Lenawee County is one of the best counties in Michigan for business development, but long-term economic growth requires investing in our business owners, creating opportunities for development, and nurturing our local talent pipeline to ensure our workforce will continue to prosper.
Elements of Collaboration celebrated the success of our chemical companies’ collaborative efforts to create powerful solutions that address challenges with talent pipeline management. Our discussion panel, moderated by Michigan Senator Dale Zorn, included conversation and commentary from Michael Ayre of Wacker Chemical, Mark Kramer of Anderson Development, Melissa Timar of Evonik, Shamar Herron of Michigan Works! Southeast, Mark Haag of LISD, and Valerie Jemerson of Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO).
This collaboration, fueled by the Michigan Industry Cluster Approach (MICA), has already generated incredible results that far surpass our initial goals and expectations. “Our goal was to enroll 76 participants in the program, anticipating 57 would complete training. As of February 2022, 264 participants enrolled in the MICA program and 184 have already completed their training and found successful employment in the chemical industry,” shares Sheila Blair, Manager of Align Lenawee Talent Consortium. These results demonstrate that our workforce is motivated, talented, and ready to embrace new opportunities that will improve not only their futures but the future of our local economy.
The Michigan Industry Cluster Approach
Employers are struggling to recruit qualified talent and job seekers are looking for employment opportunities that leverage their skills, encourage personal growth, and invest in professional development. The challenge of our local talent pipeline is a multi-faceted problem that required a collaborative effort, which our local employers enthusiastically tackled with MICA grant funds.
“Michigan’s Industry Cluster Approach creates a framework in which many employers within a single industry jointly engage with the workforce system to identify their talent demand and challenges. In this approach, talent issues may be handled more efficiently through multi-company, industry-focused employment and training programs,” explains LEO.
In 2019, Lenawee Now received a $169,000 grant to help develop and launch this new employer-led collaborative aimed at solving an identified talent gap in chemical manufacturing in Lenawee County. This funding has been used to identify and analyze talent needs, align workforce and education strategies, and train job candidates to an employer’s specifications to reduce turnover. Over the past two years, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, this program launched, enrolled hundreds of participants, and has already generated incredible success.
The local chemical industry is robust, manufacturing products that are utilized in countless other industries around the world. Lenawee County’s chemical companies are part of a global economy, yet are not immune from the talent pipeline challenges seen in nearly every industry.
Chemical leaders like Wacker, Anderson Development, Uckele Health & Nutrition, W2Fuel, and Evonik have been fighting misconceptions about their employment opportunities for years. “We hire people anywhere from someone who is coming out of high school all the way to a Ph.D. chemist. I think there’s a misconception that you have to play with beakers in order to go into the field of chemistry but that’s completely wrong. Really, the bulk of people we have coming out of high school tend to like the work we’re in and they’re motivated and we are ready to teach them,” says Mark Kramer, President and CEO of Anderson Development.
Sparking Success
The MICA program provided training and development to job seekers who were motivated to join the local chemical industry but didn’t have the experience or certifications needed to immediately enter the industry and succeed. Proper training and onboarding have proven to significantly reduce turnover, burnout, and stress. We wanted to meet the workforce where they are—whether that is just out of high school, with some college courses completed, or as they’re preparing to transition careers—and provide the training and resources they need to thrive.
These efforts have already proven successful, as we’ve enrolled 264 participants in the MICA program, exceeding our goal by 347%.
“We also aimed to enroll 25 participants from targeted or disadvantaged populations, such as women, racial minorities, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and young people ages 16-24,” Blair states. “Our goal was wildly surpassed, as we enrolled 225 individuals from our targeted population, a staggering 85% of the whole program.”
Enrollment in the MICA program meant higher wages for many of the participants. Across all participants at all employers, there was an $88,400 annual wage increase. This means not only are our participants more qualified and prepared for their positions, but they’re making more money in a secure industry that is investing in their future and the future of their families.
“Lenawee Now plays a critical role as a facilitator of solutions by helping to organize the program and bring resources to the group, but the effort is entirely employer-driven,” states Jack Townsley, the program facilitator who was trained in Talent Pipeline Management by the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation and has been working with the chemical companies since the program’s inception. “While we are thrilled with the demonstrated success of these programs, these numbers will continue to grow as more and more participants complete their certifications through the completion of this program in April 2022.” It’s also incredibly important to note that this program thrived despite the COVID-19 pandemic, where many citizens needed to stay home due to restrictions, childcare limitations, and health concerns. These impressive numbers during a pandemic indicate similar programs, applied across other industries, will find similar or even greater success.
Reaching Further
The collaboration we’ve seen with our local chemical companies is not only inspiring other industries to do the same, but offering solutions that can be transferred to automotive, hospitality, and other industries that also struggle with talent pipeline management.
Collaborative efforts like this demonstrate the strength of our economic community, the dedication of local employers to invest in our future, and the assurance that Lenawee County’s economic future will be bright.