With workforce shortages and the departure of young Nebraskans threatening the growth and economic future of the state, the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Thursday rolled out its legislative efforts to tap funding to help address the challenge.
"There's a sense of urgency," Bryan Slone of Omaha, president of the Chamber, said during a Zoom conference call with Sens. Mike Flood of Norfolk, Anna Wishart of Lincoln, Mark Kolterman of Seward and John Arch of La Vista, each of whom is sponsoring a bill to target funding to workforce development priorities.
On the legislative table this year are a billion dollars in federal pandemic recovery funding that can be tapped for state priorities.Â
Nebraska is staring at a future where there may be more residents 65 and older than there are 18 and younger, Wishart noted, and "I see that as staring at the abyss" in terms of the state's economic future.
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Slone said "we must move as quickly as possible," recognizing that "workforce statewide is the issue."
Flood said there is "so much potential in rural Nebraska" in the form of young people who grow up there and represent "a core resource" if they can see opportunities that will encourage and enable them to stay in the state.Â
Nebraska is coming out of the coronavirus pandemic in a competitive position, Slone said, but needs to address its challenges of population and workforce opportunities now.
The state has an estimated 50,000 or more available jobs unfilled, he said.
Meanwhile, the birth rate in Nebraska is declining, he noted.
"It's a real contest right now for workers and technology," Slone said, and Nebraska's economic future will depend on keeping young people in the state while attracting other workers to come here.
The needs include legislation to triple internship support, bolster community industrial and commercial site development, drive innovation, build a pathway to technology-based careers and "modernize our tax system" while marketing the state, he said.
On a national level, he said, Nebraska would benefit from legal immigration reform.
Flood said Nebraska now counts 1.8 job openings per 1 unemployed worker and needs training and apprenticeship opportunities to help build its workforce.
Workforce development can be "the good life game-changer," Slone said.Â