Report: Job-seekers lack skills for many Oregon jobs
BEND, Ore. (AP) — Despite persistent high unemployment in Oregon, jobs that require workers with specialized skills are going begging.
The Bend Bulletin reports that employers are having trouble hiring truckers, nurses, physical therapists, auto mechanics, engineers and the like.
Employment Department economists say there are about 30,000 job vacancies in Oregon — but more than 100,000 people unemployed.
The report says many job-seekers lack the skills to move into vacancies, but there are other reasons jobs go unfilled. Workers' skills may have eroded during the recession, or they may be unable to sell their homes to move for a new job.
Almost all of the jobs going unfilled require post-high school education. But Census data show that only 55 percent of Oregonians have an associate degree or higher.
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Information from: The Bulletin, http://www.bendbulletin.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
The other part of this story they don't tell us..is the pick and choose that these employers do. They will pass up older qualified workers to hire inexperienced.. cute people.There are jobs in Oregon.. but for some reason, older workers no longer qualify.. The number one excuse?.. "oh..your overqualified for this position".
 @Whitehawk Younger workers are generally thought to be healthier and less expensive.
I have a freind who got hired by a trucking company. The trained him and he got his CDL and worked for them for a year at good wages driving long haul. He is now back in Oregon with a local job. The 'racket and gimmick' was that he had to work away from his family for a year after his training to pay for that training. That's a lot of the problem for a proportion of the unemployed; they are unwilling to put themselves out to become employable.
 @hewhoo With all the new laws.. and federal regs.. Most trucking companies no longer offer that kind of training... the last one who did was Swift and they have been busted too many times by the FMCSA.. Today.. one has to of successfully completed a certified truck driving school to be hired
@hewhoo That's so true. When you have 99 weeks of "fun-employment" there is little incentive to get a job. Honestly if you took away the extended weeks of funemployment, food stamps, subsidized housing you'd find people will do what ever it took for them to get a job. The government wants this....
That's what you get, when you tell the kids that you are all the same, and you are all equal. When you basically tell kids everything is fair, you loose the competitive edge. Best part about it is the administrators and the teachers who've failed the kids. They're so concerned with the "feelings" of the kids and parents that they will not say you're kids not prepared for the next grade, they just pass them on. Tie achievement scores to BOTH administrators and teachers jobs and you'll be amazed how well the kids will do. But when they only teach them enough to pass the standardized tests, don't expect much....and as a parent of two children years apart in the schools now I'm terrified of the state of education. It's not the money....it's the crap being crammed down their throughts, equally. Hard work and success seems to be punished in this country...why is that? NOT EVERYTHING IS EQUAL. NOT EVERYTHING IS FAIR. GET USED TO IT.
@Average Joe American The biggest problem I see with the Public Schools is that they are too busy trying to turn the students into Progressives (code word for socialist) rather than teaching. If they can't seem to muster enough honor to change their ways, I would suggest home schooling or private schooling as an alternative for parents that really want to see a difference.
Guess employers need to lower their hiring standards.. Not everyone can afford to go to college.Truck driving school-$5000..where will people get this kind of money? they are barely able to make it now?Auto mechanics?Back in the day..folks learned on the job by more experienced mechanics/Really? a degree for a physical therapist? common sense would indicate one should know what to do to help their own body. Look it up on the internet.Most physical therapists sometimes do more harm,than help. Engineers? again..learn on the job by more experienced workers.. Its all a racket and gimmick.