Minnesota business owners call for middle-skill job support from Washington

Traci Tapani, co-president of Wyoming Machine

A delegation of Minnesota business leaders have traveled to Washington, D.C., to call on Congress and the incoming Trump administration to support middle-skill jobs. The fly-in of employers from 25 states and the District of Columbia was organized by Business Leaders United for Workforce Partnerships (BLU), a national coalition of employers from a variety of industries who are working to address the U.S. skills gap.

“In Minnesota, about 51 percent of job openings are for middle-skill positions, but only 47 percent of Minnesota’s residents have the right training and education to get hired for those jobs,” said Traci Tapani, co-president of Wyoming Machine in Stacy, Minn. “Even though there are great job opportunities in Minnesota, there’s a persistent skills gap that keeps Minnesota’s businesses from hiring and from moving up the career ladder. If we want our economy to work, we need to make it easier for businesses and workers to get the skills they need.”

Middle-skill jobs, which require more than a high school degree but not a bachelor’s degree, are a critical part of the state and national economy. According to a National Skills Coalition analysis, just over half of all job openings between 2012 and 2022 will be for middle-skill jobs.

BLU employers are working with local partners like community colleges, local workforce boards, and community-based organizations to train and hire community residents for skilled jobs, and they want U.S. policymakers to follow suit and invest—aggressively and effectively—in the skills of America’s workers.

During the fly-in, BLU employers met with their local congressmen to call for policies that support their efforts, including investing in partnerships among local industry and community colleges (through reauthorization of the Perkins Act); making financial aid more job-driven by extending Pell grants to people who want to complete in-demand, short-term occupational training programs (through reauthorization of the Higher Education Act); and supporting apprenticeships and upskilling.

“Without support from lawmakers, the skills gap will continue to slow economic growth,” Tapani said.