Talent mismatch event connects employers, resources

The Granville-Brown Deer Chamber hosted the second of its six-session Next Generation Manufacturing Series on Thursday at the Wisconsin Country Club.
The Talent Mismatch—Resources and Strategies You Can Begin to Use Today connected employers and employment agency representatives with colleges, technical schools and programs aimed at helping people find work.
Each of 15 resources gave a pitch to session attendees about the services they provide and the population they serve, and then employers rotated around the room in timed intervals to network.
“This is the only one (in the series) that’s truly what I refer to as ‘speed dating,'” said Mary Hoehne, coordinator at Granville-Brown Deer Chamber.
The Next Generation Manufacturing Series was organized by the GBDC in cooperation with the Milwaukee Economic Development Corporation and the Havenwoods Economic Development Association.
The series is targeted to businesses on the northwest side of Milwaukee, said Marcia Theusch, assistant vice president at MEDC. She helped plan the events because she frequently heard from employers about the skills gap in manufacturing.
Other sessions in the series will address attaining government contracts, reducing costs, exporting and planning for succession.
Rocky Marcoux, commissioner of the Milwaukee Department of City Development, discussed the manufacturing talent mismatch and introduced the resources.
“How do we turn around the paradigm that says everybody has to go to college?” he asked. “Manufacturing is a ticket to the middle class.”
Brian Nuetzel, co-owner of Matzel Manufacturing Inc. in Milwaukee, has been considering hiring more employees at the casting and forging manufacturer. He attended the event to find resources that could help him hire driven and responsible employees.
“It’s hard to find people that even have the ethics to work all the time,” Nuetzel said.
Resources included area high schools, technical schools, colleges and organizations that help people find employment, like Milwaukee Job Corps and the HIRE Center.
The next installment of the series, “Find the Hidden Costs of Moving Your Products and Improving Profits,” will be held on Thursday, Jan, 12.