Technician shortage

(WACO) — While the national unemployment rate has dipped some in recent months, many report trouble finding a job. Yet, certain high-tech firms are complaining of a shortage of skilled workers in their companies. Recently, CBS News reported some CEOs, like John McGlade of Air Products in Allentown, Pa., are worried about finding enough skilled technicians to fill future workforce gaps.

He’s not alone.

“Employers tell us they need more graduates, but right now we”re nearly at our max,” said Dan Bateman, senior instructor of Electrical Power & Controls Technology (EPC) at Texas State Technical College. “This past December, we had the largest graduating class”ve seen in all my years here.”

In the fall 2011 semester, five companies came knocking on the college’s door for EPC graduates. One company, he said, interviewed 21 students and offered 14 of them positions. It’s not unusual for every graduate to be offered a job, he added.

A sixth company has called for students to come to interview at its Houston office, and yet another company is flying two students for interviews to its headquarters in Oklahoma.

“Normally, every student will get a job offer,” he said, adding some will turn it down because they don’t like the company’s location. “Usually, we will hear from them later that they are working in the area they wanted.”

Job offers come with nice salaries, too, Bateman said. Students this semester have been offered anywhere from $20 to $29 per hour.

The EPC department isn’t the only technology that can’t crank out graduates fast enough. Students in Welding, Instrumentation, Diesel, Biomedical and many others remain in high demand. A job fair at TSTC Oct. 20 has attracted more than 50 companies.

To watch the CBS video, go to http://bit.ly/q4oGzt.