TROY – High business taxes and training and preparing the workforce are among top issues that confront Michigan’s growth industries, according to a Walsh College and EPIC-MRA public opinion survey.

The 350 respondents surveyed during the fourth quarter represent advanced automotive materials and manufacturing; life sciences; alternative energy; and defense contracting and homeland security.

Respondents received eight initiatives that have been publicly suggested to enhance Michigan�??s ability to attract and retain growth industries. They scored the initiatives as “Essential,” “Very important,” “Somewhat important,” or, “Not important at all.”

Scores of Essential and Very important were combined to create a list of priorities:

Reduce business taxes: 81 percent

Mandate high school and college curriculum changes: 69 percent

Expand existing workforce development efforts: 65 percent

Provide college tuition and education grant incentives to retain graduates: 64 percent

Invest in repairing roads and transportation: 64 percent

Increase availability of commercial loans and financing opportunities: 8 percent

Ease environmental and workplace safety regulations: 35 percent

Make it more difficult for employees to qualify for workers compensation/unemployment benefits: 29 percent

“The results indicate �??new-economy�?? businesses want policies that will reduce business taxes while advancing strategies to better prepare our workforce, retain our graduates, and rebuild our roads and bridges,” Walsh College President and CEO Stephanie Bergeron said.

“That has been an important issue raised by many business leaders,” she said. “However, the considerable support for education and retraining initiatives is significant, as evidenced by the high ranking of work-relevant curriculum changes, expanding the role of workforce development, and finding ways to keep graduates in Michigan. We believe these are critical issues to address if we are to have the workforce necessary for a knowledge-based economy.”

At the same time, the survey’s significantly lower rankings for workers and unemployment compensation and environmental and safety regulations �?? two issues frequently mentioned as obstacles to economic growth �?? indicated that �??new-economy�?� businesses did not consider these as essential or important.

Twenty seven percent (27 percent) of the respondents indicate that they expect to hire full-time employees during 2009. A college degree was rated as the most important qualification for the new positions (28 percent), followed closely by work experience (26 percent). Other training, certifications, and skills were cited at significantly lower levels.

Asked whether they had difficulty filling open positions in 2008, 31 percent said they had difficulty �?? and 88 percent of those reported applicants were not qualified for the positions.

Lack of experience and not having an appropriate degree or certification were cited as the primary reasons applicants were not qualified.

A strong work ethic led the list of job skills respondents were asked to rank in order of importance:

Strong work ethic: 80 percent

Written and oral communication: 65 percent

Computer skills: 60 percent

Ability to work in teams: 58 percent

Math skills: 56 percent

Entrepreneurial or independent : 55 percent

Leadership skills: 48 percent

Basic science concepts: 38 percent

Advanced management skills: 34 percent

“A strong work ethic is still considered the number-one skill for future employees in the new economy,” Bergeron said. “This is Michigan, after all, and we pride ourselves on a strong work ethic.

“Of note, the survey points out the growing importance of skills such as the ability to work in teams, entrepreneurial and independent thinking, and leadership abilities,” Bergeron said. “These skills need to be emphasized more than ever.”

The survey also indicates that new-economy businesses want colleges to focus more on practical education and hands-on training. The vast majority of respondents believe college courses focus too heavily on the theoretical. Respondents said they strongly belief that students �?? and employers �?? would benefit from students’ greater exposure to practical situations and immersion in the world of work.

Asked whether Michigan colleges and universities should focus on theory or practical situation experience:

Provide practical experience: 65 percent

Focus on theory: 16 percent

Both: 16 percent

Undecided/Don�??t know/Refused: 3 percent

The results indicate that employers believe that gone are the days when Michigan�??s students are best served by sitting in large lecture halls scribbling notes while listening to theoretical presentations that are not useful knowledge in today�??s fast-moving workplace,�?� Bergeron said.

“As Michigan businesses are expected to transform to meet the needs of the future, so, too, must our education system reform,” Bergeron said. “Rather than conduct itself using paradigms of the past, the higher-education community must create and conduct for itself the paradigms of the future.

“In so doing, it will provide tomorrow�??s business leaders with practical and hands-on experience necessary for success in the new economy.”

About the survey

Between September 7, 2008 and September 17, 2008 EPIC-MRA conducted 350 telephone interviews with executives responsible for hiring at employers in Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, and Oakland, St. Clair, Washtenaw and Wayne counties. The employers surveyed represented four growth industries: Advanced Automotive Materials and Manufacturing, Life Sciences, Alternative Energy, and Defense Contracting and Homeland Security. The survey has a sampling error of plus/minus 5.2 percent.

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