Growing North Idaho's workforce
Caroline Lobsinger
Businesses and workers alike have plenty of options these days when it comes to adding skills and workforce benefits and training.
From crafting a menu of benefits from the traditional to those designed to aid in a healthy work-life balance to overall wellness, today's employers are experimenting with nontraditional benefits — all aimed at finding and keeping top talent.
According to Business Insider, businesses spent $51 billion in 2020 with the total expected to rise significantly in the coming years. Locally, North Idaho College is among those offering beyond the standard suite of benefits — something that it's been doing for decades.
“Although the focus of our program has evolved, one of our goals is to provide employees with health and wellbeing benefits,” said Andrea Woempner, NIC benefits specialist.
The college is also leading the charge — this time in helping those looking for help in launching their careers — as it works with local businesses to craft any number of apprenticeship programs. The trend is one that has found fans on all levels — as workers-to-be and businesses alike says it a way to gain needed skills on the one hand and a chance to attract future workers on the other.
Over the last decade, Idaho went from having 50 registered active apprentices in 2014 and by June 2024, that shot up to 2,787, according to state and national program data.
“It's a pretty big program for us, we range from the construction trades to health care,” Mattila said. “We're not limited we can offer apprenticeships in pretty much anything you want and we can design it and build it for companies to make their workforce grow.”
Remote work and online education were all but mandatory during the COVID-19 pandemic, but even though that has shifted toward hybrid work or a return to the office, online learning and connection with employees is still very much part of the present and future.
Webinars and Zoom meetings have become vital tools for education and training. According to "The Future of Remote Work" on upwork.com, the expected growth rate of full-time remote work over the next five years has doubled, from 30% to 65%.
According to some business experts, America’s workforce is seeing a shift as technological advancements and demographic shifts are contributing to rapidly changing economic conditions. That's led to a shift toward science and technology jobs, something that's reflected in the region.
Projections from the Idaho Department of Labor predict a 47.6% increase in STEM-related jobs in Kootenai County by 2032. As of 2022, 8,389 people were employed in STEM-related fields in Kootenai County, with that number expected to rise to over 12,000 by 2032.
As businesses look to find — and keep — top talent, the creation on comprehensive onboarding programs is rising to the forefront for many companies.
According to an Indeed survey, 39% of employees who left a new job within the first six months said more effective onboarding and training would have helped them stay longer. Creation — and implementation — of a strong onboarding program is key to creating and keeping a strong workforce, whether you're a small start-up or a business with a human resources department and dozens to hundreds of employees.
The bottom line? While North Idaho is renowned for its quality of life, the region's businesses are at the forefront of making sure that includes what's available in terms of workforce training and benefits.
— Caroline Lobsinger, North Idaho Business Journal
