specific requirements of their job, not basic life skills,” one respondent said. “Middle and high schools need to provide that education, at a minimum.”

That result echoes another survey by the Connecticut Business & Industry Association released in June. In that survey, 39 percent of respondents said entry-level employees lacked basic job skills such as punctuality and a work ethic. That response was more common than saying that job seekers lacked basic math and reading skills.

Murphy’s survey also asked business owners about state and federal tax policies. Only two of the 151 company executives said they think Connecticut is going in the right direction towards being “business friendly.” Respondents pointed to corporate taxes, with 64 percent saying a reduction in the corporate tax rate is what’s most needed. Others raised concerns about health insurance costs, government regulation, and taxes at all levels of government.

They also were asked about their position on foreign competition and Chinese currency manipulation. Parent companies, suppliers, and customers have moved work and workers to China, the survey found.

Some reported that the Chinese export market helped their business. Others said they can’t compete with China’s cheap labor costs.

“The results of this survey reinforce, in a concrete way, what manufacturers in Connecticut and across the country have been telling us over and over,” Blumenthal said. “They need the tools and certainty to hire qualified workers and make long-term planning decisions in order to remain competitive on a global scale.”

The survey includes responses from business executives representing 151 manufacturers in the state, most on the Interstate 91 corridor and in the Connecticut River Valley. They included companies in East Hartford, Manchester, South Windsor, Vernon, and Windsor Locks.

The companies combined employ at least 9,000 people, they reported. Most had fewer than 100 employees.