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thePeorian.com
The Present
In doing that, however, there
is a hard realization that must
be overcome, he said. Research
shows 70 percent of education
leaders believe they are doing
a great job preparing students
for the workforce and only 50
percent to 60 percent of the em-
ployers believe they are getting
workers with the education and
training that they need.
“
There is a real disconnect
there that needs to be addressed.
It’s a question of workforce
demand vs. supply. Demand is
down for the lower skill level jobs
and demand for mid-level skills
has expanded a great deal. We
need to look creatively for ways
to meet the change in demand,”
Knott said.
Compared to a lot of regions
around the United States the Peo-
ria region does a good job pro-
ducing workers that are trained
in high-tech and vocation jobs.
But it still isn’t enough because
the demand is ever-growing, he
said.
“
Since 1983 this country has
been diminishing its investment
in vocational training. That’s
going in the wrong direction.
What we need to do is better
assess which students have the
propensity for the tech-type jobs
and which are better suited for
higher education. Other countries
are doing it and it is working.
All we’ve been telling parents
for years and years is that their
child needs a college education.
I think there would be a much
higher supply of trained workers
if we focused on it more at the K
through 12 levels,” he said.
Jim Baumgartner, chairman
of the Focus Forward CI board
of directors, said Caterpillar Inc.
Chairman Doug Oberhelman has
lamented publicly that Caterpil-
lar has been unable to fill many
open machinist and welding
jobs because there aren’t enough
workers with those skills.
Baumgartner, who is head of
public affairs at Caterpillar, said
Caterpillar and other compa-
nies, including Kress Corp., are
working with high schools to
start welding and other vocation
courses. “I’ve also had calls from
many school superintendents in
the region who want to start a
dialogue about doing the same
thing. We are trying to work to-
gether to fill these gaps,” he said.
Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis, who is
as strong an advocate of quality
K-12 education as any mayor,
said there has been incremental
improvements in that quality
in Peoria in his eight years as
mayor. Like others, however, he
still sees much room for improve-
ment, particularly in adequately
prepared students for the work-
force of today and tomorrow.
He also believes the region
needs better post-secondary
education. “I don’t think we need
to be telling students and parents
that they have to have a four-year
degree to get a good job, but it
is quite obvious today that some
kind of post-secondary educa-
tion or training is needed if they
are going to get a job that pays
enough to support a family,” Ar-
dis said.
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