Jobs Are Out There

A new study says demand for workers to fill jobs in the middle of the labor market will continue to be robust. "Middle skill" jobs require technical training beyond high school but not a four year degree. While those jobs have declined somewhat, they still represent roughly half of all employment.

The study says in ten years, with today's workers retiring,  Michigan is facing a shortage of 100,000 people to fill those positions. Andrea Ray is with The Workforce Alliance that did the study. She says just training kids coming out of high school won't fill the gap.

"To really address these skill shortages we going to have to focus on adults that are already in the labor market who are either currently in low skill low wage jobs or have been recently laid off or find themselves unemployed," says Ray.

Middle skills jobs can draw fairly high wages for positions such as respiratory therapist, dental hygienist, skilled construction and computer technician. The Workforce Alliance is calling on state policy makers to guarantee two years of training beyond high school to help meet the demand.