BATON ROUGE, La. (LOCAL 33) (FOX 44) – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber released the annual workforce report, which takes a look at where the workforce was, where it is now and where it is heading.
To perform the report, BRAC looked at five high-demand, skilled occupations and the associated training. These are the five industries used for the study:
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Health care
- Professional and business services
- Technology
“What we would like this report to do is educate students, parents, teachers and other decision makers,” BRAC senior director of business intelligence Andrew Fitzgerald said.
The Annual Workforce Report can be used as a guide by job seekers and students to find their best career opportunity.
“It is crucial that the community take stock of what jobs are likely to be available and how many people are currently training for those positions. This report breaks down the Capital Region’s labor market into understandable pieces, and will hopefully influence decision-making of parents, students, educators and training providers,” BRAC business development advisory committee chair Stephen Toups said.
Here are the key takeaways from the report:
- Technology job growth has fully rebounded from the Great Recession, with total job employment hitting a 10-year high.
- Manufacturing and construction jobs account for 20 percent of all jobs in the Capital Region’s labor market area.
- While Pipefitting and Machinists have the highest median wages among skilled craft occupations, they have some of the lowest rates of people completing training.
- Heavy and Tractor Trailer Truck Drivers and Registered Nurses are projected to have the highest number of openings in 2019 among all occupations.
More job opportunities have been coming to the Capital Area, but there needs to be skilled workers ready to fill the roles to keep Baton Rouge competitive.
“Workforce is one of the most challenging issues for businesses both regionally and nationwide and ensuing that our talent pipeline is robust and aligned with actual jobs is key,” Toups said.