Chris Holman talks with Edythe Hatter-Williams, Williams CEO, Capital Area Michigan Works! CAMW! Edee shares her insight from the recent panel she participated in with USA Today discussion on bridging Michigan's Talent Gap.

Capital Area Michigan Works! top priority is to bridge the talent gap thatwe are experiencing and will continue to face in the future. Michigan’s workforce development agencies are now more detrimental to the labor market than ever.

As LEAP’s Bob Trezise stated in the recent MI Apprenticeship article Edythe took part in for the Lansing State Journal, “place making is primarily what attracts and retains talent.” Which leads to the point that a worker’s quality of life has much to do with the quality of their career. A way the Lansing region is combatting the talent gap issue is with the help of T3: Teach.Talent. Thrive. T3 is focused on secondary education and has an upcoming MiCareerQuest for young students to attend next April where they can explore numerous career fields. Opportunities like this help ensure local businesses that the talent pipeline is indeed
in the region, but in order for it to be meaningful and large, we must start informing
students of the opportunities in various fields at a young age.

Local companies like the Lansing Board of Water & Light work with high school students through their 1st S.T.E.P. program. Over 30 have been hired full-time at the company. By realizing the need for investing in the youth in our region, we are better preparing to bridge the talent gap in the future that currently is only expected to grow through 2024.

One of the most overlooked and underrated education paths are community colleges. High school graduates and older folks can attend and get a great education quickly at a low price. Before they know it, community college students can be in the workforce without debt and with a competitive salary.

Apprenticeships continue to increase and be utilized more than they were just a few years ago. Teaching our community members and students that higher education is not the only path to success after high school helps creates positive awareness for the workforce.

The Marshall Plan for Talent is also a great asset for us working to fix Michigan’s talent pipeline. Its main goal is to transform the talent development within our education system. It serves as a way for employers and education to work together in filling skill gaps. While the gap is anticipated to be higher than 800,000 open jobs, I am optimistic that our employers and education systems will continue to work together to get our students trained and hired in the years to come.

To hear Edee and Chris' conversation on this topic, please click play on the embedded SoundCloud PodCast shared below.