Washington Business Summer 2018 | Washington Business | Page 39

business backgrounder | education & workforce
said difficulties finding qualified workers was
their single most important problem, bigger
than taxes or regulations.
A shortage of qualified workers clearly poses
a risk to economic growth.
innovating solutions
Matt Poischbeg of SEA-LECT Plastics in Everett
shared his story about what happened when his
top tool and die maker retired. He could not
find a replacement, lost business, and finally
created his own solution by starting a new
apprenticeship program at the company. Local
schools and the Aerospace Joint Apprenticeship
Committee were critical partners in that effort.
That was one of the main takeaways from
the event: Employers can fix this by partnering
with schools and nonprofits and learn from
other companies that have built their own
workforce pipeline.
“We’re business. We’re innovative. We
need to be nimble and we need to figure this
problem out for our own industries,” said Julie
Orchard, a human resources client manager at
Providence Medical Group in Spokane.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel, as
the old saying goes. There are many tools in
the toolbox: Apprenticeships, mentorships,
internships, on-the-job training and more. And
notably, there are many business, education and
nonprofit leaders willing to help and share their
experiences, including companies that have created their own workforce pipeline with the help from
local schools and nonprofits.
Orchard shared how her company created its own workforce pipeline for medical assistants with the
help of local schools. The result is that young people can get certifications and earn good wages by age
19, and Providence has a more stable workforce.
“I would tell you, don’t put a box around yourself,” she said. “Think about what are the skills and
abilities that your folks need and how are you going to get that, and then partner with your [career and
technical education] person so you have a real clear goal going forward and they can help you with that.”
Poischbeg told a packed ballroom that a combination of on-the-job training and school is a great
solution for success for both businesses and employees. He also said the labor force is so small that the
only future workforce is in school today.
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