REGION
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Study: Workforce needs to go back to basics
sure they aren’t undercutting
each other in a way that sends
those opportunities outside
of the county. “A win down
the road is probably a win for
their community anyway,”
Drugge said.
• Joe Franell of Eastern
Oregon Telecom and the
West
Umatilla
County
Economic
Development
Group said he would like
to see some sort of listserv
or other way for the various
entities at the table to share
opportunities and ideas with
each other.
• Jordan McDonald from
the Pendleton Development
Commission said more
effort needs to be made to
put second-story residential
spaces downtown and other
“ghost properties” back onto
the tax rolls.
• Kim Puzey of the Port
of Umatilla said the county
needs to make sure the
transportation and utility
infrastructure is in place for
the former Umatilla Chem-
ical Depot to be developed as
soon as the land is transferred
to local control.
• Rep. Greg Smith said
local entities needed to talk
with their state legislators
about projects that could be
included in the major trans-
portation package being put
together for consideration in
the 2017 legislative session.
The county plans to put
together an economic devel-
opment strategic plan and is
looking for people who are
interested in being involved
in the plan. The county and
Blue Mountain Community
College also plan to put the
full Workforce Needs Study
that they commissioned on
their websites starting May 11.
———
Contact Jade McDowell
at jmcdowell@eastorego-
nian.com or 541-564-4536.
Umatilla County
employers note
lack of eligible,
interested workers
By JADE MCDOWELL
East Oregonian
Applicants’ inability to
pass a drug test is one of
the top problems Umatilla
County employers face when
trying to ill open positions.
That was one of several
takeaways in the Umatilla
County Skilled Workforce
Study that didn’t paint a very
lattering picture of today’s
job seekers.
“I heard some stories that
were amazing to me,” said
Susan Bower of Eastern
Oregon Business Source.
Bower presented the
results of the study on
Thursday at the irst
Umatilla County Economic
Development Summit, a
gathering of more than 50
people involved in economic
development. More than 400
employers — who together
employ nearly one third of
Umatilla County’s workforce
— participated.
Bower said another
problem employers say
they’re running into is
applicants who have decided
it is more beneicial to stay
on government beneits than
join the workforce.
“Employers chose candi-
dates that said, ‘No, wait a
minute, I don’t actually want
the job, I’m just supposed
to show I’m working to ind
one,’” Bower said.
She also said that a poor
work ethic was employers’
top concern about the current
workforce.
“One hundred percent —
100 percent — of employers
EO ile photo
A technician adds coolant to an air-conditioning unit in July 2015 (left) and workers sort red onions on a conveyor
belt at the River Point Farms packaging facility in Hermiston in January (right). A skilled workforce study showed
employers struggle to ind workers in Umatilla County with the basic skills needed to ill entry level positions.
Top 10 skills
employers are
looking for:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8
9.
10.
Good work ethic
Professionalism
Communication skills
Fluent English
Customer service
Basic ofice skills
Leadership abilities
Critical thinking
Basic computer skills
Basic math
brought up work ethic,
unprompted from me,” she
said.
Similar themes were
brought up in her conver-
sations with employers
about training needs for the
workforce. Skipping compli-
cated certiications like a
commercial truck license,
employers often said new
hires lack skills like basic
computer troubleshooting,
phone etiquette and the
ability to make change when
a customer pays in cash.
Not all of the takeaways
from the study were so simple,
however. Bower said one of
the top concerns, voiced by
employers in several indus-
tries, was an unreasonably
dificult process for getting
an electrician apprenticeship
in Oregon.
Another top concern
was
reciprocity
with
Washington for certiied
trades. Bower said in many
industries, getting licensed
to work in Oregon is much
more complicated than in
Washington. And few steps
from Washington’s licensing
process carry over to Oregon,
prompting tradespeople to
stick to the other side of the
river even though they would
rather work in Umatilla
County.
“We lose people because
they can just drive right
across the border,” she said.
Forty-four
percent
of the employers who
participated in the study
said their company did not
require a college degree,
but Bower said employers
reported the highest demand
in skilled occupations was
for electricians, mental
health counselors, medical
certiied support, mechanics,
truck drivers, value-added
agricultural tech experts
and computer information
systems jobs.
Bower said the county
had the following recom-
mendations:
• Lobby for reciprocity
between Washington and
Oregon on certiied trades
licensing.
• Seek simpliication of
the process for electrician
apprenticeships.
• Develop a collaborative
effort to connect high school
and college students with
employers and trades
• Market the county as a
great place to live, work and
play.
After opening up the
discussion to the rest of the
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— Founded Oct. 16, 1875 —
table, further suggestions
included:
• Stanield City Manager
Blair Larsen said govern-
ment investments such
as the Eastern Oregon
Higher Education Center in
Hermiston should — when
possible — be placed in areas
where there are restaurants
and retail outlets to help drive
business to those establish-
ments.
• Art Kegler of American
West Properties said he
would like to see more
resources from the county
to help entities ill out grant
applications that would bring
new investment into the
county.
