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Maryland Workforce
Educational Needs Assessment Survey
September 2001 |
|
Prepared for: |
|
Maryland Business Roundtable for Education
Maryland Economic Development Commission
Maryland State Department of Education
Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Maryland Higher Education Commission
Governor’s Workforce Investment Board |
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Purpose
and Method
Detailed Findings
Employer
Occupational Needs
Employer
Needs Relative to Educational Requirements
Employer
Satisfaction with Educational Institutions
Current Labor Market
Conditions
Current Hiring and
Recruiting Practices
Employer Job Training
Activities
Employer Hiring of
Persons with a High School Diploma or Less
Employer Hiring of
High School Interns
Computer
Technology Usage and Requirements
Regional Trends
Recommended State Policy
Actions
Demographic Profile
of Respondents
Executive Summary
Table
of Contents
This research report represents the
results of the Maryland Workforce Educational Needs Assessment Survey. The study is
designed to determine the level of satisfaction with and anticipated needs of employers
across Maryland regarding the state’s educational systems and how well potential
employees are being prepared for the workforce. In support of these objectives, 633
questionnaires were completed in May 2001 based upon a mailing conducted by The Maryland
Business Roundtable for Education. Of the total questionnaires, 520 were completed on a
printed mail survey and 113 were completed via an Internet survey. The principal findings
from this study are summarized as follows:
Employer Occupational Needs
While employers
are still having difficulty finding qualified employees to fill
various types of positions, the need for certain positions and the
hiring difficulty of qualified workers for certain positions is
lower than in the 1999 study.
Manufacturing or
special trades workers, life scientists and engineers (non-computer)
are the positions companies are having the greatest difficulty
filling among companies that need these types of employees.
Within the market as a whole, clerical,
administrative and secretarial positions (85%) continue to have the greatest need,
followed by supervisory or management personnel (77%).
Within the market as a whole, the
most difficulty continues to be in hiring qualified supervisory
or managerial personnel, clerical and administrative and secretarial
positions. A quarter of companies has great difficulty
finding manufacturing and special trades workers and supervisory
or managerial personnel.
Employer Needs Relative to Educational
Requirements
Maryland businesses
have difficulty in filling positions requiring nearly every educational
level. It is particularly difficult to find qualified applicants
with a graduate or professional degree, with a specialized certification,
or with a bachelor’s degree in a technical or professional
field such as business, computer science or engineering.
Among companies that hire qualified workers with
specific educational levels, individuals with graduate or professional degrees, with
specialized certifications or with a bachelor’s degree in a technical or professional
field are the most difficult to recruit or hire.
Within the market as a whole, the greatest need
continues to be for high school graduates (73%), community college graduates (69%), high
school career and technology education program graduates (64%) and those with a
bachelor’s in technology or a professional field (63%).
Within the market as a whole, the most difficulty
is in hiring those with a bachelor’s degree in a technical or professional field.
Over the next five years, employers anticipate
that the greatest need for workers will be in the areas in which they are experiencing the
most hiring problems today.
Employer Satisfaction with
Educational Institutions
Business executives
gave a broad range in ratings on how well educational institutions
are able to provide their company with a qualified and educated
workforce. There is clear differentiation in the ratings of different
educational institutions; indicating respondents have a defined
perception of how specific institutions are performing.
Over half of employers rated public and private
four-year colleges and universities and their graduate programs above average to
excellent.
Nearly half rated community colleges as above
average to excellent.
A third rated private career schools and high
school career and technology education programs as above average to excellent.
Less than a fifth (17%) rated public high schools
as above average to excellent, compared to 41% for private high schools.
Three quarters (75%) of companies hire employees
whose highest educational credential is a recent high school diploma or GED certificate.
The greatest difficulties in finding qualified
job applicants requiring a high school diploma include inadequate attendance and
punctuality, inadequate written communication skills and inadequate problem solving
skills.
Current Labor Market
Conditions
Half of Maryland
employers believe the lack of qualified employees has affected the
ability of their firm to do business in Maryland over the past year.
