Agriculture and Manufacturing Career Pathways Study
During Spring 2019, NoRTEC, the regional Workforce Development Board, and the Center for Economic Development teamed up to gather data from industry leaders regarding critical and hard to fill positions, map career pathways for the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, and compile an inventory of training programs, certification, and credentials offered within the eleven counties that comprise the NoRTEC service region.
CED staff conducted phone interviews with human resource or hiring personnel in an effort to better understand the employment needs within the agriculture and manufacturing industry sectors. Interviews included questions assessing positions within companies that they deemed as critical to company growth and competitiveness, along with those positions considered hard to fill when vacant. Furthermore, businesses were asked to identify critical skills and competencies for effective job performance, to assess potential gaps in skills and competencies for new hires, to identify skills necessary for job advancement, and whether or not the company had a high success rate recruiting from any particular program or institution.
In addition to the industry sector interview, CED staff identified and created a simple inventory of existing education and training assets as they apply to the target sectors. This effort is meant to assist NoRTEC in creating alignment with the critical and hard to fill occupations employers identified in the industry survey, and current education and training programs within the region.
For additional information and to review the Regional Education Inventory and the Career Pathways for Critical Positions please follow the links below.
Regional Education Inventory for Agriculture and Manufacturing Careers
Career Pathways for Critical Positions in in Agriculture and Manufacturing