Worker shortage looming

Washington will be short 417,000 nurses, machinists, construction specialists and other skilled workers within a decade if training programs are not stepped up, says a new report from the Workforce Alliance, which includes labor, industry and educator groups.

Middle-skill jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a four-year college degree have been neglected even though they constitute half of all jobs and pay well, alliance members said.

Beth Thew, secretary-treasurer of the Spokane Regional Labor Council, said students drop out of high school because they do not see the benefits of graduating without any hope of going to college, yet with as little as six months of additional training they could earn much higher incomes in jobs less vulnerable to outsourcing.

Bert Caldwell / [email protected]

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