This belief is universally shared across different industries and
sizes of companies. This concern has grown since the first study
in 1997.
The top three ways the lack of skilled employees
impacts business continues to be the decrease in productivity, inability to meet
deadlines, and a reduction in the quality of products or services.
Over the next year, more than half of employers
(57%) feel their workforce is going to increase, 39% feel it will remain the same, and 4%
see it decreasing.
Current Hiring and
Recruiting Practices
Nearly all
companies fill open positions by recruiting qualified employees
locally. A substantial majority also retrain and promote in-house
employees.
When hiring new applicants for a position
requiring a college education, a fifth always ask for a college transcript, 37% sometimes
ask and 43% never ask for it.
Employers hiring for positions
that require a bachelor’s degree prefer that the candidate
have a degree in liberal arts with a concentration in a
technical or professional field.
Employer Hiring of Persons with
a High School Diploma or Less
Nearly half
of employers hiring for positions, whose highest credential is a
high school diploma or G.E.D., do a background check by reviewing
academic records or teacher recommendations.
Nearly half (44%) request and review academic
records of the applicant and over a third (39%) request and review teacher
recommendations.
As in the previous study, the top three mentioned
difficulties in finding qualified applicants with a high school diploma are inadequate
attendance or punctuality, inadequate written communication skills and inadequate problem
solving skills.
Two thirds of firms that hire high school interns
conduct a background check.
Employer Job Training
Activities
The majority of employers
surveyed are involved in annual specialized skills training for
employees. Most training is conducted internally by in-house training
departments. The usage of outside training organizations, such as
colleges and consultants has declined. The principle reason for
training is to improve computer skills and technical skills of employees.
As computer skills are becoming more necessary in all positions,
most employers see the need for training increasing over the next
five years.
The majority of employers (87%) offer training,
with two-thirds of employers training more than 10% of their workforce annually.
Over a third (36%) of employers budget two weeks
or more per year for training, 22% budget one week and 30% budget five days.
The most frequently mentioned reasons for
providing training is to improve computer and technology skills and improve technical
skills.
Most employers use in-house training departments
(75%) for training followed by industry or trade associations (48%). There has been a
decline in the use of outside consultants, community colleges, equipment or software
manufacturers and colleges or universities from the previous study.
Nearly half (40%) of employers use the Internet
to provide on-line training for employees. However, only 5% of employers train more than
20% of their workforce through the Internet.
The majority of employers (79%) feel the need for
training over the next five years will increase.
Computer Technology
Usage and Requirements
The majority of employers
in Maryland believe that their workforce must have at least
basic computer skills to be effective in their positions. E-commerce
is still in its beginning stages and most firms do not conduct a
significant amount of business via the Internet.
Three quarters (74%) of employers have positions
that require at least some basic computer skill. A tenth (11%) require intense
skills, 20% require medium skills and 43% require basic skills.
Over half (52%) of employers require that over
40% of their employees have basic computer skills.
Two thirds (62%) of employers conduct some
level of business over the Internet. Nearly half (47%) conduct up to 10% of business
on-line.
State Policy Actions
Most employers
believe all of the suggested state policy actions to improve job
skills in the workforce were important. However, when asked to rank
the actions in order of importance, one action clearly was preferred.
Improving or expanding career and technology
education programs in high schools was ranked as the top state policy action.
Improving linkages between businesses and higher
education, increasing the number of qualified graduates produced by four-year colleges and
universities and improving or expanding state job training programs and services were
other highly ranked policy actions.
Almost three-quarters (72%) of businesses would,
if approached, be willing to collaborate with other business, government, and educational
systems to address critical skill shortages.
Purpose
and Methodology
Table
of Contents
The purpose of the Maryland Workforce
Educational Needs Assessments Survey is to determine the level of
satisfaction and anticipated needs of employers across Maryland
regarding the state’s educational systems and how well they
are preparing potential employees for the workforce. Comparisons
are made to studies completed in 1999 and 1997 where appropriate.
To this end, a number of objectives have been established that are
outlined as follows:
To determine employers’ level of
satisfaction with educational institutions in preparing graduates for the workplace.
