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>> Tom Layson: A significant number of economists say we could be heading into an economic boom something akin to the Roaring '20s once COVID is licked, but before COVID, there were too many open jobs for too few skilled workers.

It's been one of the main constraints on even more robust growth for years, since the end of the Great Recession.

Could we be heading toward a repeat of those two points in history, an epic boom but with too few skilled workers to really take advantage of it?

Workforce development is the discussion on Northwest Now.

There are 392,000 workers in Pierce County, but economic development research shows that the workforce needs to grow by 47,000 people in the next decade just to meet demand.

Statewide the number is even bigger as more tech-related like manufacturing or logistics companies locate or launch right here.

Workforce and a need for skilled workers has been an issue in Pierce County for as long as anybody can remember, but there is so much in place right now to fix that.

Graduate Tacoma is a good example of the effort to encourage primary education and putting people into the pipeline with a good foundation.

From there, there are 25 post-secondary education opportunities in Pierce County, with more than 300 statewide.

Then Workforce Central brings government and the private sector together to encourage apprenticeships and training to build the workforce, and finally, Tacoma's LEAP program offers access to apprenticeships.

Beyond Pierce, the Bridge to Finish program in King County is serving thousands of students.

The Washington Job Skills Program splits training costs between schools and employers and the state board of community and technical colleges has a customized training program that allows employers to pay for training for workers over time.

Point being, there is a plethora of partnerships, foundations, grants, scholarships, apprenticeships, and training programs out there to grow the workforce, including as Northwest Now contributor Linda Byron tells us, at Bates Technical College where the fire service program is always one of the most popular.

>> All right.

You ready to go?

Go.

>> Linda Byron: Another taxing day of skills testing is underway at the Bates fire service training program in Tacoma.

And there's nothing but exuberance from students -- >> Hose going through!

>> Linda Byron: -- despite the demands and dangers inherent to fire fighting.

>> Rickie Millender: I say it's worth the risk because we are firefighters and we're put here through this course to be a service of the people.

>> Matt Morgan: We're doing something we love and it's about helping other people when they can't help themselves.

>> Linda Byron: The challenge course puts that youthful idealism to the test.

>> Matt Morgan: In real life, you have like high-rise buildings.

>> Linda Byron: Students must first race up four stories -- >> Matt Morgan: A little bit more!

>> Linda Byron: -- and then haul up 60 pounds of hose through a window.

>> Matt Morgan: To get tools up there.

>> Fifty-one seconds to get that thing up there.

>> Linda Byron: The clock is ticking.

They simulate the exertion needed.

>> Matt Morgan: Sometimes you got to run into buildings and use forcible entry to get into it.

>> Linda Byron: And finally, wearing nearly 50 pounds of equipment themselves, they have to carry a 165 pound dummy a third the length of a football field.

>> Matt Morgan: It simulates rescuing a victim.

>> Time!

3:33, nice.

>> Linda Byron: There are many ways firefighters are injured or killed on the jobs.

Burns, falls, heat exhaustion, cardiac failure, smoke inhalation, the exposure to toxic chemicals, and there's the pandemic.

COVID is now a leading cause of death in the line of duty.

>> Rickie Millender: You have to weigh your priorities.

Do you want to distance yourself from someone that you can easily save their life or -- >> Linda Byron: This 18-month program prepares students for rigorous certification exams, but even if they pass, they still have to land a job.

>> Adam Cabeza: Use those legs!

We have anywhere from 200 to 300 for each open position, so it's extremely competitive.

>> Linda Byron: Yet Rickie Millender is optimistic.

In high school, he was without purpose.

That changed when he enrolled in fire service changing through Running Start.

>> Rickie Millender: I learned that going through this program, the inner machinations of firefighting and it really opened up my eyes and I found that of course going through the program again that, you know, this is the right place for me.

>> [multiple speakers]: Sir, yes sir!

Hoo-rah!

>> Linda Byron: As baby boom-era firefighters retire, this program is preparing the next generation to take over.

For many, it's more than a profession.

It's a calling.

>> Kaelan Wright: Dream job, definitely.

