Project Jobs

Overview

While our region shares in the economic challenges facing the balance of the United States, we also have a number job openings going unfilled. This contradiction frustrates both the employer and the job seekers.

Through outreach conducted by the Erie Business Action Team (housed at the Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership) over the last several years – and collaborative discussion of the 13-member Lead Economic Development Team of Erie County – it has been determined that there is an immediate need to undertake a comprehensive census of employers to formulate a more clear picture of where the job openings are and where they will be.

Using the Erie Business Action Team’s web-based platform, all employers in Erie County will be asked to complete an electronic survey that will capture each employer’s employment needs in the immediate, mid-term, and long-term. Aggregate results of the company surveys will identify volume of jobs by O*NET Codes (Occupational Information Network).

When completed, this primary research of employer demand will enable the community – citizens, training providers, educators, elected officials and business leaders – to see first-hand the occupations most in demand for workers.

Working in partnership with the Regional Center for Workforce Excellence, NWPA Workforce Investment Board and PA CareerLink - Erie County, data will be gathered and shared in regard to the skills sets, formal education needed, and wage rates for the top 25 occupations identified through this survey.

This data will inform training providers of employer demand, provide guidance to unemployed, provide hope and a pathway to employment for youth, aide agencies in securing competitive workforce grants, and help document the vibrancy of our regional economy.

Issues:

Job openings continue to go unfilled.
Job training is non-strategic – reactionary not visionary.
Current knowledge of job openings and career paths are anecdotal – not based on primary research.
No documentation of aggregate job needs by NWPA WIB, State or Feds.
No documentation of job needs by ONET codes.
Manufacturing is facing an aging workforce crisis.
Community pessimism is centered on an eroding economy (perception).
Community’s youth see no opportunity or pathway to success – leads to increased legacy costs for the region (violence, drug/alcohol addiction, teen pregnancy).

Facts:

Technology is in place and ready to go.
Technology will be available for us to do surveying on an annual basis.
We have e-mail addresses in place for nearly 1500 employers.
We can replicate this model throughout at least 8 counties of NW Pennsylvania.

Opportunities:

Data can be collected annually from all employers willing to participate.
Data will help inform development of training programs for actual existing jobs.
Data will help connect the business community to primary/secondary education for career exploration opportunities.
Data will help guide potential redesign of public Vocation-Education Programs in the region.
Data will help region secure greater share of training dollars.
Data will help region deploy training dollars in the most efficient manner.
Data can help improve placement rates, talent recruitment efforts, and curriculum offerings.
Students will begin to see a pathway to a career based upon opportunity, skills needed, education needed, and potential earnings.

Actions:

Use EBAT’s Executive Pulse Workforce Module to directly, electronically survey employers .
Survey will cover existing employment, open positions, jobs to be created, and retirements.
All responses will go into their EBAT “case file” – making future updates much easier and faster.
Survey the following sectors: Manufacturing, Healthcare, Tourism-related (hotels, restaurants, entertainment), Education (higher education, trade schools), Professional Services (engineering, legal, accounting, marketing)
Aggregate jobs data by O*NET codes
Identify top 25 occupations with the greatest opportunity for employment.
Research wages, skill sets and education needed for the top 25 occupations identified.