To gauge changes in employer satisfaction with
recent high school graduates.
To keep current on employer workforce needs by
identifying the kinds of knowledge and skills workers will need to possess.
To be aware of the views of employers about how
post-secondary education can better assist Maryland business and industry.
To be able to identify the specific academic
programs and/or occupational areas that are in strong demand by employers and for which
they have not been able to recruit sufficient applicants for job openings.
To identify critical skill shortage areas by
industry and region.
To identify needed training programs for
industries.
To obtain statewide and regional information on
workforce needs.
The Maryland Business Roundtable for Education in
partnership with the Maryland Economic Development Commission, the Maryland State
Department of Education, the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, the
Maryland Higher Education Commission, and the Governor's Workforce Investment Board
contracted with Hollander Cohen & McBride to conduct the third Maryland Workforce
Skills Survey. The first and second surveys were conducted in 1997 and 1999 respectively.
The sponsoring organizations worked with
Hollander Cohen & McBride to develop the survey instrument, which was pre-tested with
sponsors and a group of corporate human resource professionals from different industries.
Upon approval of the survey instrument,
approximately 20,000 questionnaires were mailed to Maryland employers on April 11, 2001.
The survey was also available to respondents on the Internet between April 11 and June 15,
2001. A sample from conveniently available sources was designed to reach a large base of
businesses both randomly selected and those involved in various business organizations.
The majority of surveys, approximately 18,000 questionnaires, were mailed directly to
employers using mailing lists from Maryland Economic Development Commission, Maryland
Department of Business & Economic Development, Maryland State Department of Education,
Governor’s Workforce Investment Board, and Maryland Business Roundtable for
Education.
In an effort to ensure adequate geographic
diversity in the sample, another 3,000 questionnaires were sent through business
organizations and local chambers of commerce for distribution to their members. The
coordination of list development, printing, mailing and follow-up was handled by the
Maryland Business Roundtable for Education.
Postage-paid business reply envelopes were
provided for respondents to mail completed questionnaires to the offices of Hollander
Cohen & McBride for tabulation and analysis. There were a total of 633 completed
surveys with 520 surveys returned by mail and 113 surveys completed via the Internet.
Surveys were returned from a diverse distribution
of industries, geographic locations and company sizes. The proportion of returned surveys
should align with the actual distribution of establishments as provided by the Maryland
Department of Business and Economic Development. In 1999, survey proportions were in
alignment with the actual distribution of establishments, however in this study a larger
proportion of surveys was completed within the Suburban Baltimore area and a smaller
proportion were completed within the Suburban Washington area. Also, there was a larger
proportion of results from small companies (lower gross sales).
In order for the results to be comparable to the
actual distribution of establishments, as well as, to 1999 study distributions, 2001 data
was weighted. Weighting is an adjustment of the distribution of data (survey distribution)
to reflect a targeted distribution data (actual distribution of establishments). The data
was weighted by geographic area for only the Suburban Baltimore and Suburban
Washington areas, however the effect on total results was minimal. Any reporting of subgroup
results uses unweighted data. Note that comparing data over two periods using a
convenience sample represents two snapshots of opinions and not two scientifically
designed samples. While weighting is used to minimize differences, some differences may
still be due to the way the sample was designed.
Company
Location |
Actual
Distribution of Establishments* |
Survey
Distribution of Respondents |
Suburban
Baltimore (City and Central Md.) |
49% |
52%** |
Suburban
Washington |
34% |
27%** |
Western
Maryland |
4% |
8% |
Lower
Eastern Shore |
4% |
3% |
Upper
Eastern Shore |
4% |
7% |
Southern
Maryland |
4% |
3% |
Non-classified |
1% |
0% |
Total |
100% |
100% |
**Weighted distribution
Sector |
Actual
Distribution of Establishments* |
Survey
Distribution of Respondents |
Agriculture,
Forestry, Fishery & Mining |
2% |
.5% |
Construction |
11% |
8% |
Manufacturing |
3% |
15% |
Transportation,
Communication & Utilities |
4% |
6% |
Trade |
26% |
9% |
Finance,
Insurance & Real Estate |
8% |
12% |
Services |
42% |
42% |
Public
Administration |
4% |
4% |
Total |
100% |
100% |
* Source: Maryland Department
of Business & Economic Development; ES-202 Data
Replies were tabulated by Hollander Cohen &
McBride. Job categories for higher education positions in question 20 were coded by the
Maryland Higher Education Commission. The Maryland State Department of Education provided
codes for positions requiring only a high school degree. Cross tabulations of the data
were prepared showing replies to all questions for the entire sample, as well as for
subgroups from which this report was developed.