Always as a kid I was like fighting fires, drawing pictures in kindergarten saying I want to be a firefighter.

>> Linda Byron: Thanks to technical programs like this, dreams are becoming reality.

>> Kaelan Wright: In reality, I realized this dream job, I can make it and I can do it and I want it.

>> There you go!

>> Nice job!

>> Linda Byron: For Northwest Now, I'm Linda Byron.

>> Tom Layson: The pandemic continues to show that people with post-high school educations have lower unemployment rates and higher incomes.

Students of color are also having a harder time staying in school once they've started.

One of the people working to fix all that is Kimber Conners, the Executive Director of the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship.

Kimber, thanks so much for coming to Northwest Now.

Great to have a conversation that we try to do every year on workforce.

Let's start with the basics in terms of your program.

What exactly is the opportunity scholarship?

>> Kimber Conners: Yeah.

Thanks for much for having me, Tom.

I'm really glad to be here despite some of these strange circumstances we find ourselves in.

So the Washington State Opportunity Scholarship, or WSOS, is a public/private partnership that was created in 2011 where some really big employers in our region, particularly Boeing and Microsoft, committed to funding a program in partnership with the state that's really focused around making sure that Washington students have access to high-demand Washington jobs, and through that partnership, the state has committed to a dollar for dollar state match, and really we're focused around making sure that those who have historically been left out of opportunity are able to access some of those high demand jobs all across our state.

>> Tom Layson: So how do folks access it?

You know, they hear about this.

A grandparent, in our case, probably for our audience, or a parent hears about this and they say well, that sounds great.

What do they do?

>> Kimber Conners: Yeah, absolutely.

So we actually pride ourselves on having a really simple application process.

We've got a couple of different scholarships available for students, so it depends on a pathway the student is interested in taking.

Our career and technical scholarship is for students who are pursuing an associate's degree, an apprenticeship, or a certificate program at one of the community and technical colleges across the state, and that application opens three times per year.

Our baccalaureate scholarship, which is for students who are interested in pursing a four-year degree, opens in the spring and actually just closed, but those applications are available on our website which is waopportunityscholarship.org.

>> Tom Layson: Now is there an income consideration here?

I don't want to send people down a path if they have a door that they can't walk though.

Who's this kind of targeted toward?

>> Kimber Conners: Yeah, absolutely.

So the students who are eligible for our program are all Washington students, so they are from right here at home.

They come from low or middle-income families which means that they have -- they are below 125% of the median family income adjusted for their family size.

So to give a sense of that, that's about 110,000 for a family of four and those students then go through the application process to be confirmed for their eligibility.

>> Tom Layson: One of the things we tend to forget -- we've been in COVID, it seems like for 10 years, but really it's been a year -- you know, we had a real problem with skilled workforce matching the open jobs before all this happened.

It was really the major constraint on growth when you look back at it.

We had, you know, concerns about the STEM piece before COVID.

What is the situation now and what are you anticipating?

Is there going to be a tremendous demand?

Are we going to still be in the same pickle with skills?

What do you think?

>> Kimber Conners: Yeah.

I mean, that's absolutely right that our state really has had the blessing of a very booming economy over the last decade or so, really driven particularly by STEM and healthcare needs across the state, and that's really where this program came from.

It was recognizing that need for a talented workforce that comes from right here at home.

During COVID, we really haven't seen that let up, especially in the post-pandemic era, you can imagine the need for healthcare frontline workers will be as strong as ever.

We've seen a lot of really strong growth, actually, in the economy, particularly in the tech sector, and so I think that what we're seeing is that unfortunately, while the economy is growing, it's not providing the same access for everybody across the state, and really what we're seeing is what has historically been true, that first-generation college students, students of color, families from low-income backgrounds, are having the most difficult time accessing higher education and then the most difficult time translating that education into these high-demand fields, so we're really -- we know that WSOS has an important role to play in the post-pandemic economy as well.

>> Tom Layson: And how do you encourage that stickiness because I keep reading this from people who are in your industry, that you know, even if you get a kid or a person -- I always think it's kids.

