Jobs in 21st century Oregon to require more training

PORTLAND, OR -- The 21st century Oregon workplace is going to require more highly-skilled workers than ever before, a panel of experts from labor and business agreed recently.

With many lower-paying, lower-skilled jobs going overseas because of globalization, the group of experts agreed that more high-tech jobs will be developed in the United States.

The panel, part of a health and safety symposium presented by the Center for Research on Occupational and Environmental Toxicology (CROET) at the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, discussed how labor is affected by population growth, changing transportation needs, technical developments, use of temporary workers, downsizing, globalization and other factors.

"Oregon's growth has been above the national average since the late 1980s, bringing rapid growth in the construction trades," said US Bank economist John Mitchell. "That is tapering off."

Bob Shiprack, executive secretary-treasurer of the Oregon State Building Trades Council and co-chair of the CROET advisory committee, disagreed, noting a prison building boom.

The increased "high premium for skilled knowledge tends to flatten organizations and the technology replaces middle management and moves responsibility to the front line," said Duncan Wyse of the Oregon Business Council. "Are we going to be skilled enough to fill those positions?"

"We need to find a way for Oregonians to get those jobs by providing education," he continued, "rather than relying on extensive migration of highly-educated people from other areas."

Brad Witt, secretary-treasurer of the Oregon AFL-CIO, expressed concern that "even the medium-wage jobs aren't adequate to afford medium-priced homes."

Calling for more training, he said "we need a highly-educated workforce with new skills that is highly flexible to meet the changing needs of both the consumer and the global market picture."

Shiprack said the existing workforce in Oregon "is not being sufficiently trained by employers to meet productivity so that people can command higher wages." Discussing downsizing, Mitchell said that change is going on all the time. "Each month jobs disappear and jobs are created. Overall they increase."

"Downsizing is a clean word for laying people off," retorted Lynn Lehrbach of Teamsters Joint Council 37, who called for more education and training "to prepare these people for other jobs."

Lehrbach said trucking jobs would remain in demand, but that business practices would keep drivers on the road longer and create more stress.

He speculated that globalization would bring "a downturn in manufacturing here," calling it "a bad direction if we leave a segment out of this society."

Cecelia Koontz, human resources manager of the National Frozen Foods Corp., said agriculture will continue to have its peak periods when it looks for temporary workers.

Tim Pope of WTD Industries also noted a shortage of unskilled labor in the wood products industry. Some panelists criticized the extensive use of temporary workers, noting the lack of benefits and lack of company loyalty.

One unidentified audience member, a temporary help agency executive, replied that most of the 124 temp agencies in the Portland area provide workers' compensation and vacation pay after 1,500 hours. Some provide special high-tech training, he said.

Shiprack warned of growing safety problems in construction, where "it used to be design-bid-build." Today fast-track buildings are being designed as they are being built. He said the process could lead to more mental and physical stress on workers, resulting in more injuries.

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