Survey lays out jobs needed in Ozarks

In the inaugural MOmentum State of the Workforce luncheon last week, workforce-development officials laid out the most needed Ozarks jobs found through a survey of area stakeholders.

Based on a survey administered by Springfield’s Opinion Research Specialists LLC that polled 368 business and educational institutions in Greene, Taney, Christian, Webster, Polk, Dallas and Stone counties, the jobs most needed in the next five to 10 years are in business, management and administration; marketing, sales and service; and information technology and computer science.

“When I reviewed the MOmentum survey results and compared them to two national surveys, I was very pleased that our local survey reflects national trends and that the information validates our collective efforts to improve our community,” said Mary Ann Rojas, director of the city of Springfield’s workforce development department, in a news release. “It validates that the economy is taking a positive turn and hiring projections are expected to rise. It validates our collective concern over the skills and education gap.”

Survey highlights:

• Between 25 and 30 percent of organizations surveyed expect to hire more full- or part-time employees during the next year, while 6-12 percent anticipate layoffs. During the next three to five years, 40-50 percent plan to hire more employees while 6 percent expect layoffs.
• A majority, 71 percent, of respondents indicate the jobs would require backgrounds in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.
• The most frequently identified skill deficiencies were written, verbal and nonverbal communications skills and job-specific knowledge and technical skills.
• Over 85 percent of respondents say most or some of their current employees needed to improve in problem solving, time management, critical thinking/decision making and leadership.
• Personal hygiene and appearance of applications is a major concern among 35 percent of those surveyed.

Survey results were showcased Jan. 22 by the workforce development department and the Missouri Career Center-Ozark Region. Nearly 300 attended the event at the career center, 2900 E. Sunshine St., according to the release.