It's not necessarily -- into that pathway, getting them to stick is really hard because of the challenges that come along with the way.

They got the kid.

They got the job.

They got the, you know, the rent, and now you throw COVID on it and that stickiness piece is really a problem.

>> Kimber Conners: Yeah, absolutely, and that's something that I think WSOS was really created to address from the beginning through our unique model of not only addressing the financial barriers that keep students from accessing higher education, but also in providing some really critical support services.

Our students, 7 in 10 are students of color.

About two-thirds are first-generation college students, and as I mentioned, 100% are lower and middle-income families, and so what we know is that those students need both the scholarship funding to get them through the funding, but they need those dollars to be flexible and that's something that's really special about WSOS is that students can receive that support for up to the cost of attendance, and so they may be using other financial aid sources to meet their tuition needs, but can use WSOS for things like securing childcare, buying groceries, meeting their medical bills, that type of thing.

The second piece of that is really the support services component of WSOS.

Because we serve students who have historically been left out of opportunity, and oftentimes don't have someone in their life who's been through the college experience, we really rely on the power of mentorship.

So every student that goes through our four-year program is paired with a peer mentor who's a third or fourth-year student who can kind of coach them through the college experience and help them find their academic and social foundation.

The second piece is an industry mentoring program that students participate in, where they're paired with someone who's out in their field working, who can help them move through the skills that shine industry mentoring program where they actually prepare a resume, prepare interviewing skills, learn how to network, all the things that these students really need to not only persist but ultimately receive that first job after graduation as well.

>> Tom Layson: Last 30 seconds for you, just hit it again.

If somebody wants to learn more, find out, get involved, where do they go?

>> Kimber Conners: Absolutely.

Please visit us on our website waopportunityscholarship.org.

We would love to hear from you whether you're an industry partner or a prospective student.

>> Tom Layson: And parents and grandparents too -- >> Kimber Conners: Parents and grandparents too, absolutely.

>> Tom Layson: All right.

Well, thanks so much, Kimber, a lot of great information there.

Appreciate you coming to Northwest Now.

>> Kimber Conners: Thanks for having me, Tom.

>> Tom Layson: It's hard for training programs to know where the need is and for employers to know where the resources are to get workers trained, so another of the many people dedicated to grow the workforce in western Washington is Katie Condit, the CEO of Workforce Central in Tacoma.

The good news is is there's a lot of programs and demand out there and all kinds of opportunity.

The bad news is there's so many problems that we -- I mean programs out there, it's hard to keep them all straight, where the demand is, where the money is, what the employers want, who the possible workers are.

How do you gather this together?

How do you add value with Workforce Central?

>> Katie Condit: Thank you for having me today and for bringing this discussion forward.

You know, one of our roles at Workforce Central is to facilitate the workforce development system in Pierce County, so the way we do that is by bringing those multiple providers together to ensure that we are streamlined, that job seekers and workers and businesses really have easy access, no wrong door to that system to get them where they need to be the quickest, and so we administer the Work Source Pierce One Stop Center and in pre-COVID days that was a place where you could physically go to get all of those service needs met, whether you were a job seeker, a worker, or a business.

We have 16 plus organizations in the region who are tied to that Work Source Pierce model for that exact reason, so that a job seeker doesn't have to knock on six doors before getting where they need to be, so Work Source Pierce has gone virtual over the last many months and will look towards a hybrid model in the future, but that is certainly one place you can go to be connected to that then network of services that exist in Pierce County.

>> Tom Layson: And I think that's such a valuable thing to have that one stop portal there, and go ahead.

I don't want to ask you a -- spring a question on you.

Do you have the website for that that you can provide?

>> Katie Condit: I do, yes.

It's worksource-pierce.org.

>> Tom Layson: Great.

Yeah, I think that's great that you -- if you go there, you can't make a mistake.

You can't miss something, a grant or an educational program, an apprenticeship or if you're an employer who has a need, you're going to find it.

>> Katie Condit: Absolutely.

And if isn't there for some reason and you connect with someone there, they'll get you where you need to go.

