The Capital Region is poised to see short-term growth across industries from accounting to pipefitting, but stakeholders need to undertake best practices to ensure that the local workforce pipeline adequately prepares individuals for the new job openings, a new report from the Baton Rouge Area Chamber says.
BRAC’s annual “Regional Workforce” report says this is already happening to a large extent. However, the report recommends that area community colleges track skill training by individuals rather than by total levels of training and also calls for a renewed focus on guiding students and trainees into specific high-demand occupations rather than high-demand industries.
Tracking skill training by level rather than individual has made it difficult to know whether training programs are sending out a large number of helper-level individuals or a sufficient number of fully trained individuals, the report says.
The chamber released the workforce report today. It lays out a number of findings and recommendations about how to meet the demand for workers in the Capital Region.
“We must all work to ensure a great supply for our regional workforce, which is imperative for continued economic expansion,” says Adam Knapp, BRAC’s president and CEO, in a statement.
According to the report, the Baton Rouge area gained 9,400 jobs from July 2015 to July 2016. The number of jobs in the region totaled 411,800, one of the highest levels ever for the metropolitan area, the report says.
Professional and business services experienced an increase of 2,800 jobs over the year. Construction jobs increased by 1,900 during the same period.
Efforts in the Baton Rouge area to destigmatize skilled jobs that do not require four-year degrees have resulted in some success, the report notes. Area community colleges and local businesses have experienced early success in partnering to create customized employee training.
