STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) — Officials from the University of Wisconsin, regional workforce experts, and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch discussed workforce issues Thursday.
The discussion centered on how to improve the pipeline of student development from the K-12 level through the college system and into the workforce.
The economy is improving, but there are still problems like a large number of people not looking for work, skill gaps for people trying to enter the modern workforce, and competition for quality employees.
University of Wisconsin Regent Regina Millner sees that there is an immediate need for trained people in a number of specialties, and the University must continue working to prepare more of those people for the workforce. “That immediate need can be addressed by us working with businesses, and working with our two year and our four year comprehensives to fill that gap. I also took out of the meeting that we need to look back to our K-through-12’s and take a serious look at how we’re going to be able to adapt what the curriculum is, so we can have the pipeline going, so it will feed into it in a natural way.”
Millner and Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch also toured the UW Stevens Point Paper Sciences Department, where they have an operating paper machine. Paper Sciences has a 100% placement rate for graduates, and they routinely start at over $70,000 dollars per year right out of college. There are also UW and technical college schools with open seats for information technology, and they’re having trouble attracting students to the high-demand field.
The group also discussed the need to not only grow your own local talent, but to keep it by remaining competitive and offering quality of life benefits that make graduates want to stay in the area.
Millner agrees the groups working together in central and north-central Wisconsin are on the right track, but there’s work to do. “The work that’s being done here at UW Stevens Point, and the work that’s being done in this area for businesses, and to retain talent, is very important, and I’m very proud of what they’ve been doing.”
