Though our executive search firm is based in Chicago, we regularly provide executive recruitment worldwide. As a result, many executive recruitment teams, such as Houston’s Chevron Phillips Chemical (a joint venture between energy giants Chevron Corp. and Phillips 66) call us to provide both technical recruitment and technical recruiting advice on best practices to attract key talent.
Such companies are eager to fill thousands of jobs with starting salaries up to $100,000. Unfortunately, they cannot find enough qualified candidates with the depth and breath of skills they seek. This is an ongoing problem that I shared previously “464 Scare Jobs“ whereby there continues to be many high paying jobs available across the nation. Unfortunately, countless workers are not prepared for these jobs due to the shortcomings of their previous educational training.
This problem is particularly acute in Houston, which is the 5th largest metro area in the U.S. As I also wrote previously a) MAJOR ROLE FOR GOVERNMENT: IMPROVING STEM Education, Training and Retraining! and b) Comedic Education Increases Future R&D many workers lack key STEM skills necessary to succeed. As a result, they cannot easily perform essential R&D, engineering, scientific, technical, IT and manufacturing tasks needed in today’s job market.
As a result, many companies across the nation in general and in the Houston area in specific are developing their own internal training programs to fill in the skill gaps left by local high schools and colleges. This was prompted by the lack of skills of available job candidates. For example, Chevron Phillips is taking an active role in workforce training and development. Rather than standing still and accepting the current educational malaise, they are engaging in a wide range of training programs to fill these skills gaps. This includes a scholarship program that covers community college tuition and pays interns around $18 per hour to work at their facilities while pursuing their degrees.
Such efforts are needed, especially in the Houston area where about 60,000 middle-skilled jobs will be created in the petrochemical and construction fields over the next 3 years as plants expand and older workers retire, according to a study by the Greater Houston Partnership. This should be something local schools should be providing, but two of the problems are:
- Many local high schools are channeling students towards four-year university degrees instead of technical trade schools.
- Many schools are not effective in teaching key STEM skills needed in technical careers.
Therefore, in the mean time, progressive companies like Chevron Phillips are taking the initiative and developing training programs that target skill gaps.
Do you know of any similar companies providing such job training to improve skills gaps?