Detailed
Findings
Table
of Contents
Employer
Occupational Needs
Table of Contents
Among employers that hire certain classifications
of workers, over two thirds indicate at least some degree of difficulty in hiring
qualified workers for all occupations. Overall, the positions that are most difficult to
fill are for manufacturing or special trades workers, life scientists and physical
scientists. Positions that give employers the greatest degree of difficulty to fill
are qualified manufacturing or special trades workers, life scientists and engineers
(non-computer).
Smaller companies have more difficulty filling
certain positions than larger companies. Positions such as sales and marketing personnel;
clerical, administrative and secretarial positions; manufacturing or special trades
workers; and computer technicians and operators are more difficult to hire in smaller
companies. Other positions are more industry specific, and the degree of difficulty in
filling these positions varies little by the size of the company.
The difficulty in hiring qualified workers for
the majority of listed job categories is the same or lower than was found in the 1999
study. The greatest degree of difficulty continues to be in finding manufacturing or
special trades workers, as well as workers for a new category in this study, life
scientists. Since 1999, positions such as computer engineers or analysts and computer
technicians or operators are less difficult to fill. With an upward trend since
1997, the largest increase in difficulty is among employers seeking unskilled workers or
laborers.
In assessing need and difficulty in the market as
a whole, some of the listed positions are universally applicable to nearly all types of
companies, while others are industry specific and represent a smaller number of companies
and opportunities. Nearly all employers continue to have a great need for clerical,
administrative and secretarial positions, as well as supervisory or managerial personnel.
The greatest decrease in need was for computer engineer or analyst positions and
manufacturing or special trades workers. Far fewer companies have a need for life, social,
or physical scientists.
Among all employers in the market, nearly
two thirds experience some or great difficulty in finding qualified supervisory or
managerial level workers. Over half have difficulty in finding qualified clerical,
administrative and secretarial personnel.
A quarter of companies are having great
difficulty filling positions for supervisory or managerial personnel and manufacturing
or special trades workers. Over a fifth have great difficulty in filling sales and
marketing positions.
For the market as a whole, the difficulty in
hiring qualified workers for the majority of listed job categories is lower than was found
in the 1999 study. The greatest degree of difficulty continues to be in finding
supervisory or managerial personnel, as well as clerical, administrative or secretarial
personnel. Since 1999, positions such as computer engineers or analysts, computer
technicians or operators, and manufacturing or special trades workers are significantly less
difficult to fill.
Employer
Needs Relative to Educational Requirements
Table of Contents
Among employers, that hire for positions
requiring a specified education level, nearly three-quarters have
some or great difficulty in finding applicants with
a graduate or professional degree. Over a quarter of employers had
great difficulty in filling positions with qualified workers
having a graduate or professional degree, a bachelor’s degree
in a technical or professional field, as well as, a specialized
certification other than in the computer field.
