Mary Helen Montgomery Mary Helen Montgomery

There are lots of (high-paying) job openings — how can we fill them?

Workforce development programs help workers stuck in low-wage jobs or those sitting out of the labor market find high-paying careers. Here's how they can help in Chattanooga.

As the tech sector grows and skilled trade workers retire, there are opportunities waiting — for those with the right training.

 
 
 

By William Newlin

 

Fast facts: 

  • Nearly 40% of Chattanoogans who are eligible to work aren't looking for a job. At least part of the reason is that people don't have the right qualifications for jobs that can support a family. 

  • Skilled trade jobs, as well as jobs in technology and logistics, are expected to have large numbers of openings in coming years here in Chattanooga

  • There are a number of affordable training programs and other resources available to Chattanoogans who want to start or change careers

Opportunities ahead

After graduating from Brainerd High School this spring, Omarion Pickett had a few options. He considered going to college or getting into real estate. Instead, he decided to attend Chattanooga’s new Construction Career Center. Rather than learning how to sell homes, he’s learning how to build them, from the frames down to the plumbing.

The center opened last fall at the former Mary Ann Garber School in East Chattanooga. There, high school students and recent graduates learn building trades that fast-track them into technical careers.

“This just gave me a broad view, and a really great chance to go and get into my future quicker,” Pickett said.

In his first term of a year-long program, Pickett said the most difficult part so far — unexpectedly — is making sure he saws in a straight line. But the hands-on training is prepping him to work with a local general contractor in his third semester, a key part of the program.

Pickett and his classmates are on track to fill a growing gap in the local and national economy. Trades like carpentry, plumbing, and electrical work are expected to have tens of thousands of job openings per year over the next decade. As a whole, the construction and extraction industry will have close to 650,000 job openings a year for the next decade, according to estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

“Most of our skilled trades folks are (in their) 40s, 50s, and not getting any younger,” said Bo Drake, the vice president of economic and workforce development at Chattanooga State. “And we've not back-filled the talent quickly enough over the years. So, these jobs are paying incredible wages, and they have tremendous opportunity.”

But learning new skills to find high-paying work isn’t just for recent high school grads. Whether you call it reskilling or up-skilling or pre-apprenticeship, there’s an entire ecosystem in Chattanooga meant to help people access new and better jobs.

Labor limitations

Drake said a significant chunk of Chattanooga’s adults don’t have resumes that meet the skill requirements sought by local companies in manufacturing, health care, IT, and logistics.

And those barriers to good jobs can be discouraging. Chattanooga’s labor force participation rate is around 62%, meaning about 38% of the eligible workforce isn’t looking for a job.

The rate is similar to the national figure, which has declined steeply since 2007, and the reasons behind the lower participation rate are complex. 

COVID-19 concerns pushed many older people to retire, and retirement in general has been a big driver of the recent national decline. But it can also be risky for people to take a job that doesn’t pay a livable wage. For families especially, the cost and availabilitiy of child care can limit career opportunities. 

Quentin Lawrence, director of workforce strategy for the City of Chattanooga, said deciding where to work involves an important calculation. Additional income from a new or slightly higher paying job can lead to fewer net resources for a family if it means losing food, child care, and housing assistance.

“I think we have to dispel some myths when we think about working families that are maybe in poverty or right at that threshold,” Lawrence said. 

While he believes most people do want to work, he said they may think: “It has to be enough to where it’s going to get me over the finish line, where I don't have to rely on these benefits.”

The solution to increasing labor force participation in Chattanooga is two-fold. First, lower-wage industries would need to attract workers with better work conditions, compensation, and benefits (such as paying for tuition and health care). Second, people need opportunities to develop job skills that are in high demand. Drake said skills training programs can better match workers with “family-sustaining” opportunities.

“Chattanooga has experienced an incredible boom of jobs and prosperity for a lot of folks, but that's not equal across the board,” he said. “We think there's a tremendous opportunity to tap into re-skilling for many people in Chattanooga.”

Skills wanted

Despite the expected demand for contractors, electricians, and plumbers, it’s not just blue collar jobs going unfilled. The IT sector is also growing fast nationally, and logistics and transportation is a “hidden gem” in Chattanooga, Drake said.

“And with the growth rate that Chattanooga's on, these will be great opportunities for years to come,” he said.

Stacey Bradley found her place in the tech world this past year. Looking to get out of part-time work and tap into her love for computers and coding, she took a nine-week course called EMPACT to get her Google IT certificate.

She soon found a job with the City of Red Bank, solving tech problems for fellow city employees. Bradley climbed to IT manager in July and said she finally felt secure enough to support her son without working a side gig.

“Just the connections I’ve made in the industry — it’s been great,” Bradley said. “I love what I do. I love my job.”

Declining college attendance rates coupled with job descriptions (that may unnecessarily require a degree) create a mismatch between candidates’ resumes and open positions. And even when companies fill entry-level skilled positions, insufficient training can lead to high turnover rates.

Pre-apprenticeship programs can help people understand job demands and demystify what manufacturers and tradespeople do day-to-day.

“Sometimes there's a step before (work-based training) to even introduce people into the industry,” Lawrence said. “So that they have a different mindset about the culture and what they're stepping into.”

What programs are available?

The City of Chattanooga, Hamilton County, and the State of Tennessee are investing in workforce development. 

 
 

Editor’s note: The Enterprise Center and Tech Goes Home receive funds to support the EMPACT program. Chattamatters is also a program of The Enterprise Center.

 
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