Issue Position: Skills Gap

Issue Position

The biggest impediment to Wisconsin's economy is our state's skills gap, and this issue is no more present than right here in the 18th State Senate District. When I talk to small business owners in the area, their message is consistent, "We have jobs available but can't find employees to fill them".

At any given time, there are 60,000-80,000 job openings on the Job Center of Wisconsin website. To fills these jobs, we must invest in our schools, especially in STEM fields, and we need to encourage school districts to team up with our Technical Colleges so we can have a well-trained workforce to tackle the challenges of the 21st century.

Senator Gudex's first piece of legislation was the Wisconsin Fast Forward program. The main objective of this legislation was to connect those looking for work with those employees seeking skilled employees. Additionally, the legislation created a labor management information system. This technology will provide real time data on available jobs, skills required and sectors that have available jobs but are lacking employees. I support these types of efforts and will continue to work with our business community helping to create an environment where our job creators can find the employees needed for their businesses to succeed.

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