|
Trends
in Hiring Difficulties by Education Level |
|
(% having some/great
deal of difficulty finding specified qualified worker) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1997 |
1999 |
2001 |
%
Point Change 1999-2001 |
| Graduate
or Professional Degree |
53% |
76% |
73% |
-3 |
| Other
Specialized Certifications |
* |
* |
72% |
N/A |
| Bachelor’s
– Tech./Prof. Field |
55% |
83% |
71% |
-12 |
| IT
certification |
* |
* |
63% |
N/A |
| High
School CTE Programs |
56% |
66% |
63% |
-3 |
| Private
Career School Certificate |
* |
62% |
59% |
-3 |
| Community
College Degree |
48% |
56% |
59% |
+3 |
| High
School Only |
51% |
58% |
58% |
0 |
| Bachelor’s
– Lib. Arts & Sciences |
42% |
57% |
52% |
-5 |
| Less
than High School |
53% |
52% |
52% |
0 |
| Private
Educational Service |
* |
57% |
49% |
-8 |
|
(* Not classified
in study) |
Since the previous study, it has become less difficult to fill positions
for some educational levels. It is particularly difficult to locate
applicants with a graduate or professional degree. It has become
significantly less difficult to locate applicants with a bachelor’s
degree in a technical or professional field such as business, computer
science or engineering.
It is also less difficult to fill
positions requiring a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences and those
completing programs through private educational services.
Company need for specific education
levels declined from the last study for all education levels. Nearly three-quarters
of all companies have a need for high school and community college
graduates. There was a significant decline in the need for graduates with a graduate
or professional degree, a bachelor's in liberal arts and sciences, a bachelor's in a
technical or professional field and graduates of high school career and technical
education programs compared to the 1999 study.
Among all employers nearly half have some or great
difficulty in finding applicants with a bachelor’s degree in
a technical or professional field, a decrease from 61% in 1999.
Nearly a fifth have great difficulty in filling positions
with qualified workers having a bachelor’s degree in a technical
or professional field or a graduate or professional degree.
For the market as a whole, it has become
less difficult to fill positions for all educational levels. The greatest degree of
difficulty continues to be in locating applicants with a bachelor’s degree in a
technical or professional field such as business, computer science or engineering.
Since 1999, it has become significantly
less difficult to locate applicants with a bachelor’s degree in a technical or
professional field, a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences, a graduate or
professional degree, and those who have graduated from a high school career and technology
program.
Over the next five years, employers
anticipate the increased need for workers to be greatest in areas in which they are
experiencing the most hiring difficulty today. Similar to the previous study findings,
more than half of employers anticipates an increase in demand for workers with a
bachelor’s degree in a technical or professional field. Significant increases in
demand are also anticipated for those with an IT certification or a graduate or
professional degree. A fifth of employers anticipate a decline in demand for workers with
less than a high school diploma.
Compared to the previous
study findings, slightly more employers feel the future need
for workers by educational level will either increase or remain
the same. The largest anticipated change in need is for those with
less than a high school education, where 80% of employers anticipate
an increase in need or constant need, compared to 69% in the previous
study.
Employers were asked to list specific occupations that
they have a strong current need to fill and for which they have had difficulty attracting
qualified candidates. Employers often listed multiple jobs and multiple levels of
educational attainment in their list of requirements. The following graph shows the
percentage of jobs listed for each educational level. Percentages add to more than 100%
because many of the same job types were listed as requiring multiple educational levels.
Of the 1,276 job categories listed by
employers as currently being difficult to fill, over a third require a bachelor’s
degree, down from half in 1999. Compared to the previous study, more employers have jobs
that require a high school education or community college degree. Less than a fifth of the
jobs require levels of education beyond a four-year college degree or a private career
school certificate.
Most
Frequently Mentioned Job Categories Requiring Higher Education* |
|
(number of
positions mentioned) |
| Business
& Management/ Business & Office** |
416 |
| Health
Sciences/Allied Health** |
148 |
| Engineering |
94 |
| Marketing
& Distribution |
93 |
| Engineering
& Related Technologies |
54 |
| Education |
53 |
| Computer
& Information Sciences |
48 |
|
*Jobs for which
employees currently have a strong current need and have difficulty
filling |
| **
Combined and reclassified in 2001 |
The job categories requiring higher
education most frequently mentioned by employers as areas where they have a strong current
need, and for which they have had difficulty attracting qualified applicants, are for
positions in business and management, health sciences, engineering, marketing and
distribution, education and computer and information sciences.
Direct comparisons to the 1999 results
are not comparable as job classifications were reassigned in 2001.
