For a variety of reasons, employers are finding it harder to get and keep employees. As boomers retire, a much smaller generation Z is entering the workforce. The newer workers lack the basic skills needed to do even entry-level work, while even entry-level jobs require more skills than in previous generations. Automation has eliminated a lot of low skilled jobs, making low skilled people useless to employers. What can employers do?
Employers can’t, don’t,and won’t pay the money needed to get the people they need. Wages have gone up, but not by enough.
I have noticed a trend reflected at my previous jobs. Employers are lowering the barriers to get a job. At the bottled water company I worked at the delivery trucks did not require a commercial driver’s license in the 80s. In 1990, we started getting larger trucks that required a class B CDL. Last year I saw saw Google Earth photo of the plant and noticed the delivery trucks were about the size of the 80s trucks. This was just before the DOT made CDLs more expensive and harder to get.
At my previous employer in addition to a decent sized raise, they have most of the employees assigned permanently to the non-hazmat side, making background checks faster and easier. It also eliminated some hazmat training and equipment purchases. Of all of the dozen or so people hired within a year of me, my background check was the fastest, taking just over three weeks.
Because IQ and reading tests were considered discriminatory, employers substituted education requirements for the tests. With grade inflation and automatic grade promotion, the high school diploma was no longer useful In other words, employers starting requiring a college degree to be sure an applicant had a high school education. As the cost of college rose, even fewer people were willing to work a clerical job for $15/hr. Recently the City of Coffeyville had to eliminate some mechanical aptitude testing just to get applicants at the water and wastewater treatment plants.
As a last resort employers are trying to eliminate positions. The City of Coffeyville is studying using non-hazardous chemicals to sanitize the water. If a non-hazardous chemical can be found, the facilities do not have to be manned 24/7/365.
Footyfried 