• Melissa Drugge of
Business Oregon and Dave
Tovey of the Confederated
Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation said there needs
to be an effort for the entities
at the table to continue to
compete with each other
for economic development
opportunities, while making
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Copyright © 2016, EO Media Group
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
SUNDAY
TODAY
Warmer with
sunshine
Mostly sunny and
not as warm
83° 56°
73° 45°
MONDAY
Partly sunny
TUESDAY
Partly sunny and
pleasant
WEDNESDAY
Mostly sunny and
beautiful
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
69° 43°
74° 43°
79° 51°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
88° 58°
78° 47°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
71°
68°
93° (1992)
48°
44°
31° (1927)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.02"
0.17"
0.21"
4.57"
3.14"
5.36"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
75°
71°
95° (1966)
57°
44°
27° (2000)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.59"
0.24"
3.57"
1.80"
4.26"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
First
Full
May 13
May 21
Last
May 29
78° 45°
84° 49°
Seattle
79/52
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
74° 43°
5:34 a.m.
8:10 p.m.
6:37 a.m.
9:27 p.m.
New
June 4
Today
Spokane
Wenatchee
82/54
88/60
Tacoma
Moses
80/49
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 88/54
78/51
68/49
79/46
90/54
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
77/50
82/57 Lewiston
89/56
Astoria
84/56
65/49
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
81/53
Pendleton 73/46
The Dalles 88/58
83/56
89/58
La Grande
Salem
76/45
81/51
Albany
Corvallis 81/49
81/49
John Day
77/51
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
80/55
81/49
75/41
Caldwell
Burns
78/52
75/43
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
65
76
75
67
75
73
81
80
88
77
75
76
74
83
61
62
80
88
83
81
79
81
82
74
81
82
90
Lo
49
43
41
52
43
46
49
51
58
51
41
45
44
50
49
53
55
55
56
53
40
51
54
43
52
57
54
W
s
pc
s
pc
t
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
s
c
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
s
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Sun.
Hi
61
73
66
64
74
68
67
70
78
71
71
70
67
76
59
61
81
81
73
68
70
68
74
67
65
74
79
Lo
47
34
35
49
33
34
40
38
47
38
34
38
36
46
45
48
45
46
45
48
29
43
44
33
45
48
44
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
c
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
c
s
s
pc
s
s
s
pc
c
c
pc
s
s
c
s
c
s
pc
c
s
s
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
80
88
67
73
84
70
74
70
72
75
75
Lo
49
78
51
56
55
44
54
51
50
62
61
W
s
c
pc
t
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
s
pc
Sun.
Hi
82
87
71
77
82
72
76
71
74
73
74
Lo
54
80
56
58
56
47
59
53
55
62
63
W
s
t
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
c
s
WINDS
Medford
83/50
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
75/41
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Eastern Washington: Mostly sunny today.
Mainly clear tonight.
Eastern and Central Oregon: A storm in the south;
sunny in central parts. Sunny in the north and the
Cascades. Cloudy in upper Treasure Valley.
Western Washington: Mostly sunny today.
Considerable cloudiness tonight with a
shower in places.
Cascades: Sunny to partly cloudy and
warmer today; pleasant in the south.
Northern California: Rather cloudy today;
an afternoon shower or thunderstorm in
central parts.
Sunday
N 6-12
NW 6-12
WSW 10-20
WSW 12-25
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
Coastal Oregon: Partly sunny today; breezy
in the afternoon. Pleasant across the north.
Today
1
4
7
7
4
1
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2016
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Showers and storms will move through the southern Great Lakes and
Ohio Valley today. It will be sunny and warm across the Southeast. Severe storms will erupt
in the afternoon from Texas to Nebraska.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 101° in Presidio, Texas
Low 25° in Chemult, Ore.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
69
81
58
64
68
82
74
54
81
74
61
70
84
68
70
81
57
72
82
83
77
81
82
73
84
67
Lo
44
60
51
50
47
57
55
48
62
54
42
44
67
41
45
57
41
42
69
62
50
55
59
57
60
55
W
pc
s
c
c
c
s
t
c
s
t
t
t
pc
t
t
s
pc
s
pc
pc
t
s
t
pc
s
pc
Sun.
Hi
67
87
66
70
77
85
79
64
91
68
68
65
78
57
67
78
64
76
81
80
63
89
73
80
82
69
Lo
46
64
51
48
51
62
47
49
65
52
50
46
67
41
45
57
41
48
71
69
54
59
61
63
64
56
Today
W
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
sh
s
sh
c
pc
t
t
pc
s
pc
s
c
pc
c
s
t
pc
pc
pc
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
81
82
81
58
69
84
80
61
81
75
64
76
53
60
75
64
61
64
87
63
68
64
79
79
66
84
Lo
59
61
65
42
47
60
61
51
62
55
52
61
44
47
60
41
50
53
60
51
60
54
52
56
55
61
W
pc
s
s
c
s
s
s
c
pc
pc
c
pc
c
c
pc
c
t
sh
pc
sh
c
sh
s
pc
c
pc
Sun.
Hi
74
83
83
61
71
86
82
68
79
74
70
79
59
63
82
59
74
74
79
63
70
66
65
77
71
75
Lo
62
66
70
45
51
63
69
53
64
58
51
62
40
47
60
43
48
51
64
54
59
52
49
54
55
61
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
c
pc
s
pc
s
pc
pc
pc
t
r
pc
pc
sh
pc
pc
r
c
pc
c
sh
pc
pc
pc
c
pc
t