Most Frequently Mentioned Job Categories Requiring a High School
Education* |
(number of positions mentioned) |
| Mechanics & Repairers |
48 |
| Construction Trades |
30 |
*Jobs for which employees currently have a
strong current need and have difficulty filling |
Significantly fewer of the job openings
that employers have difficulty filling require just a high school education. The most
frequently mentioned jobs requiring this level of education are in mechanics and repair
and construction trades.
Employer Satisfaction with
Educational Institutions
Table of Contents
Using a 5-point scale where a 5 is
excellent and 1 is poor, business executives rated educational institutions on their
ability to provide their company with a qualified and educated workforce. Neutral ratings
may be due to a lack of familiarity with particular education options. However, there is
differentiation in the ratings of higher educational institutions compared to lower level
institutions, indicating respondents have a defined perception of how specific
institutions are performing.
Over half of the business community
rates public and private four-year colleges and universities and their graduate programs
above average to excellent. Over half (58%) of business respondents gave undergraduate
programs at public four-year colleges and universities above average ratings (a 4 or 5
rating). Similar to the last study, only 11% gave these institutions an excellent rating
and 17% gave graduate programs at public colleges and universities an excellent rating.
Ratings for private graduate and undergraduate programs were similar to ratings of public
institutions in this study. Only 14% gave private undergraduate programs and 20% gave
private graduate programs an excellent rating. Of the employers who rated educational
institutions, 14% to 17% of them rated these four types of institutions as performing
below average to poor, twice (7%-8%) as great as in the last study.
Less than half (42%) of the business
community rated community colleges above average to excellent. As in the last study, this
is significantly less than the ratings of colleges and universities, but better than those
of public high schools.
Roughly a third of the business
community rated high school career and technology education programs and private career
schools above average or excellent. A low rating on high school career and technology
education programs would impact the growing need for these types of graduates. Businesses
rated private career schools slightly higher in effectiveness in this study.
Rated the least effective educational
institution is the public high school. Only 17% rated public high schools above average or
excellent, while more than a third rated them below average or poor. Private high schools
score significantly higher in the perceptions of the business community than public high
schools.
Compared to the previous study, the
perceived effectiveness of most educational institutions is lower. Over half of businesses
rated four-year colleges and universities and graduate programs above average or
excellent, compared to over two thirds in 1999.
Comparison of Educational Institution Effectiveness* |
| |
1999 |
2001 |
% Point Change 1999-2001 |
| Private College Graduate Programs |
68% |
58% |
-10 |
| Public College Graduate Programs |
65% |
58% |
-7 |
| Private 4-Year Colleges/Universities |
68% |
57% |
-11 |
| Public 4-Year Colleges/Universities |
62% |
58% |
-4 |
| Community Colleges |
49% |
42% |
-7 |
| Private High Schools |
50% |
41% |
-11 |
| Public High Schools |
18% |
17% |
-1 |
| High School CTE Programs |
33% |
30% |
-3 |
| Private Career Schools |
33% |
36% |
+3 |
*Rated 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale where
5=excellent and 1=poor (Q. 5) |
The most significant decrease in
excellent or above average ratings is among the private college graduate programs, private
4-year colleges and universities, and private high schools.
Ratings for public college graduate
programs and community colleges are slightly lower then in the 1999 study.
The proportion of those who rated
effectiveness of educational institutions as poor or below average increased in
this study.
As in the previous study, public high
schools are the lowest rated educational institution by a wide margin.
Current Labor Market Conditions
Table of Contents
Half (50%) of Maryland employers
believe the lack of qualified employees has effected the ability of their firm to do
business in Maryland over the past year. This belief is universally shared across
different industries and sizes of companies. Concern has steadily grown since the first
study in 1997.
The lack of skilled employees has
impacted businesses in many ways. Of those effected, the majority believes that it has
lowered their business’ level of productivity. Compared to the previous studies,
fewer feel that the lack of skill employees has reduced their business’ ability to
meet deadlines, reduced the quality of their business’ products or services, or has
limited their business’ ability to bid on government contracts.
