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Workforce Study identifies regional assets, challenges, strategy

Provides framework for future training efforts and funding

The Times-Picayune
Friday, November 14, 2008
By Jaquetta White

Growth of the southeast Louisiana labor market is being hampered by a lack of economic diversity, an older population and quality of life issues, a study released Thursday said.

The study found that the potential labor supply for new and expanding employers is much smaller in the 10-parish region than in nearby Baton Rouge, the comparable Nashville, Tenn., market and the nation on average.

That finding should come as no surprise to businesses operating in the region and those interested in locating here. The business community has noted for years that efforts to expand and recruit are hamstrung by a lack of skilled labor. But the study provides a frame of reference for educational institutions, businesses, government and economic development specialists as they begin to work together in earnest to grow the region’s work force, officials said.

“When you talk to business owners around the state, typically one of the top two issues is work force,” said Steven Grissom, deputy secretary of Louisiana Economic Development. “We need to know where the gaps are, where the needs are and where the opportunities are.”

According to the study, electricians, registered nurses, welders, boilermakers, metal workers, plumbers and pipefitters will be in greatest demand in the next year. But among the 152,572 people the study found were unemployed but willing to work, only a small percentage had those skill sets.

Going forward, the challenge will be equipping that pool of potential employees as well as future workers who are now students with the skills to fill voids in the work force.

“The work is still ahead of us,” said Woody Oge, chairman of the Greater New Orleans Inc. talent development committee. “I think it’s a great first step.”

The Regional Workforce Study was commissioned by regional economic development agency GNO Inc. It will serve as a framework for building a labor pool around the industries and jobs with the greatest need. The results are also projected to help with recruitment efforts, as economic development agencies may use it to pinpoint where potential workers are for employers.

The availability of a skilled labor force is “absolutely most important” to the site selectors who visit with Greater New Orleans Inc., said Michael Hecht, the agency’s chief executive officer.

“Work force is their No. 1 concern,” Hecht said.

The study will help the Louisiana Community and Technical College System determine where to focus its training efforts and financing, said Joe May, the system’s president.

“This is a good model,” May said. “We’re going to be putting this to work immediately to help solve the problems.”

State Superintendent of Education Paul Pastorek said the study could be used to help determine curriculum at L.B. Landry High School in Algiers, which will reopen with a job training component.

“One of the issues for the school is what kind of training we put in there,” Pastorek said. “We’re going to be turning to this data, and that’s how we’re going to outfit that school.”

Similarly, the information could be used to help articulate Louisiana’s monetary needs to state and federal officials, said Robin Keegan, director of economic and workforce development policy for the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

In related news, the U.S. Department of Labor said Thursday that it was awarding $7.5 million in grants to help about 1,200 workers from 15 Louisiana companies affected by closures and mass layoffs get job training, counseling, job placement and other services. The money is being awarded to the Louisiana Workforce Commission.

The grants will be focused in the aerospace and advanced manufacturing, trade and logistics, and creative media and design industries, said Maj. Gen. Douglas O’Dell, federal coordinator for Gulf Coast rebuilding.