Allen County isn’t alone in its struggle to find workers, the head of a labor study organization told a group of employers on Wednesday morning.
Chad Chancellor, CEO of Next Move Group LLC, presented results of a labor study commissioned by Thrive Allen County and funded by Evergy, Allen County and the City of Iola.
The results were in line with other communities across the country, Chancellor said.
Companies are struggling to fill positions, and will need a holistic approach to solve the problem.
“More towns are now recruiting human beings, rather than industries,” Chancellor said.
In general, three primary factors keep many people from working: lack of child care, drug-testing requirements and a lack of public transportation.
Solutions include finding ways to ease those pressures, as well as increasing pay and developing job-training programs at the high school level, among other efforts.
Iola Mayor Steve French said he was encouraged to know the problems facing Iola and Allen County are universal.
He said he believes the community has already made inroads on some of the programs Chancellor suggested. They just need a more unified approach.
“It’s going to take a community effort,” French said. “We’re going to need to get everyone at the table to tackle these issues, but I think we’re headed in the right direction.”
For example, French pointed to daycare programs such as The Growing Place in Humboldt, which benefits employees at B & W Trailer Hitches.
Another example: Students from area schools have internships with local businesses and industries.However, Amber Wheeler, Humboldt Superintendent of Schools, said the district lacks enough transportation to take every student to those places.
Thrive is working with county commissioners to develop a general transportation program, but it also has hit some bumps in the road, due to the pandemic and how it has caused production delays.
A lack of affordable, middle-income housing is another issue that tends to come up again and again in communities across the country, Chancellor said.
He pointed to several examples of how other communities are addressing those problems, and how the labor study can help.
The study primarily looked at where workers come from and how much they are paid for various positions.
