State labor commissioner says employers finding workers with soft skills in low supply

Published 10:37 am Thursday, May 9, 2019

CHATSWORTH, Ga. — Ten years after the end of the Great Recession, employers have reached all of the “easy pickings” when it comes to finding workers, says Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler.

“In an economy like this, somebody who has the will and knows what they are doing and has the soft skills is going to get a job,” Butler said Wednesday at the Murray County Recreation Department during a lunch and learn session hosted by the Chatsworth-Eton-Murray County Chamber of Commerce.

Those soft skills, he said, include such things as showing up on time, the ability to work with others, communication skills and being organized.

“How many of you are actively hiring people or looking to hire people?” Butler asked.

About half of the roughly 50 people in attendance raised a hand.

“How many of you that are hiring are having difficulty finding people?” Butler asked.

Pretty much all of the same people raised a hand.

“How many of you have offered someone a job, told them to show up on a certain day and they failed to show up?” Butler asked.

Again, pretty much all of those who indicated they were looking for workers raised a hand.

“This isn’t just limited to this region,” he said. “Employers from across the state — from the metro Atlanta area to southwest Georgia — say the same thing. They are having trouble finding people with the soft skills they need.”

Butler said a related issue employers face is finding individuals who can pass an initial drug-screening test. He said employers tell him they have often offered people a job contingent on a drug screening and when the applicant finds out he has to be drug tested he just walks away from the offer.

Murray County Sole Commissioner Greg Hogan said he has seen that happen with applicants for county jobs.

“You tell them, ‘You have to pass a drug test.’ And they say, ‘How long until I have to take the test?’ You say, ‘You have to take it today if you want the job’ and they just go away,” he said.

Chamber President Phenna Petty said local employers say those with soft skills and the ability to pass a drug test are vital and increasingly hard to find.

“They tell us ‘If we can find somebody with the soft skills, we can train them on the job skills we need,'” she said.

Butler said schools have to start early in developing those soft skills.

“That’s why we developed the GeorgiaBEST (Business Employability Skills Training) program,” he said.

That program trains students on work ethic and soft skills and provides those who complete the program with a certificate they can provide to employers.