Ways Lack of Skilled Employees Impact Businesses |
(% of those impacted by lack of qualified employees) |
| |
1997 |
1999 |
2001 |
| Lowered my business’ level of productivity |
84% |
76% |
80% |
| Reduced my business’ ability to meet deadlines |
64% |
53% |
47% |
| Reduced the quality of my business’ products/ services |
53% |
51% |
43% |
| Prevented my business from expanding its facilities |
43% |
33% |
38% |
| Prevented my business from developing new products/services |
37% |
34% |
35% |
| Limited my business’ ability to bid on government contracts |
24% |
20% |
15% |
| May cause my business to close/move some operations out of state |
9% |
6% |
6% |
| (# of respondents) |
(335) |
(230) |
(313) |
Over the next year, more than half of
all business employers anticipate an increase in their workforce size. Over a third
believe it will remain the same and only 4% believe it will decrease.
Anticipated growth is highest in the
information technology (73%) and health care (70%) sectors and lowest in the hotel,
lodging and restaurant sector (45%).
Current Hiring and Recruiting Practices
Table of Contents
As in the previous study, nearly all
business employers (95%) recruit qualified employees locally, including 72% who do this
frequently and 23% who do this occasionally. Nearly all (81%) also retrain and promote
in-house employees, including 44% who indicate they do this frequently and 37% who do it
occasionally. Other activities used to fill open positions are significantly less common.
Approximately two-thirds
of employers at least occasionally hire less qualified employees
and train them. Over half at least occasionally recruit qualified
employees from other parts of the state, recruit employees from
competitors and/or hire temporary employees. Less than half recruit
qualified employees from out of state. Only a third are willing
to hire fewer employees than needed and pay overtime. Just over
a quarter recruit from high school work-based programs.
As in previous studies, the most
frequent practices used to fill open positions are to recruit qualified employees locally
or to retrain and promote employees from within.
Trends in Tactics used to Fill Open Positions |
(% frequently or occasionally using
specified tactic) |
| |
1997 |
1999 |
2001 |
| Recruit qualified employees locally |
94% |
97% |
95% |
| Retrain & promote in-house employees |
90% |
91% |
81% |
| Hire those less qualified & train them |
66% |
67% |
62% |
| Recruit from other parts of the state |
49% |
66% |
56% |
| Hire temporary employees |
51% |
64% |
56% |
| Recruit from competitors |
39% |
59% |
52% |
| Recruit from out of state |
36% |
52% |
43% |
| Hire fewer than needed & pay overtime |
35% |
39% |
35% |
| Recruit from H.S. work-based programs |
38% |
54% |
27% |
Compared to the last study,
significantly fewer employers are retraining and promoting employees from within, going to
other parts of the state to find qualified employees or recruiting from high school
work-based programs to find qualified candidates and fill positions.
Though sample sizes are small, an
observation is that the healthcare sector or rural areas are most likely to recruit from
high school work-based programs.
Academic credentials of college students are
important to most employers, as they use such credentials in making hiring decisions. Over
half (57%) of companies report sometimes or always requesting a transcript to verify
academic records of job applicants, down from 65% in 1999.
Overall, the use of college transcripts
to verify academic credentials has declined slightly. A fifth of companies always
request a transcript, an increase up 17% in the 1999 study. Over a third (37%) sometimes
request a transcript, down from 48% in 1999.
The incidence of requesting a
transcript is higher among larger companies. Roughly half of companies under $5 million in
sales sometimes or always request a transcript while over two thirds of
larger companies follow this practice.
Employers that require a bachelor’s
degree for entry-level positions were asked to rank their relative preference of three
types of bachelors’ degrees from broad types of programs. Overall, employers
preferred that a candidate have a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences with
a concentration in a technical or professional field. However, half (51%) of employers most
preferred a bachelor’s in a technical or professional field. Employers least
preferred a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and sciences other than with a
concentration in a technical or professional field.
