Kinexus says southwest Michigan may be through the period when workers were dropping out of the workforce in droves, and we could now be in a “hunkering down” period. Speaking Thursday, Kinexus Vice President for Government Affairs Al Pscholka said growing fears of inflation may be driving a new attitude of “I’ll stay put and keep my job.” However, there is still a shortage of qualified workers in Berrien, Cass, and Van Buren counties for many of the jobs that are available. Pscholka said the trend continues for lots of job postings, especially for higher level jobs. The problem is the available work force doesn’t have the needed skills and requires more training. That’s why Kinexus is pushing various worker training programs like the employer-focused program, Going Pro. 67 southwest Michigan companies have applied for training dollars to help train more than 2,000 workers if all the applications were to be approved. Kinexus expects the program to be renewed for 2022 and urges employers to look into it for their businesses.
