(Published Monday, December 4, 2006 11:55:36 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Chris Schultz Gazette Staff
WHITEWATER-Outsiders usually view Walworth County as a rural area with an economy driven by Geneva Lake tourism.
And that's a false image.
Manufacturing by small and mid-sized, locally owned companies is the mainstay of Walworth County employment, according to a recent study by the Fiscal and Economic Research Center at UW-Whitewater.
The study found that manufacturers are holding firm as the county's economic and labor base with more than 9,000 employees. In comparison, the tourist-driven hospitality industry employs about 6,600 here.
However, those companies may face a labor shortage in the coming years, and the study suggests that education may be the key to filling those labor needs.
The "2006 Survey of Manufacturing Jobs in Walworth County" was funded by a grant from the Walworth County Workforce Development Board.
The board requested the study to stay current with trends in county employment, said Marilyn Putz, Walworth County Job Center manager. The workforce board, through the job center, provides employment services and worker training in Walworth County.
Putz said the report had no surprises for either the board or the job center.
In general, employers are looking for dependable workers who are willing to learn, Putz said.
"Hopefully, we can get the word out that manufacturing is still good work," Putz said.
The study is based on a survey of 200 companies in Walworth County, said Russ Kashian, UW-Whitewater associate professor of economics and a member of the research center that did the study.
The study focuses on education.
"What we're trying to figure out is, are the educational efforts of the schools meeting the needs of employers?" Kashian said.
Kashian said he believes that Gateway Technical College is doing an excellent job and that some school districts such as Big Foot in Walworth and Badger in Lake Geneva are making excellent efforts in technical education for younger students.
That will help local manufacturers meet their future needs.
It's near future that may hold a labor shortage.
Most manufacturers are optimistic about growing jobs at their companies.
Still, the county's available labor pool remains small, with an unemployment rate of between 3 and 4 percent.
"What we're seeing today is an outgrowth of a misunderstanding in the 1980s that manufacturing jobs were going to leave the United States and we would all be in the information industry," Kashian said.
Many people in the 25-to-40 age range do not have industrial arts or tech ed experience, Kashian said. And those are the people industry looks for to replace the 50- and 60-year-olds who are approaching retirement.
Without local labor, companies will look elsewhere, Kashian said.
"Companies will outsource, not because of cheaper labor, but because of a lack of labor," he said.
In part, the companies are also to blame because many laid off skilled workers who then went into other fields. Companies cut off their futures for short-term gain, Kashian said.
The challenge for schools is to make manufacturing a viable career choice for young people.
"Running a machine probably isn't on the list of jobs many young people would want to go after, and working in injection molding isn't even on their radar screen," Kashian said.
Besides math skills, business leaders are also looking for communications skills, particularly in Spanish.
Hispanic populations are growing throughout Walworth County because employers are reaching out to immigrant and Hispanic-American workers to fill the labor gap.
But another source of labor also exists in Walworth County.
Up to 30 percent of the county's workforce commutes to surrounding counties and Illinois, said Fred Burkhardt, director of the Walworth County Economic Development Alliance.
While it's good those people are employed, there is a loss in dollars to Walworth County, Burkhardt said. Studies show that 10 percent of income spent is spent in the county where it's earned, he said.
Wages may be one of the reasons that many Walworth County residents are working elsewhere.
Pay has been traditionally low in Walworth County, Burkhardt said. At one time, the county touted its "cheap labor."
"Cheap labor means you have people who are not making enough to live on," Burkhardt said.
But the job market has changed. Workers actively seek better jobs and better pay, he said.
Walworth County's argument has always been that its quality of life made up for low pay.
"Try putting that on your plate and eating it," Burkhardt said.
The nature of blue collar also has changed, he said.
Once upon a time, it meant someone who put wing nuts on widgets. Now, robots do that. The factory worker understands how the robots make the widgets in the first place, Burkhardt said.
He said the cost of transportation and local companies becoming more sensitive to wages they are competing against in the nearby Milwaukee, Madison and Chicago markets may encourage more Walworth County workers to stay close to home.
Keeping a steady supply of well-educated and motivated workers may also require a more countywide approach to technical education, Burkhardt said.
Although he lauded efforts by local high schools and Gateway to provide technical education, Burkhardt said maybe the county should think regionally. With its population centers spread out over the county, a countywide vocational school for high school students may be the best way to invest resources, Burkhardt said.
