Business coalition says state needs to find $100 million to train workers

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A business coalition says Wisconsin needs to find $100 million in a tight state budget next year to train workers for the many industrial jobs that sit vacant.

Competitive Wisconsin – a group of business, labor and education leaders – says the so-called “skills gap” has become a crisis. The group says if Wisconsin doesn’t address it, major employers could leave for states that will.

In a new report, Competitive Wisconsin says the state will have “major shortages in skill clusters essential to staffing the state’s major industries” in the next decade unless something is done now. The proposed tax money would match grants to schools, businesses and other groups with strategies to address their needs for talented workers.

The state now spends $15 million a year on employee training. By increasing it to $100 million, the group says Wisconsin will spend close to what neighboring Minnesota spends on workforce development.

Also, the group says two governor’s workforce councils should be replaced with a new organization that focuses on developing industrial talent. It would help coordinate efforts to train and provide workers for jobs that are getting more complex in fields like engineering, health care and metal fabrication.

Mark Tyler, who heads the state Technical College Board, cautions that public budgets are still tight. He believes the workforce funding is a good idea, but it should not be paid for by cutting higher education or something else.

Tags: business, education, wisconsin