West Tennessee Workforce Survey

Regional Report

Collaborative Effort

Background

• Jackson Area Chamber asked JSCC and the Jackson TTC to research the workforce development needs of West Tennessee

• Survey was created by staff and faculty– Academic Affairs– Continuing Education– Center of Emphasis– Business department– Industrial Technology department– Computer Technology department– Psychology department

Background

• Gather demographic information on manufacturing businesses

• Determine educational and specific skill requirements for:– Electro-Mechanical/Industrial Maintenance– Production Associates– Production Supervisors– Office Associates– Computer/Technical Support

Background

• Sent to 169 businesses… – In JSCC’s fourteen-county

service area

– In the manufacturing sector

– With 50 or more employees

• Responses received: 44

(26%) response rate

Business Profile

• Over 43% of responses - Madison Co.– 84% from Madison, Chester, Gibson,

Haywood, Henderson Counties

• Over 27% of responses from Fabricated Metal businesses– Industrial and

Commercial Machinery (16%)

– Rubber and Miscellaneous Plastic Products (14%)

Schedules, Hiring and Turnover

• Most frequently used work schedules– 3 shifts, 8-hours, Mon-Fri, set (30%)– 4 shifts, 12-hours, 7-days, rotating (11%)– 1 shift, 8 hours, Mon-Fri, set (11%)

Over 84% expect hiring to be equal to or greater than estimated turnover– Estimated hiring is 26% greater than

turnover– Larger companies (over 250 employees)

reported a turnover less than 10%

Number of EmployeesNumber of Employees per Occupational Category Represented by Survey Results

Total: 10,888

1238

8075

407

1078

90

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

7000

8000

9000

Electro Mech/Indust. Maint Production Associates Production Supervisors Office Associates Computer/Tech. Support

Estimated 11,500 employees– Sizes ranged from 68 to

1,280 employees– Over 68% had 50 to 250

employees

13.6%

4.5%

77.3%

4.5%

No rewardPromotionPossible promotionPossible pay increase

Reward

Reward for Educational Attainment

Education Benefits & Rewards

• Over 86% of businesses offer education benefits

• Larger businesses (250+) offered both education benefits and rewards

Education and Skills

Minimum Education Requirements

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

Some highschool

High school/ GED Technicalcertificate

2-Year Degree 4-Year Degree

Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint. Production Associate Production Supervisor

Office Associate Computer/ Technical

Minimum Educational Requirements

• Most common responses– Production Associates: High school/GED (79%)– Production Supervisors: High school/GED (63%)– Office Associates: High school/GED (69%)– Electro-Mech/Ind. Maint: Technical certificate (57%)– Computer/Technical Support: 4-year degree (45%)

• Larger businesses tend to require a lower requirement for Production Supervisors and Office Associates

Skills Overview

• “Soft” Skills and Technical Skills from each occupational group

• Indicates necessity/importance of skill

• Scores: scale of 0 to 100– 100 = “Always” or “Very Important”– 0 = “Never” or “Not Important”

• Color code– Blues and greens = highly important– Oranges = important– Yellows and pinks = less important

Soft Skills

“How often are associates required to…?”

Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint

Production Assoc.

Office Assoc.

Computer/ Tech Supprt

Follow specific supervisory instructions 80 86 75 69

Complete tasks according to a set work schedule

85 93 84 82

Make decisions with little or no supervisory input 73 59 76 82

Be self-motivated requiring little oversight to complete required tasks

80 74 87 88

Communicate orally 83 78 89 83

Communicate in written form 58 47 86 83

Communicate graphically 42 35 63 66

Collect and interpret data 68 60 81 79

Work in a team environment 86 89 90 84

Learn new skills/technologies relevant to work 69 63 73 92

Interact with customers -- -- 76 64

Technical Skills“How important are the

following skills?”Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint

Production Assoc.

Office Assoc.

Computer/ Tech Supprt

Basic math 84 69 81 80

Technical math 70 40 43 56

Telecommunications 39 22 51 72

Quality Control (SPC) 55 64 -- 56

Quality Systems (Lean, ISO) 65 71 -- 61

Facilities Planning 49 -- 31 42

Computer Skills 62 48 -- --

Robotics 43 23 -- --

Engineering Drawing (AutoCAD) 39 17 -- --

Injection Molding 23 19 -- --

Spreadsheets -- -- 86 76

Word Processing -- -- 85 76

Database Management/Data Entry -- -- 78 85

Accounting -- -- 64 47

Desktop Publishing -- -- 42 47

Website Management/Design -- -- 22 50

Technical Skills“How important are the

following skills?”Electro-Mech/ Indust. Maint

Production Assoc.

Office Assoc.

Computer/ Tech Supprt

Pneumatics or Hydraulics 83 -- -- --

Motors and Motor Controls 81 -- -- --

Blueprints and Schematics 80 -- -- --

Electronics – AC Controls 79 -- -- --

Electronics – DC Controls 79 -- -- --

PLC (Allen Bradley, Fanuc, etc.) 79 -- -- --

Automatic Processes 73 -- -- --

Electronics – Other 74 -- -- --

CNC Equipment 50 -- -- --

Precision Measuring Instruments -- 58 -- --

Computer/Technical Support -- -- -- 94

Network Administration -- -- -- 91

Help Desk/Phone Support -- -- -- 73

Programming -- -- -- 73

Essential Skills

• Basic high school education coupled with soft skills are the key foundation.

– Preparation of tomorrow’s workforce– Creates a hirable and trainable employee

• Specialized training is essential for the development of the incumbent workforce.

– Typically provided on an as-needed basis– Improvement of the existing workforce

Action Plan

1) Plan – Sit down together and discuss• The situation• The vision• The plan

2) Do – Stop talking about it and act• Put plans into action!• Work collaboratively

• Business• Industry• Chamber of Commerce/Government

“In life and business, there are two cardinal sins..

The first is to act precipitously without

thought, andThe second is to not act at

all.”Carl Icahn