This years survey reflects a continued upward trend in hiring and also presents opportunities for the regional partners to continue to work together to find ways to engage the workforce in meaningful career paths. We are especially encouraged by the employer engagement and their continued support and participation in finding ways to improve the quality or our workforce, said Mary Ann Rojas, director of Workforce Development for the City of Springfield.

Survey highlights

According to the survey, the top three occupational fields that Ozarks organizations will look to recruit from in the next five to 10 years are the same as last year: business, management and administration; marketing, sales and service; and information technology/computer science.

Between 25% and 35% of organizations surveyed plan to hire additional full-time and/or part-time employees over the next year, slightly up from the 2015 survey results. Between 40% and 50% of the organizations surveyed plan to hire additional full-time and/or part-time employees over the next three to five years, down slightly from the 2015 survey results. A majority of survey respondents 67% reported that at least some of their jobs/positions require employees to have a background in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

Low number of applicants, lack of relevant work experience, lack of good communication skills (written, verbal and nonverbal) as well as a lack of job-specific knowledge/technical skills were the most frequently identified skill deficiencies of job applications (each mentioned by nearly half of survey respondents).

More than 80% of respondents indicated that most or some of their current employees need improvement in the areas of listening, time management, leadership, goal setting, work ethics/habits, interpersonal relations, adaptability, decision making/critical thinking, problem solving, and creative thinking.

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