The annual BizTimes Nonprofit Excellence Awards event featured a panel discussion about how nonprofit organizations and private companies can work together to address the workforce challenges in the Milwaukee area.
The panelists included Bill Krugler, president of Milwaukee JobsWork; JoAnne Johnson-Sabir, co-owner of The Juice Kitchen and co-developer of the Sherman Phoenix; Austin Ramirez, chief executive officer of Waukesha-based HUSCO International; and Joaquin Altoro, vice president of commercial lending at Town Bank. Kimberly Kane, president of Kane Communications Group, moderated the discussion.
Credit Paul Gaertner
Panelists sounded off on what some say is a lack of opportunity for certain populations in the city. While Wisconsin saw a record high number of private-sector jobs in September, there remains a chasm between available jobs and workers trained to fill them.
“We already have 10,000 unfilled positions in Milwaukee County,” Krugler said. “And yet we have a huge group of people in the central city that are totally disconnected from the workforce.”
Ramirez said the problem isn’t rooted in a lack of jobs.
“It’s hard to look at the unemployment situation in southeastern Wisconsin and say there is a lack of opportunity,” Ramirez said. “I can’t fill positions fast enough. So I don’t think, at least from an employment perspective, the issue is a lack of opportunity. The issue is we’ve got this tremendous resource, primarily in our central city, that’s just not utilized. We’ve got human capital that we haven’t developed.”
Transportation is a significant barrier that prevents people from accessing job opportunities, panelists noted.
“(Transportation) is a huge issue,” Ramirez said. “Even if we solve the workforce readiness issue in the central city, you’re just not going to see big manufacturing employment hubs coming to Milwaukee. They’re going to be in Racine, they’re going to be in Waukesha.”
While some businesses are reluctant to move to the city because of concerns related to crime, Krugler said, bringing more jobs to the city would create a safer environment.
“It’s kind of a chicken and egg situation,” he said. “(But) we do have to have some businesses come to the city because … there is a talent pool there that’s good for your business.”
“We have to grow jobs in the city, not just in the suburbs,” Krugler added.
Panelists also discussed the role of education in creating opportunities and preparing the future workforce.
“The challenges we have in the City of Milwaukee are not so much with teachers or schools, but that the kids coming in are coming from such a challenging environment they’re not coming ready to learn, even if they have a great teacher,” Krugler said, adding that it’s important to promote parental engagement in education.
“The complexity of dealing with the education problem in this city pales next to the problem of dealing with the adult community,” Ramirez added.
While education is important, Johnson-Sabir said, students and parents need access to tools to help them process the traumas they experience in the central city that can hinder their engagement in school and the workforce.
“There’s a significant amount of trauma that we all face in our daily lives, but we have tools that allow us to advance,” she said. “It’s about being grounded in the tools that will allow our young folks and their parents to navigate their trauma.”
While businesses certainly need to play a role in addressing workforce challenges, Krugler said there is often a divide between the private sector and philanthropic organizations.
“There’s a real gap between the central city and the business community,” he said. “And there is also a certain level of distrust. Some people in nonprofits, in government, in faith communities don’t understand business and they don’t trust business.”
“But people are learning that business can be part of the solution and that making money is not a bad thing, it just matters what you do with it,” he added.
Altoro highlighted Town Bank’s partnership with area nonprofits, particularly the Hmong Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce and its investment in the chamber’s revolving loan fund. He said those efforts have been mutually beneficial.
“The return on investment for us was the trust of our community,” he said. “That has been amazing.”
Krugler said businesses often invest in skills training programs, but it’s imperative that they are willing to hire people after they complete their education program.
“You have to be involved in developing the training so when people go to (Milwaukee Area Technical College), they’re ready,” he said. “And at the end, you have to be ready to hire them.”
Johnson-Sabir said the opportunity gap will begin to be solved not just by “theoretical conversations,” but when people who don’t ordinarily communicate with one another begin to connect. Building relationships will break down constructs of “us and them,” she said.
“When we think about this chasm, this deep divide, it begins with cultivating meaningful relationships,” Johnson-Sabir said. “We can’t just move to implementation without understanding and connecting as humans. For me, that’s where it begins.”
The discussion was followed by the BizTimes Nonprofit Excellence Awards ceremony, which honors top area nonprofit organizations for their work in the community, as well as private individuals and businesses that support area nonprofits.
The winners of the 2017 Nonprofit Excellence Awards are:
- Next Door, Nonprofit Collaboration of the Year
- Keith Stanley of Near West Side Partners Inc., Nonprofit Executive of the Year
- Milwaukee Rescue Mission, Nonprofit Organization of the Year (Large)
- Summit Educational Association Inc., Nonprofit Organization of the Year (Small)
- Kohl’s Corp., Corporate Citizen of the Year
- Nick Obrochta of Kohl’s, Corporate Volunteer of the Year
- Bartolotta Restaurants, In-Kind Supporter
- Molly Schweiger of PNC Financial Services, Next Generation Leadership
- Jim Lindenberg of Lindy Enterprises, JML Holdings and Master Z’s, Lifetime Achievement.
