Tech jobs: precariously balancing the education bubble and the employment bust

As mentioned before, the current employment situation in Michigan is complicated, both for young people and members of older generations. The University of Michigan's index of consumer confidence revealed higher than expected sentiment for April, but it remains to be seen whether this will be part of an overall trend or will follow the more common pattern of surge/slump.

Regardless, for workers trying to examine future trends - and parents of future workers - there seems to be some good news as regards manufacturing. The Michigan Legislature recently created the Skilled Trades Training Fund in order to ensure the education and development of a steady supply of skilled labor for our manufacturing sector.  According to the state's Workforce Development Agency website: "The STTF will provide competitive awards for the development and implementation of employer responsive training that will enhance talent incomes, productivity, and employment retention, while increasing the quality and competitiveness of Michigan's business." This fund will be used for technical training only, encourages the participation of manufacturing companies, and offers reimbursement incentives for employee retainment.

West Michigan manufacturing companies seeking to avoid a shortage of labor and turnover have also taken some of the training process into their own hands. Pridgeon & Clay, a Grand Rapids metal stamping company known for their manufacture of automotive parts has begun communicating with school districts and community colleges and has established an in-house training program to make sure their supply of skilled workers is not interrupted.  DeWys Manufacturing, Inc. also has created a 12-week training program to help maintain an active workforce at all times.

Other manufacturers are playing the long game. At a conference in Houston last month, Jim Fetterling, one of Dow Chemicals vice presidents, discussed the potential waves of economic revitalization resulting from the country's recent shale boom. The energy savings from cheaper, more plentiful natural gas offers new possibilities to U.S. companies. He believes that this new shale boom should not be squandered on exports, but used to rebuild the manufacturing sector and create jobs. Many of those new jobs will be skilled and Fitterling sees the fourth wave of the economic revitalization will be focused on research and development.

After what we Michiganders have seen happen to the auto industry over the past twenty years, it's hard to feel confidence about manufacturing, but the outlook for skilled workers, at least, is brighter. If you have a friend or family member graduating from high school in the next few years and considering college, direct them either to the STEM fields or skilled labor. That's where the future lies.

Where Are You, Career?

Unemployment is one of those dreadful words that has peppered our news religiously for the last decade.  It has ebbed and flowed with each year that passes.  To the average American, unemployment simply refers to whether one has a job; but to a Generation Y American the underlying meaning is much more complex.

I graduated from Grand Valley State University in 2011 with a specific path I thought I would follow.  As a middle-class American, I was not given many other options than attending college right after high school.  It was expected; so I did.  I learned a lot, both scholastically and personally, and graduated with a political science degree I was proud of.  I began applying for jobs towards the end of the 2011 summer.  I am here to tell you - it is 2013, I have had eight interviews in two years, and there is nothing on the horizon.      

Grand Rapids is a growing city, there is no doubt about that.  More restaurants, breweries, and shops pop up daily.  For the college graduate looking for work in their field, it doesn’t offer as much as one would like.  The unemployment rate for Grand Rapids in March 2013 was 6.2%, and has infinitesimally fallen and risen to 6.4% in August.  In 2008, the unemployment rate was high at 11.5%.  The rate is expected to continue to fall.   

I realized after a year of applying to at least three to ten jobs a week, it was not going to be as easy as I thought.  My search expanded from more specified jobs to a wide range spreading across numerous fields.  People would ask, “What do you do with a political science degree?”  My response was, "What every graduate hopes to do, find a job."  I received excellent feedback from my interviews.  I am comfortable speaking to groups, I have hard work ethic, and I am creative. Every position I interviewed for was given to someone with more experience who was also out of work.  The Great Recession laid off a massive pool of applicants who have more experience than me and now are making less money than they did before. 

A report released in August 2013 by PayScale and Millennial Branding, claimed that Generation Y is specifically underemployed and overqualified for the jobs they are working.  During the Great Recession many Baby Boomers and Generation X-ers lost their higher-paying jobs and instead settled for lower-paying, entry-level positions that would have normally gone to people like me.  Plenty of Boomers, who normally would have retired, stayed in the labor market because their net worth crashed after 2008.  Generation Y seems to have been left out of this equation, and pushed into un- or underemployment. 

53.6 percent of college graduates 25 and under are either unemployed or underemployed, according to the Associated Press.  We are unable to find jobs in our desired fields and are turning to jobs that are severely beneath our skill sets.  Many 20-somethings graduate from college, only to find the pool of competing applicants has more than tripled while they were in school.  The dream of each generation doing better than the last seems as far away as that ideal job.  Born to Baby Boomer parents, the expectation of financial success still seems reasonable for us, but the economy simply cannot supply the jobs.  Since the recession began in December 2007, average incomes for 25 to 34-year-olds have fallen 8 percent.  

I have to remain hopeful, even in the face of constant rejection.  The reality of my future is drastically different from that of past generations.  I sustain myself financially by working in the service industry, and creatively by finding odd jobs and internships that will build my resume.  I am continuously marketing myself.  I have to hope that as a resident of Grand Rapids, a city I love, growth will come to all sectors of our economy.  I strive to build a future for myself and my family to the best of my ability with the options I am given.  I have to hope it will be enough.  I have to hope that the vision of the ‘American dream’ will continue to grow with my generation.