Michigan needs to close the gap between hiring demand and worker supply for high-skilled jobs that do not require a 4-year college degree

When it comes to having a 21st-century workforce, Southeast Michigan is in the midst of a “perfect storm.”

During years of economic decline, Michigan struggled to keep its residents educated and trained for the modern workplace. Now that the economy is in recovery and new job openings are finally emerging, there are not enough qualified young people left to fill them.
MI Bright Future aims to crowdsource school guidance counseling, says Lisa Katz, executive director of the Workforce Intelligence Network of Southeast Michigan.

On top of this, the skilled workforce in Southeast Michigan is aging rapidly. Even in sectors that people tend to associate with a millennial workforce, such as information technology, as well as in the crucial sectors of health care, design, and engineering, nearly one in five employees is over the age of 55.

Without focused effort to address these forces, the region will face a generation of under- and unemployed people, and an exodus of companies that will leave for regions with presumably more prepared workforces.

Read and listen to the rest of the story here:

Source: Crowdsourcing school guidance counseling | Michigan Radio