A recent report on Minnesota manufacturing shows one of the biggest problems can be addressed by one of largest systems of higher education.

A survey of 400 state manufacturers by Enterprise Minnesota showed that six out of 10 executives say they have difficulty attracting quality labor. The survey by the nonprofit consulting group shows workforce education appears to be a problem. Fortunately, that appears to be the very problem new MnSCU Chancellor Steven Rosenstone says the system needs to address much sooner than later.

That’s good to hear. It seems there is now a bigger gap between worker skills and company needs than there has ever been in recent memory. Some kind of action is needed as many Minnesotans still desperately need work.

Rosenstone told The Free Press editorial board last fall that one of his priorities as the new leader of MnSCU was to map the state, region by region, and determine the workforce needs. The next step would be to connect those employers to one of 31 member MnSCU institutions.

The chancellor said he would accomplish this by allowing the institutions to be entrepreneurial and form partnerships and become the “partner of choice” for the state’s workforce training needs. Rosenstone also seemed to understand the need for urgency in this case, saying he would begin laying out a plan in 120 days.

That time is nearly upon us, and given the dire need of manufacturing for trained workers, it couldn’t come too soon.

MnSCU’s board announced new strategic initiatives for workforce training in January, and several are already underway including collaborations with Minnesota’s business community and the Department of Employment and Economic Development to align MnSCU programs with “emerging workforce needs in each region and business sector.” But as Rosenstone said last fall, we can’t sit around and “schmooze” on this.

That’s also why it’s good to see South Central College’s Right Skills Now program up and running. SCC was one of only two colleges in the country to get the federal grant for this speedup of training to work program.

While workforce training needs appear to be high on the MnSCU priority list, they are by no means the only priority. The system also hopes to “drive dramatic improvements in student retention” and “ensure access to an extraordinary education for all Minnesotans.”

These other initiatives are no small feat and will require resources from MnSCU that are and have been rapidly declining. The hope is that workforce training needs will be the top priority. That is what Minnesota manufacturing employers seem to be telling state leaders. We’ll await results soon on how this is happening.

— Mankato Free Press, Feb. 28