Port of Oakland challenge: finding enough skilled workers to fill hundreds of new jobs

Message during foundation visit: more skilled workers needed, training is key

Oakland, Calif., 2017-Mar-22 — /Travel PR News/ — Industrial development will soon create hundreds of new jobs at the Port of Oakland.  The challenge: finding enough skilled workers to fill them.  That was the message Port officials delivered to a visiting delegation from the philanthropic Kellogg Foundation last week.

The Port said it wants to fill the skills gap with training for job candidates.  It added that its aim is to put more local people to work.

“Our economic impact is inextricably tied to the jobs we create,” Port Social Responsibility Director Amy Tharpe told visitors from the 87-year-old foundation. “The question we must ask ourselves is how does the Port’s business activity translate into maximum community benefit?”

Officials from Battle Creek, Mich.-based Kellogg Foundation, along with some foundation grant recipients, travelled to Oakland to learn how the Port creates jobs for underserved populations.  The Port listed the ways:

• A project labor agreement that establishes aggressive local-hiring goals and workforce development funding for capital construction projects;
• Using project dollars to pay for job training to create a local workforce pipeline; and
• Partnerships with developers and contractors interested in putting local residents to work.

“We find good tenants for Port property who drive good jobs,” said Port Maritime Director John Driscoll.  “These are skilled entry-level jobs with upward mobility.”

The Port said major developments are underway that provide jobs ranging from construction to warehouse operations.  Among them: expansion of Oakland International Airport’s International Arrivals Building and a 280,000-square-foot refrigerated seaport warehouse.  A just-completed rail yard provided 542 construction jobs, said Ms. Tharpe.  She said that 60 percent of those jobs went to local workers.

Mr. Driscoll said employers are searching for workers with skills such as truck driving or forklift operation.  “We don’t have a good base of fundamental skills,” he said.

Ms. Tharpe said the Port assists local agencies that train workers for skilled blue-collar jobs.  She said developers pay into a job-development fund 30 cents for every employee-hour worked on a Port project.

About 73,000 jobs depend on the Port of Oakland, Ms. Tharpe said.  She added that workers in the San Francisco East Bay where the Port is located fill two-thirds of those jobs.

About the Port of Oakland:
The Port of Oakland oversees the Oakland seaport, Oakland International Airport, and 20 miles of waterfront. Together with its business partners, the Port supports more than 73,000 jobs in the region and nearly 827,000 jobs across the United States. Connect with the Port of Oakland and Oakland International Airport through Facebook, or with the Port on Twitter, YouTube, and at www.portofoakland.com.

SOURCE: Port of Oakland

Media Contacts: Mike Zampa Communications Director Port of Oakland (510) 627-1565 mzampa@portoakland.comMarilyn Sandifur Port Spokesperson Port of Oakland (510) 627-1193 msandifur@portoakland.com

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