Filling entry-level positions can be tough for companies

Employment agencies are seeing a high demand for workers in all types of fields. The types of companies seeking qualified people run the gamut, from service jobs in the food and medical industry to technical positions such as computer aided drafting, according to Anne Gonten, work force development supervisor for the Missouri Division of Work Force Development.

Gonten said that in the Springfield Metro Statistical Area, which includes Greene, Christian and Webster counties, the current unemployment rate is 1.9 percent.

"If between 4 and 5 percent is considered full employment, this is a horror for employers," Gonten said.

Some employers have had to lower their entry-level requirements, she said, and most have raised their starting pay scale to get and keep workers.

Patti Penny, owner and president of Penmac Personnel Services, said that the problem of finding entry-level people has increased greatly in the last few years, though it has leveled off somewhat this year with the softening of the economy.

"There aren't as many jobs available as there were last year," she said.

Employers are still finding it difficult to find and keep good workers for a variety of reasons. Educational background is high on the list, Gonten and Penny said.

State records show the statewide high school dropout rate is 5.27 percent. The Springfield R-12 district rate is 9 percent. These are unamended figures, according to Janice Duncan, associate superintendent for the district and may be adjusted when number of dropouts who have returned to school this year are tallied later this month.

High-school dropouts often enter the job market with minimal reading and math skills. Many times employers are needing individuals who are promotable, Penny said. This creates a big problem if the person doesn't have the basic educational skills to advance.

As job requirements become more technical even a high school diploma is not always enough, Gonten said. This makes the dropout rate even more critical.

Even at entry level, factory and warehouse work has changed with technology. For example, forklift operators have to learn to use a keypad to use today's advanced equipment, according to Lory Hobbs, area manager for Manpower.

Both Manpower and Penmac train people in basic computer skills and other agencies have job training as well, Penny said. Ozarks Technical Community College, Southwest Missouri State University and Job Council of the Ozarks all run classes to improve basic job skills.

Hobbs has seen a high demand in all fields at Manpower, where they do both temporary and permanent placement. In some cases the agency has been able to take a person without skills and train him or her, but the applicant has to want to work, Hobbs added.

Another downside for the employer is the mobility allowed the worker who can move with ease from job to job because of the demand for workers.

"We're raising a whole generation of young people who think if they don't like their jobs they can go elsewhere," Gonten said.

But on the positive side, this has opened doors to the person seeking employment, she added.

Opportunity abounds, according to Penny. All a worker needs to succeed is the energy and incentive to find the right place.

Penmac and Dr. Winifred Bowers, local psychologist, are putting together a program to help workers acquire and keep the incentive to excel in their jobs and teach them how to get along with others. The class, called "Adventures in Attitude," will be taught by Dr. Bowers.

If the economy tightens it would be helpful to employers, who have had to make adjustments in wages, benefits and work schedules to keep people. It may also help the entry-level worker to learn commitment, according to Penny.

Springfield has a large geographic area from which to pull qualified workers and there are a number of people moving here from other areas as well, according to Hobbs. She has also found a number of good employable workers laid off from companies that have either downsized or shut down.

Both Penny and Gonten have seen an increase in the number of people from other countries entering the local workforce. The number of Asian workers in the area has been on the increase for some time, according to Gonten, and there has been a notable increase in the number of Hispanic workers in the last couple of years.

Jack Gentry, founder and chairman of the board at Positronic Industries Inc. said that the job market has eased up a bit for his company in the past year.

The company is still recruiting good employees, Gentry said, and it has managed to hire the people it needs, for the most part.

Gentry has also seen an increase in the number of minority applicants who respond to company advertising.

The biggest problem is finding people who meet the minimum educational requirements to enter the apprenticeship programs the company offers.