Panelist: We have enough workforce programs

By Brice Wallace 

A gathering last week to discuss educational approaches to solve workforce issues featured many oft-told ideas: Getting kids excited about various career options earlier. Having youngsters and their parents understand that manufacturing and other trades are clean and safe, countering current misperceptions. Pushing for more diversity in the workforce.

But one panelist stood out by calling for fewer — not more — programs to address workforce needs.

At the Salt Lake Chamber event, panelists discussed programs at universities, high schools, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development, the Utah Department of Workforce Services and industries and businesses. Perhaps there are too many, according to Vance Checketts, vice president of Utah operations for Dell EMC, who said some programs are good but others are not very effective and should face elimination.

“The first thing we need to do is not start any new ones,” Checketts said. “That sounds kind of like maybe I’m a downer here, but, oh my goodness, there are so many great initiatives and so many great people who want to do great things that we can’t afford the risk of diluting ourselves further. Everybody knows this is an important topic and there are enough great organizations and programs in existence today that I feel like we don’t need to go create more.”

Checketts said he prefers to see better coordination and a stronger focus for successful programs. He said he is hopeful that Talent Ready Utah can serve as a clearinghouse or forum for all the initiatives across the state.

“We don’t need new programs, and yet a lot of the existing programs probably should be stopped,” he said, acknowledging that it would be difficult. “We have to find some way to stop it, and maybe it’s to stop the funding.” Surviving programs, he said, should face rigorous accountability to ensure they are working.

Megen Ralphs, director of human resources at Cedar City-based MSC Aerospace, agreed. She insisted that the Aerospace Pathways program has been “incredible” and that ways should be found to make the relatively new program work better.

“I’ve been a part of programs that rise and fall and rise and fall, and there’s no sustainability,” she said.

A few speakers said that Utah is not alone in trying to find enough skilled workers. David Lang, head of Salt Lake City operations for Goldman Sachs, said it is difficult to find enough software engineers. With various initiatives and programs, Utah can set itself apart from other states by having better-prepared workers, he said.

On the downside, Utah differentiates itself from other states because of a lack of diversity. Lang noted that his company, which has grown from 300 employees to 2,400, would like to see more support for diverse students and for the state to embrace diverse people coming into the state.

“One of the things that’s very important to us as employers is to make sure our employees represent the clients that we interact with from a cultural diversity perspective, etc., and obviously the demographics of Utah make that difficult for us as a firm,” he said.

Various panelists stressed that internships, apprenticeships and other types of work-based learning environments can help address Utah’s workforce needs. However, “asking them to do an internship without pay is ridiculous,” said Deneece Huftalin, president of Salt Lake Community College.

Ralphs lamented that, while her company seeks people with critical thinking and creative thinking skills, the concept of “apprenticeship” is “almost taboo” and that “blue-collar has gotten a bad name for itself.”

“There are some very, very talented people out there that need to know that going to an ATC (applied technology college) or getting a certificate is going to give you a successful, sustainable career,” she said. “We need the talents. We need doctors, we need HR people, but there is an avenue for everyone out there.”

Lang said Goldman Sachs used to recruit only business majors but has moved away from that. “We’re looking for history majors. We’re looking for liberal arts majors,” he said. “You can be an opera singer and if you’ve shown a capacity to learn, you’re going to be very valuable to us because you’re going to bring a different perspective to a problem that we need to solve as a group or as a unit.”

Huftalin said any type of post-secondary education is helpful to young people, whether it’s in the form of a one-year certification program, a two-year associate’s degree or a four-year bachelor’s degree.

“What you can’t do is not go to college,” she said. “The high school diploma, in and of itself, will no longer allow you and your family to live a strong and healthy and viable life.”

Ralphs suggested that companies get more involved in K-12 activities to get youngsters thinking about their career options. However, she cautioned, the fruits of that work won’t happen overnight.

“I know across the state that, even just down in our area, that we’ve got to get these kids excited early on,” she said. “And it’s hard, especially from my executive’s perspective, sometimes to realize that we’re not going to see that return on investment for quite some time. … It’s going to be a while before we see it.”