Career Tech Center: Key to filling jobs is listening to demand

BRANCH COUNTY — Over 1,200 job openings are listed this Labor Day weekend by MichiganWorks and other employment sites in Branch County.

With a labor force of 19,499, state records said only 887 were looking for work, a July unemployment rate of 4.6%. The issue is those seeking jobs can't fill open positions because of work requirements or employee limitations. Many don't have the training to meet job qualifications.

Dustin Scharer became assistant superintendent of Career and Technical Education at the Branch Area Career Center this summer, moving up from principal when Randy Sowles retired.

Under the Branch Intermediate School District, BACC offers Career and Technical Training for high school juniors and seniors from Coldwater, Bronson and Quincy.

"Fortunately, and unfortunately, there are needs across the spectrum. There's a limited pool of candidates for positions. Everybody's really trying to get their hands on the same talent pool," Scharer said.

The assistant superintendent said more county high school students are interested in career tracks offered by the center. "You're seeing that become more and more enticing for students."

"Our numbers usually run about 50% of the juniors and seniors in Branch County that come to us," Scharer said. "Historically, we've done a great job."

The labor market changed for those in technical fields.

"You are starting to see pay increases to get people to come in and work. As the cost of college continues to rise, kids are seeing the advantage of starting their career early," Scharer said.

He said many high school students now think, "I can start making really good money, and I don't have to pay for college."

Interest among students shifts yearly.

"Last year, we were low in our auto body program and our construction trades. Their numbers were really low. This year, those numbers have come right back, and they're strong. That's super exciting."

Scharer said two areas where there are needs fell off.

"Our health science has some of the lower numbers coming in that we've had in several years. That's obviously concerning, especially in nursing. You know there's a lot of need out there."

Nursing is always in the top three open job positions in this region for MichiganWorks.

"Then education is another one. Our numbers are a little down from what we'd like to see. Schools are seeing all kinds of shortages for teachers," the superintendent said.

While both those professions require college, the career center gives high school students a head start in both those professions: "Those are a couple of areas that we're really going to focus on."

Teachers and nurses faced some of the most severe work conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic, which helped create employment vacancies. Scharer speculates this might have caused less interest in those jobs.

"I don't have any data or proof, but that's kind of my feeling. I don't know if you know, the younger kids feel that same thing, so they're afraid to go into the field. It could definitely be a cause and effect there," he said.

In his first year as assistant superintendent, Scharer will look at what kind of employees the area needs and what the student interest is in professions.

"Are there any needs that we're missing? That is going to be some ongoing research during this school year," he said.

Matching faculty and programs also is a problem. The electrical tech two-year program is an example. Robotics was popular in the industrial side.

"The first year is residential," Scharer said. "The second year is industrial. Two years ago, we had to shut the industrial program down due to staffing. The teacher was on deployment. The tech program last year was all residential electrical."

For the new school year, "now they're doing industrial robotics in some of the units they are working on."

Ray Wheaton was the popular electric teacher who became the school principal. He retired a year ago.

"I actually hired him back for a long-term sub position. So, the electric program can continue this year," Scharer said.

"Last year, we hired a construction trades teacher. We got a good one," Scharer said. "The pool has not been really deep. We haven't had a ton of applicants, but we have had quality applicants, which has been super exciting."

As the school year begins, "we're pretty fortunate in that aspect. I mean, we're fully staffed right now."

Students are excited. There are good-paying jobs in this area.

"It's a good time to be in CTE. There's a need in almost every field. We've just got to get them trained and ready to go."

This article originally appeared on Coldwater Daily Reporter: Branch County Career Center: Key to filling jobs is listening to demand