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[h=1]Search is on for Skilled Workers in Elkhart Co.[/h]
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February 29, 2016 by RVBusiness Leave a Comment
It was good news for Indiana’s Elkhart County to have an unemployment rate of 3.8% in December — one of the lowest in the state. But for some companies this presents a new challenge.
Many companies are looking to expand, and they are having trouble hiring more workers, let alone skilled workers.
“Many times they’re not even looking for high skilled. By skilled, they mean will show up to work,” said Kyle Hannon, president and CEO of the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.
At Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC skilled workers that are ready to hit the ground running are hard to come by. “Subsequently, we are hiring people that have little to no experience. It does present a challenge for us in getting them trained so they can then work at an incentive pace in the manufacturing environment,” said Mike Bellovich, director of human resources for the Thor Industries Inc. subsidiary.
Another challenge, Bellovich said, is new hires not passing drug screenings post-offer. “It is a problem that some employers don’t like to talk about or face up to but it’s one that exists. It happens quite often,” he said.
Elkhart County already is a net importer of workers. In 2013, a net of almost 20,000 workers commuted to the county. St. Joseph County had the most workers commuting to Elkhart County at 9,553.
“We’re already bringing in a lot of people from the outside. There’s a limit,” Hannon said, noting about 17.1% of the workforce lived outside of the county and even the state.
PrintFebruary 29, 2016 by RVBusiness Leave a Comment
It was good news for Indiana’s Elkhart County to have an unemployment rate of 3.8% in December — one of the lowest in the state. But for some companies this presents a new challenge.
Many companies are looking to expand, and they are having trouble hiring more workers, let alone skilled workers.
“Many times they’re not even looking for high skilled. By skilled, they mean will show up to work,” said Kyle Hannon, president and CEO of the Greater Elkhart Chamber of Commerce.
At Heartland Recreational Vehicles LLC skilled workers that are ready to hit the ground running are hard to come by. “Subsequently, we are hiring people that have little to no experience. It does present a challenge for us in getting them trained so they can then work at an incentive pace in the manufacturing environment,” said Mike Bellovich, director of human resources for the Thor Industries Inc. subsidiary.
Another challenge, Bellovich said, is new hires not passing drug screenings post-offer. “It is a problem that some employers don’t like to talk about or face up to but it’s one that exists. It happens quite often,” he said.
Elkhart County already is a net importer of workers. In 2013, a net of almost 20,000 workers commuted to the county. St. Joseph County had the most workers commuting to Elkhart County at 9,553.
“We’re already bringing in a lot of people from the outside. There’s a limit,” Hannon said, noting about 17.1% of the workforce lived outside of the county and even the state.
