Counties want to create trained workforce

County officials say local graduates are overlooking high-paying industrial and manufacturing jobs in both Sarasota and Manatee counties.

At a joint commission workshop between the two county commissions Tuesday in Bradenton, commissioners said it’s time their governments start working with their respective school districts to keep students in the area by informing them of lucrative, post high-school career opportunities.

“An ongoing problem in both counties is the lack of a trained local workforce,” said Sarasota County Commissioner Joe Barbetta.

The comment initiated a half-hour debate that led to both commissions agreeing to work with their school districts to get student grades up and make sure their pending graduates are touring local manufacturing plants, such as Bradenton-based Pierce Manufacturing, which makes fire trucks for departments all over the country.

Manatee County Commissioner and former high school teacher Michael Gallen said the problem is a lot of local kids don’t know there are manufacturing jobs here that pay a good wage. For instance, Bradenton-based Tropicana Products Inc. has assembly-line jobs available that pay an $80,000 annual wage, according to Manatee County Commissioner Joe McClash.

“A lot of kids think their only options are universities or the military,” Gallen said. “They need to know there are other options out there.”

Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore agreed.

“We all want our kids to go to college, but that’s just not the way it is anymore,” Whitmore said. “We need to get our school boards together to help push schools into getting kids into facilities to see what it’s like because some of these jobs make more money than doctors and lawyers do.”

Economic Development Corporation officials told both commissions they are working to get schools communicating with workplace providers.

“The perception of manufacturing isn’t what it used to be,” said Manatee Economic Development Corporation Director Sharon Hillstrom. “It’s now clean, high-tech and high-paying.”

McClash said the problem is neither county has a plan to keep students in the area.

“We don’t have a qualified workforce,” McClash said. “From an economic standpoint, as a region, we need to request an educational strategic plan to have a good workforce and create skill sets for these kids.”

Mark Huey, president of the Sarasota Economic Development Corporation, said both counties have “the regional assets (companies) to collaborate and keep students here locally.”

Both commissions have plans to hold future meetings with their school boards to discuss the issue further.

Whitmore said it’s just a matter of helping local students make sure they know there are other career options.

Also at the joint workshop, the commissions continued to support the creation of a rowing regatta and aquatics center at Nathan Benderson Park and made plans to work together to use the same vendor to replace aging public safety radio networks to reduce costs and improve emergency communication.