Preparing tomorrow’s workforce today
Right now, students across the state are starting new programs of study during the back-to-school rush of fall. There’s never been a more exciting time to prepare to join Wisconsin’s workforce. As new technologies, like Foxconn Technology Group’s planned LCD manufacturing facility, begin to form a future vision of our state’s economy, we all would do well to find out what we need to succeed. Whether you are in high school or recently graduated, entering a college program or uncertain of your future, our new STUFF magazine has something to offer you.
In our work at BizTimes Media with the leaders of Wisconsin’s key industries, we keep our ears open. And one thing we’ve consistently heard from the vibrant manufacturing, building and construction sectors is that they need more workers. Not just bodies for labor, but skilled workers with the desire to learn in an ever-changing, high-tech environment.
In the pages of STUFF, you’ll see some great stories about the manufacturing and building and construction sectors and the stuff they make and build. Young people are finding great career paths in these industries – whether in production, engineering, sales, marketing, human resources or IT. Between the stories and the company profiles, this magazine highlights several of them.
We went out and talked to some of the people working on the issue: hiring managers at businesses, school district administrators, the Wisconsin departments of Workforce Development and Public Instruction, the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp., and more. They told us that to get these in-demand jobs, a four-year degree is great, but a two-year technical diploma will launch you into the workforce as well. And you can even do both. We hope the information we provide in our magazine about work and life beyond high school will give you some ideas and inspiration going forward.
BizTimes gathered the information here to shine a light on the important issue of workforce development in Wisconsin. In the process, we discovered some amazing resources out there revolutionizing academic career planning and hiring. We now think differently when we hear “postsecondary education,” extending our definition well beyond a four-year degree.
A special thanks to the manufacturers, contractors, associations and advertisers that supported this publication. Thanks also goes to publication partner Waukesha County Business Alliance for its support and insights. We could not have created this publication without the community’s help. The more we can all do to bridge the gap between employers and their future workforce, the stronger we all will be.
Whether you’re a student looking to develop a career or a parent, teacher or business leader looking to learn more, I encourage you to spend some time with STUFF. You can also access a digital edition of STUFF with direct links to the companies profiled at biztimes.com/stuff. Best wishes on your learning and career search journey, and let us know what you think of STUFF. Please contact me anytime at dan.meyer@biztimes.com.
Dan Meyer
Founder and publisher
BizTimes Media
Read more about Stuff made and built in southeastern Wisconsin in the digital edition of this new publication.