Preference of Educational Background for
Entry Level Hires*
(among those with entry level positions requiring
a bachelor’s degree) |
| |
Most |
|
Least |
% Ranked as Most |
| |
1 |
2 |
3 |
Preferred (1) |
| Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences |
|
* |
|
|
* |
|
X |
* |
|
11% |
| Bachelor’s Degree in Lib. Arts and Sciences w/ concentration
in technical or professional field |
|
* |
|
X |
* |
|
|
* |
|
41% |
| Bachelor’s Degree in a technical or professional fields |
|
* |
|
X |
* |
|
|
* |
|
51% |
| # of respondents (389) |
| |
(* mean scores on a 3-point scale where
"1" is most preferred and "3" is least preferred) (Q.6c) |
Employer Job Training
Activities
Table of Contents
The majority of Maryland employers
(87%) offer formal, company sponsored specialized skills training to their employees, a
decrease from 92% in 1999, but still higher than 68% in the 1997 study. In addition,
companies offer this training to a large percentage of their workforce. Similar to the
last study (56%), over half (54%) of employers offer training to more than a quarter of
their workforce annually, including 22% of firms who train more than three-quarters of
their workforce each year.
The majority of employers (88%) budget
time for their employees to receive training on an annual basis. Over a third (36%)
allocate two weeks or more for training, 22% one week and 30% five days or less. Just over
a tenth do not budget time for their employees to receive training.
As in previous studies, three-quarters
of respondents report having an in-house training department and half use industry or
trade associations to provide training. Other significant providers of training for
business employees include outside consultants.
Types of Organizations Regularly Used for Training |
(% using specified type of organization) |
| |
1997 |
1999 |
2001 |
| In-house training department |
77% |
76% |
75% |
| Industry or trade association |
59% |
49% |
48% |
| Outside consultants |
55% |
55% |
45% |
| Community colleges |
43% |
41% |
35% |
| Equipment or software manufacturers |
N/A |
41% |
29% |
| Colleges or universities |
66% |
26% |
18% |
| Advanced technology centers |
23% |
15% |
12% |
| Private career schools |
8% |
4% |
6% |
| (# of respondents) |
(637) |
(519) |
(617) |
There has been a significant shift
in the types of organizations providing outside training to businesses. Since the first
study, the percentage of employers using training provided by four-year colleges or
universities and community colleges has steadily declined. Training provided by outside
consultants and equipment or software manufacturers also decreased from the last study.
It should be noted that the incidence of
different organizations providing training for employees rises with the size of the
company. Larger companies are much more likely to use all types of organizations for
training than small companies. The very large companies, with over $10 million in sales,
are more than twice as likely to use outside consultants, colleges, universities,
equipment or software manufacturers and advanced technology centers than small companies.
The largest source of training for small companies is an in-house training department.
Roughly 15% of companies with less than $1 million in sales claim to use other
sources for training which could include self-instruction through videos, CDs or on-line
training over the Internet.
Nearly half (40%) of employers use the
Internet to some degree for training employees. Less than a third (29%) utilize the
Internet to train up to 10% of their workforce. Only 5% use it to train more than a fifth
of their employees.
The usage of the Internet for employee
training increases with company size. On-line training is most widely used by the
information technology sector, followed by the education and public administration sector.
For most companies, the government is not
a source of external funds for training. Only 13% of companies report receiving external
funds for training from the government, down from 19% in the last study. This includes 11%
from State government, 4% from Local government and 3% from the Federal government. This
training is concentrated among larger companies: 18% with over $10 million in sales
received assistance compared to 6% of companies with under $1 million in sales. It is also
more likely to have been used by the education and public administration sectors.
As in the last study, reasons for
providing training range widely. Though the same reasons were mentioned, the proportion of
employers providing training is lower than in 1999. The most frequently cited reasons for
providing training were to computer and technology skills (59%), improve technical skills
(49%) a decrease from 75% and 56% respectively.
After technology, the next most heavily
used type of training is for courses to improve productivity and promoting personal and
career development or interpersonal skills such as teamwork. Roughly a quarter of
employers provide training for basic work habits, oral communication skills, and proble |
