These jobs are a high priority to fill in Lancaster County | Local Business

Maintenance manager Bill Beyer measures his need for workers at the 14-acre Pepperidge Farm plant in East Cocalico Township by potential retirements, not by job openings.

He has two maintenance positions open but thinks more about the knowledge it takes to run the manufacturing facility that makes iconic Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers, cookies, breads and rolls.

“I counted up 12 people that could retire right now or in the next two years,” said Beyer, 53.  “I don’t want to wait until they are gone to bring a new person in.”

Pepperidge Farms’ need for industrial maintenance workers is an example of trends influencing Lancaster County’s and the nation’s aging manufacturing workforce. The need to find workers is compounded by the competition for the skilled trade workers among the county’s vibrant manufacturing sector.

More than 16% of the county’s workers are employed in manufacturing, making it the second largest employment sector just behind health care. When it comes to gross domestic product, manufacturing makes up 17% of the county’s output. 

Jobs for industrial machinery mechanics like the ones Beyer is filling at Pepperidge Farm are expected to grow 25% by 2030 in Lancaster County, according to a recent state Department of Labor & Industry report. It is among 74 high priority occupations in the county. 

The list of high priority occupations is developed each year by Pennsylvania’s Center for Workforce Information & Analysis in collaboration with regional workforce development boards and employers to help align local workforce training with in-demand occupations. 

High priority occupations are occupations that are in demand by employers, have higher skill needs and are most likely to provide family-sustaining wages. Some factors influencing the demand for these jobs include high rates of employee turnover and shifting consumer demands.

The changing demographics and economic demands means businesses like Pepperidge Farm need a connection from schools and the community to their production floors and offices. 

Beyer finds support to build a bridge to the next generation of manufacturing workers in his ongoing relationship with the electro-mechanical and electrical technology programs at his alma mater, Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology, where he chairs an advisory committee. Twenty four – or about 30% – of his maintenance staff are Thaddeus Stevens graduates. 

“Of the 78 high priority occupations, 59 of those only require an associate degree or lower,” said Dr. Antonio Jackson, vice president for academic affairs at Thaddeus Stevens, adding that the college provides training for 36 of the high priority jobs.

READ: Skilled workers needed as unemployment in Lancaster County ticks up to 3.1%

READ: Here are the jobs predicted to grow the fastest – and which will decline – in Pa.

READ: $600,000 grant to Lancaster Chamber Foundation will help recruit and train direct care workers

What’s making some jobs hot

An aging workforce is impacting local industries at different rates, according to the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board. 

Skills-based industries like manufacturing and construction have an aging workforce and underscore the need to upskill younger workers and transfer knowledge from older, more experienced employees.  Nearly a quarter (23.1%) of the local manufacturing workforce is approaching retirement (between the ages of 55 and 64), according to recent data from the EDC Lancaster County Center for Regional Analysis. 

Retail trade (12.1%), transportation and warehousing (10.6%), and wholesale trade (11.0%) employ a larger share of retirement age workers (65 and older) than other sectors.

Upskilling and early connections 

To help fill anticipated openings, the Lancaster County Workforce Development Board administers programs that connect young people to potential careers and trains others to step into new roles. 

“Providing internships and co-ops, getting students in the doors of businesses, learning skills and learning about the companies so they will stay and work for them is what we need to be doing now so we can slow down that decreasing prime age worker decline, especially with the increase in retirements,” Anna Ramos, executive director of the workforce board wrote in an email to LNP | LancasterOnline explaining the use of the high priority occupations forecast. 

“This past program year, we were able to reimburse businesses a total of $84,000 for upskilling their workforce,” said Ramos. “….This is so important to get people in the positions that are needed. We are also focused on keeping the talent here in our county, with the decreasing labor force numbers, it is critically important to ensure that we are investing in our youth and providing them opportunities to learn about all the industries and career pathways available to them so they can start planning early and have a plan way before they exit high school.” 

In addition to apprenticeship support, the workforce board offers what it calls “incumbent worker training” for businesses to increase skills of workers to earn certifications. Other popular training programs include a 10-month program for truck and bus drivers and a 20-month welding engineering technician program. 

For those not yet in the workforce, exposure to career options comes through career camps and other programs. 

For example, during a two week camp this summer, 18 teenagers are learning about careers in manufacturing and applied engineering in the career test drive program by Mantec, one of seven nonprofit industrial resource centers in the state.

Applied engineering studies overlap one of Lancaster County’s high priority jobs: mechanical engineers. 

“One of the goals of the camp is to help students realize the differences between the traditional and applied, as many of them don’t realize most engineers sit at desks all day,” said Cindi Moses, who coordinates career test drive program, noting that Millersville University is rare in that it has a four-year applied engineering program and two-year programs.

Exposure to potential careers continues as students get older as businesses like Premier Custom-Built have tapped into relationships with Thaddeus Stevens to build its workforce. 

Premier Custom-Built, a cabinet- maker in Earl Township, has interns from Thaddeus Stevens in welding and drafting, which are among high priority occupations. The company also has cabinet making interns, which is not a high priority job but one that has high concentration in the county. 

Human resources manager Wendy Davis said the relationship with Thaddeus Stevens has built up the cabinet-maker’s workforce: 15 out of 125 are graduates. 

“It’s been a good avenue for us to get skilled workers,” she said.