The Washington Chamber of Commerce Executives and the Association of Washington Business have both endorsed a comprehensive survey designed to learn more about the workforce struggles and successes of Washington’s employers.
The survey is planned to reach over 4,000 Washington businesses to ask about their experience and needs in hiring workers, and their practices in trying to achieve an adequately skilled workforce. In addition, employers who have recently hired newly trained workers will be asked about their satisfaction with the skills of recently hired employees.
The surveys are conducted every other year and will be analyzed by the Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (Workforce Board), the state agency responsible for planning, monitoring and improving the state’s worker training system.
“We are pleased to once again be partnering with the Workforce Board and the AWB Institute,” said Bob Green, president of the Washington Chamber of Commerce Executives. “The few minutes that employers spend with this survey will support our efforts to create a strong economy for Washington workers and businesses.”
By asking businesses about their hiring and training experiences, the survey serves as a barometer on how Washington is doing in ensuring its economy has the skilled workers it needs to succeed. Survey responses are kept confidential so business owners can be completely candid about their hiring experiences and the performance of their workforce. If you are one of the 4,000 businesses who receive the survey, you are encouraged to invest the 15 minutes necessary to fill out and return the confidential survey.
The greater the response rate, the better the accuracy. The sampling procedure is designed to collect 3,000 Needs and Practices responses from a wide range of employers well distributed across the state’s regions and mix of industries, including employers of all sizes, from twoperson firms to very large companies.
The Association of Washington Business has a voting representative on the Workforce Board and has been a sponsor of the survey in previous years as well.
“A skilled workforce is essential if our state is to remain competitive and attract and retain jobs,” said AWB President Don Brunell. “We hope employers will take a moment to participate in this survey. It will be extremely helpful in terms of aligning the needs of today’s workforce with the training students receive in our colleges. Too many jobs are going unfilled right now,” he said. “We must do more to help prepare the next generation of workers to meet the needs of today’s employers.”
Survey results will be published later this year. To view the 2010 Employer Survey results, click here.