>> Tom Layson: What are you hearing about demand for workers after COVID?

It strikes me one of the really difficult challenges for technical colleges and people providing training is trying to anticipate the future, you know?

If I start training on A, is B going to be where the demand is?

That really makes it difficult, so what are you hearing about demand and what do you think?

How are you trying to prepare for that?

>> Katie Condit: You know, when we look at and think about demand in the future, what we see now is actually really telling because there is still demand now in Pierce County and across the country, so when we look at tech industry, manufacturing, careers in multiple pathways in healthcare as well as construction, we see these industries locally still hiring, still looking for workforce and so that is certainly an indicator of what will continue to be true in the future.

We also know hospitality will come back.

Some of these industries that are truly impacted by the lack of ability to be in person will come back, but no doubt, the data is clear that healthcare is increasing significantly.

The need for that workforce will not go away and will only increase as well as I mentioned construction.

We have a number of manufacturing firms in Pierce County who are actively hiring right now and you know, you mentioned our colleges.

We have a really robust network here of technical and community colleges who've been pretty nimble and responsive to thinking differently about how to train and so our goal, as we look to the future, is to hear from businesses, what they're needing, and then we as Workforce Central are investing in some pretty rapid reskilling, upskilling opportunities for job seekers and workers, but you know, to answer your question, looking at now, can and does really tell us a lot about what to anticipate moving forward.

>> Tom Layson: It's one thing to have the system set up where people who are connected know what they're doing, can find their way to you, it's another thing to do the outreach to try to find folks who have the need but don't necessarily know how to plug in.

Is that a challenge and what are some of the strategies that can be maybe employed in your mind to try to remedy that?

>> Katie Condit: It is a challenge.

Outreach is a challenge that has been made doubly so by a pandemic that doesn't allow us to interact with each other in person so certainly partners connect to Work Source Pierce have transitioned to virtual service delivery in many ways, you know?

Thank goodness for our social media networks and our ability to connect virtually and so that is a part of it but we still do miss that in community meeting people where they're at connection.

We have a number of navigators within our work source system who find that in order to connect with those facing frankly, the greatest systemic barriers to employment, we need to be out in communities meeting people where they're at, where they tend to go on a daily basis, the grocery store, churches, community centers, etc.

and so that, we are really looking forward to being able to do more of that and that human to human outreach piece won't go away, and so it really is a hybrid model of outreach.

>> Tom Layson: Sounds great.

I want to give you one more chance too to give your website one more time for folks who are either looking for something as an employer, as a potential worker, or parents and grandparents who are trying to get an idea for Johnny about what his next thing might be.

Where should folks go?

>> Katie Condit: Absolutely.

That's worksource-pierce.org and again, that's services for job seekers and businesses and you know, I'll also share in terms of outreach that the last piece of that that we've really doubled down on in the pandemic is partnering with businesses who are looking at potential layoffs and connecting with those workers before they're laid off so there is no transition and unemployment, but so we're able to connect workers through a layoff aversion program to job openings with another company or industry, and so that has been a form of outreach that's been really promising that we've learned through the pandemic.

>> Tom Layson: Yeah, that proactive piece in being able to do a handoff with a worker sounds like a great idea.

Katie, thanks so much for coming to Northwest Now, great conversation.

Thank you.

>> Katie Condit: Thank you.

>> Tom Layson: In the interest of full disclosure, Bates Technical College is the licensee of KBTC Public Television.

Joining us know is Dr. Lynn Zhou, President of Bates Technical College, also working on building the region's workforce.

Keeping students in school, keeping them stuck to school has been very difficult generally, and then with COVID, it makes staying in school that much harder.

Why is that and what are some of the strategies that you're using to try to make school sticky?

>> Dr. Lynn Zhou: Many of our students have families and are juggling their school work with home school for their children.

This can make it very difficult for people to be successful in college.

Also, in Washington State, one-third of our residents are struggling with food insecurity.

It is hard to concentrate on earning their college degree or certificate when they're wondering where their next meal is coming from, how they're going to put food on the table.

