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About East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current | View Entire Issue (June 30, 2018)
Page 8A BUSINESS East Oregonian Saturday, June 30, 2018 Oregon lacks workers, especially for high demand positions By BRITTANY NORTON East Oregonian The good news is Oregon’s unemployment numbers are the lowest they’ve been in recent his- tory. The bad news is now the state lacks enough workers to fill job openings. According to a report released by the Oregon Employment Depart- ment, there were a large num- ber of difficult-to-fill job vacan- cies in Oregon in 2017. The report says there were 60,700 job vacan- cies at any given time in 2017, and over half of these were classified as “difficult to fill” — mainly due to lack of applicants. Other reasons employers listed vacancies as dif- ficult to fill included unfavorable working conditions, a lack of soft skills like showing up on time , and lack of experience. “Right now there are a lot of job opportunities, and I’m not sure everyone feels that way because they’re not looking at the data,” said state employment economist Nick Beleiciks. The Eastern Oregon region, including Umatilla, Morrow, Union, Wallowa, Grant, Baker, Malheur and Harney counties, had 1,424 difficult-to-fill vacan- cies, which accounts for about 62 percent of all job vacancies in the region. Truck drivers, carpen- ters, personal care aides, construc- tion laborers, farmworkers and restaurant cooks topped the list of occupations. The report noted that Oregon “has enjoyed solid job growth and record low unemployment over the past few years,” so it is to be expected that some jobs go unoccupied. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Oregon’s unem- ployment rate is 4.1 percent, which File photo by E.J. Harris Crews contracted by the Wenaha Group work on the Hawthorne School in 2014 in Pendleton. Car- penters are among the difficult-to-fill jobs that make up the majority of vacancies in Eastern Oregon. is at its lowest point on records dat- ing back to 1976. The report esti- mates that Oregon’s total employ- ment will grow by 12 percent by 2027. The private health care industry will lead the way in job growth with the health care sec- tor creating about one out of every five new jobs in Oregon by 2027. Construction is projected to be the second-fastest growing industry at 17 percent, due to population and economic growth and low vacancy rates across most of the state. According to Beleiciks, lack of job seekers could hinder the growth of some businesses. “We hear from construction workers that they’d like to take on more jobs, but they just can’t find enough workers in order to commit to those new jobs,” he said. “I think construction is a pretty easy exam- ple where you can see them not building that next house because the staff that they have is already busy.” Beleiciks says the trend of young adults choosing to pursue bachelor’s degrees, and thus forgo trade pro- fessions, is a common sentiment he hears, but there is more to the story. “Another aspect of it is, are there enough training programs to meet the needs of the industry or the young people who do want to get into the trades? Are there enough opportunities for them to learn this skill?” He said there are programs being introduced to provide Oregon residents with skills training that are necessary qualifications for these jobs. SpaceX launches AI robot, strong coffee for station crew CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — A SpaceX rocket that flew just two months ago with a NASA satel- lite roared back into action Friday, launching the first orbiting robot with artificial intelligence and other sta- tion supplies. The used Falcon rocket blasted off before dawn, hauling nearly 6,000 pounds of cargo including the spher- ical AI bot named Cimon, genetically identical mice and super-caffeinated coffee for the crew of the Interna- tional Space Station. The shipment — packed into a Dragon capsule that’s also recycled — should reach the station Monday. It was an especially gor- geous launch, delight- ing spectators as the rocket plume expanded in the clear night sky like a giant halo In early 2018, Governor Kate Brown launched the Future Ready Oregon initiative that aims to pre- pare the workforce in two ways. The first is preparing the future workforce, such as kids in school or adults changing careers or just entering the workforce. The second is preparing the current workforce, which encompasses those who are looking for a path to a better job. According to Shalee Hodges, initiative manager for Future Ready Oregon, the program hopes to expand opportunities for appren- ticeships beyond construction trades and into information tech- nology, health care and manufactur- ing. It also plans on holding industry roundtables with employers from food processing, construction and manufacturing industries to hear what their hiring challenges are. Hodges said there are many rea- sons employers have a hard time hir- ing people, including lack of work- force skills. “Part of what I think we need to do is focus on people who hav- en’t really worked or haven’t been successful in work,” she said. “And supporting them in removing the barriers that they have in their lives and really becoming successful and becoming self-sufficient.” Closer to home, Blue Moun- tain Community College collabo- rates with community partners to evaluate workforce gaps. The col- lege has advisory committees that are composed of about 50 percent community partners — such as business leaders — that represent what employers are looking for in workers. There also are apprentice- ship and cooperative internship pro- grams that allow students to gain real world experience and learn what skills are important for enter- ing the workforce. Mary Jeanne Kuhar, vice presi- dent of instruction at BMCC, says the college is always looking for new opportunities to provide to stu- dents. An example is the data cen- ter technician program, which was implemented because there were job openings in Boardman. Related opportunities continued to grow, and local employers said they needed more students, so the col- lege expanded the program. As for Oregonians who are cur- rently searching for jobs: Beleiciks has some advice. “One thing that really stood out [in the report] is employers are look- ing for previous work experience,” he said. “I like to point this out when people are searching for a job: to highlight the related work experi- ence — whatever they have.” Rogers Toyota receives recognition HERMISTON — Rog- ers Toyota of Hermiston was recently presented with a President’s Award from Toyota Motor North America, Inc. The award is presented annually to Toyota deal- erships that exhibit an exceptional work ethic. It recognizes dealerships throughout the United States that achieve high standards of performance in all facets of the auto- motive dealer profession, including vehicle and parts sales, service and customer satisfaction. Rogers Toyota of Hermiston is located at 1550 N. First St. Herm- iston. For more informa- tion about the dealership, call 541-567-6461 or visit www.toyotaofhermiston. com. Get that Summer Break feeling in a new Toyota! Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel via AP A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches just before dawn Friday at Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, Fla. after us.” “I was going to say breathtaking, but maybe awakening might be a better word,” said NASA’s space station program manager, Kirk Shireman. beneath a nearly full moon and a gleaming Mars. 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