In his first three months as president and CEO of the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce, Matt Morrow identified a skills gap facing employers across the community.
During a live interview this morning as Springfield Business Journal’s monthly 12 People You Need to Know guest, Morrow said during the last 18 months, and likely continuing through the next 18 to 24 months, companies report a lack of worker knowledge short of needed skills.
“That mismatch of workforce skills is a challenge that we hear from everybody, no matter how big or how small the employer is, no matter how many jobs they’re talking about, no matter what sector of the economy they’re in,” Morrow said, noting the chamber works with over 150 employers per year to identify workplace issues. “This is a challenge that’s universal.”
Calling it the No. 1 issue facing employers today, Morrow said the skills gap largely can be attributed to recovery from the recession. He said Americans who lost their jobs during the economic downturn and now are re-entering the workforce may find they’re behind the times.
“Their skills might have been properly matched for what they were doing at the time, but in that interim period, all of these changes (happened) in the workplace, all of these technological innovations, all these system improvements, these efficiencies that people are gaining and just new ways of doing business. That process has been more rapidly evolving during that period of time than maybe at any time during our history,” Morrow said.
Springfield, according to Morrow, has a step up on other communities when addressing the workforce gap. After leaving Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield and spending two years as executive vice president of the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders in Alabama, Morrow found the spirit of collaboration inherent in the Queen City isn’t present everywhere and can’t be easily recreated.
As such, Morrow said the first step toward fixing the workforce mismatch already is complete: getting all of the right players to the table to agree on the need. He cited local schools and workforce development programs aligning their goals.
“These entities that have a piece of the puzzle … agree that they have a critical piece, but it’s only one piece. We have to somehow bring everybody together,” he said. “I think that’s where the chamber of commerce has traditionally played the role in this community as convener and connector, and I think we can do that on workforce as well.”
That means identifying areas where needs are being met and mature programs already have been developed and finding areas where gaps exist.
“In some cases, that means we may become directly involved in helping get something off the ground to meet the need and spinning it into its own self-sustaining piece of the puzzle,” Morrow said.
Morrow identified two members of the audience this morning who could play a crucial role: Springfield Public Schools Superintendent John Jungmann and chamber executive Jeff Seifried, who recently accepted a job as CEO of the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention & Visitors Bureau.
Working to prepare children early and collaborating on a regional level will be key moving forward, he said.
Morrow said the Springfield chamber was watching closely to see who would be picked for the lead role in Branson.
“I can’t think of, for the region and for us in particular, a better choice for that position,” Morrow said of Seifried. “The bigger picture is the long-term gain for the region in this. We have to compete with other communities, even other communities in the state of Missouri, for jobs or for growth or economic development opportunities, but also even for things like state funding on projects.
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