Additionally, people are worried about losing their jobs or have already lost their jobs.

Students experience increasing stress levels with the loss of income and they're trying to pay for school, technology, and other related experiences.

So in September 2020, we conducted a faculty and student COVID-19 survey.

What we learned about the biggest challenges our students face in a remote learning environment reflect what I just shared, fitting coursework into work and the home/family responsibilities, finding a quiet place and a time to do homework, and staying motivated in the course.

>> Tom Layson: Wanted to get a little more on that.

So what can students who are having problems, if they say Dr. Zhou, or ask one of the other people at the institution, I'm having problems, I have problems with income or food, what are some of things that are there for them?

What tools are there for them to help them?

>> Dr. Lynn Zhou: Sure.

So we received the several different fundings from federal and from state and the Pierce Act money, they directly went to support our students.

Additionally, we also received a half million dollars from Pierce County Pierce Act fundings and our foundation has been doing great job providing emergency scholarship support for students, so there are a lot of resources from the college to help students not only paying their tuition and the fees, but also some resources can help with their food and rent.

>> Tom Layson: You know, that's the bad news.

You know, there's some good news with the help, but we talked about how it's hard.

The good news is there's a lot of economists out there who are saying once COVID is over, it's behind us, we could be in for a tremendous boom, so those students who have been able to stay in there, get trained, and get skills, my gosh.

I mean, they're going to be knocking on the door trying to hire them.

So are you telling students this?

Do they know these facts, and does that help motivate them knowing that less than a year from now they could be hired immediately?

>> Dr. Lynn Zhou: Absolutely.

So the college markets, all of the occupational programs offered at Bates.

In addition to general college advertising, we adjust our messagings and ads each quarter to ensure all program reach a broader audience.

For full quarter we will highlight and the forecast more on the safe learning on campus expected to help encourage potential students to enroll now for a brighter post-COVID future.

We also host program advisory committee meetings in spring and fall regarding employment event and we track those reports and the findings to further focus our energies on building capacity in programs.

And I don't want to forget to mention that we have a great technical high school program at Bates which allow high school students earn their high school diploma and associated degree in a world-class career training program at the same time with tuition free.

And we all know our technical high school faculty and staff, they are doing great job to reach out to potential students and families regularly.

>> Tom Layson: What are the high-demand opportunities out there?

What are you telling students hey, if you want to get into a hot field, do these?

What are the hot ones?

>> Dr. Lynn Zhou: Well the college is building capacity throughout the full scope of educational offerings at Bates.

From increasing outreach to identify adults and high school students who need a GED basic skills or high school diploma just beginning their higher education career to the addition of baccalaureate level degree programs that will provide current, former, and new students opportunities to move beyond entry level jobs into high-demand occupations and the college just completed a full review of the high-demand occupations which exist in our state and in the college's immediate service area.

The data we have collected provides us essential information which will be used to identify new certificate or degree programs in those high-demand, high-wage occupations.

The same research helped us to identify new bachelor level degree programs to add beginning fall 2022 through fall 2024 and I wanted to mention one particular program which is great partnership from sheet metal and the GATC apprenticeship program.

With that apprenticeship, they have to turn down many of their applicants because they are full yet or sheet metal graduates receive direct entry and are apprenticeship wages following graduation.

We also partners with community organizations and outreach to high school counselors to help encourage young people to enroll in high-demand fields like STEM and healthcare.

>> Tom Layson: Despite what your social media feed might tell you, this is a capitalist society where employment matters.

The bottom line, it's also designed to be a competition and a meritocracy.

Do systemic problems thwart that design and cause it to fail for too many in our society, yes?

But even if we lived in a perfect world where opportunity justice were universal, in this system that has produced more prosperity than any other in history, the best outcomes will always go to those who can compete most effectively and that all hinges upon education and skills.

I hope this program got you thinking and talking.

To watch this program again or to share it with others, Northwest Now can be found on the web at kbtc.org and be sure to follow us on Twitter @northwestnow.

Thanks for taking a closer look on this edition of Northwest Now.

Until next time, I'm Tom Layson.

Thanks for watching.