Tulsa Regional Meeting Continues Workforce Tour
Governor Fallin, business leaders talk about addressing skills gap, other employment issues
Oklahoma City (September 29, 2015) – The State Chamber of Oklahoma today hosted the sixth of nine regional meetings featuring Governor Mary Fallin to talk with business leaders and the education community in the Tulsa area about problems they face finding skilled workers. The meetings are a partnership between the State Chamber, the Oklahoma Educated Workforce Initiative (OEWI) and Governor Fallin’s Oklahoma Works program.
“Most employers tell me they have good, high-paying jobs that sit empty because, too often, we are graduating students without the skills needed for the modern workforce,” said State Chamber President & CEO Fred Morgan. “We need to change that in order to make sure Oklahoma’s economy continues to grow. We want to thank Governor Fallin for starting the conversation between the business community and educators about how to address the state’s current and future workforce needs. We look forward to even more engagement by business leaders in the meetings to come.”
During the meeting at Tulsa Community College’s Metro Campus Center for Creativity, Governor Fallin told attendees about the skills gap the state is facing where 54-percent of the current workforce has education beyond high school while 77-percent of the jobs in ten years will require more than a high school diploma. “Our goal is to significantly increase the number of people who continue their education beyond high school,” Fallin said.
Stuart Solomon, president and CEO of the Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO), also spoke as the Key Economic Network Business Champion for the Tulsa area as chosen by Governor Fallin. “There are so many positive initiatives out there, we have to celebrate those,” Solomon said. “How do we expand local programs that are working statewide?.”
There are three more regional meetings scheduled around the state through the end of October:
October 26 Shawnee
October 27 Woodward
October 30 Chouteau
For more information go to www.okstatechamber.com/events.
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