Carroll's labor force earned high marks for basic skills but was found deficient in the written communication and technology skills today's employers seek, according to the results of a county-commissioned survey.
Computer literacy and employee training were the top concerns of the 128 companies that responded to the survey, which was presented yesterday to the county's Economic Development Commission. Several commission members said the study, which cost the county $6,500, shows the county's schools and colleges should offer courses to meet the technology demands of the business community.
"Somebody needs to carry the ball here," said Robert Rosen, who is developing the Carroll County Commerce Center. "We can see where the deficiencies are in the county and we need to narrow the gap."
The five-page questionnaire asked employers for details about basic and computer skills of job applicants as well as labor demand and availability. When asked what factor dominated the county's business climate, nearly 30 percent said "labor force concerns."
"The top technology concern was workers, more important than cost of technology or access to it," said Anirban Basu, economics consultant and director of the Regional Economics Studies Institute at Towson University, who interpreted the data. "Business owners are often concerned with financing, government regulations and taxes. But here it's the labor force."
Jean Shin, sociology professor at Western Maryland College in Westminster, said the college is looking at how to incorporate communication and technology into many of its courses.
"We are marketing ourselves to incoming freshmen so they know when they graduate they'll be marketable," Shin said.
The county's Department of Economic Development mailed the questionnaires to 300 businesses in March. Less than half replied, but those that did had a total of nearly 11,000 employees. Basu said that was a good sampling. The majority of the responses were from the manufacturing sector.
In his presentation to the commission, Basu compared the 2002 results to a similar study in 1999 and found few changes in the percentages.
Employers surveyed in 1999 listed computer literacy, employee training and the availability of qualified workers as top concerns.
"In studying how employers judge people coming in for jobs, the study found almost all applicants - 80 percent - have above-average basic skills with one exception: written communication," Basu said.
That employers are seeking those with advanced computer skills should be no surprise, but what is disheartening is that 27 percent of the county labor force has those capabilities, Basu said.
"Employers are using this technology increasingly and the skills are not available," Basu said in interpreting the survey. "They are looking for more broadly qualified candidates with versatile skills."
In general, the study showed demand for labor is down. Nearly 80 percent of the companies reported that they are not hiring. Those that are hiring said "finding qualified candidates is difficult," Basu said.
Carroll Commissioner Donald I. Dell asked what the board could to help improve education.
"It is obvious we are slipping, but if the business community has an opinion, I would like to hear it," said Dell. "I think we are doing good."
Sue Chambers, Economic Development Commission chairwoman, said the study provides a wealth of information for Carroll Community College and for the public school system.
The county also recently completed a commuter survey by the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute at a cost of $28,099.
It showed more than 62 percent of Carroll's work force of 85,000 is employed outside the county. That survey also found at least 25,000 residents willing to work in the county if better jobs became available.
"Both of these surveys will be good working tools for us," said John Lyburn, Carroll's economic development director. "We needed the information. It is data that backs our claims and we can use it to market the county."