Perspective delivered by

Christopher Germain, AICP, EDFP

CEO, LSCP.

Marquette County – like nearly all other areas – has focused a majority of its economic development efforts on creating jobs, continually fighting the perception that employment opportunities were scarce or low paying. While it is true that we have taken our punches over the years up here, the story today is that we have more jobs than people. In fact, there are more than 1,022 current job openings in the County today.

But where are those 1,022 job openings? And how much can one expect to earn in these top career fields? Jenna Smith, Market Manager for Manpower in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan has been analyzing the data and suggests the following:

“There are a wide variety of jobs available in our area, including in the manufacturing industry, food service, medical, and professional services. The salaries for these roles will vary widely based on industry standards and your experience level, but it is safe to say wages have been increasing across our region over the past few years. Earnings are important when considering a new job, but I would also encourage folks to review the benefits offered – health insurance, retirement, and time off offerings can make up for differences in salary over the long-term. My best advice for taking that next step in your career would be to gain transferrable skills and relevant experiences in the field you would like to advance in. Skills can be obtained in several ways, through entry-level jobs, temporary positions, internships, formal education, informal mentorship, or a career zigzag. At Manpower, we have many opportunities to allow candidates to build on their skills to position them for that next step in their careers.”

Connecting talent and businesses is constantly on our radar at the LSCP. And to do that, we work with a number of public and private partners including Michigan Works Upper Peninsula, Pure Michigan, Stang Decision Systems, and Manpower. If you’re a business and you aren’t already connected with these talent organizations, we can help make that connection.

In addition to the insight above, we now have access to a comprehensive set of regional and county-level labor data available on InvestUP’s data portal tab on investupmi.com. Additionally, investing Partners of the LSCP can gain access to EMSI Workforce Insight Reports to better understand the market for specific positions; better data makes for better decisions.

Already know the market and looking for ways to advertise a job opening? The LSCP and its partner talent organizations can help with that too. We also have information on training programs, workforce development programs, and educational opportunities. There is a wealth of information and resources out there and the LSCP can help businesses navigate the field to know what fits their needs best and connect you to our public or private sector partners.

A great place to start: marquette.org/hire or just reach out to the LSCP and we’ll get you connected.

Opportunities for career growth continue to expand in our region and Marquette is a great place to start, continue, and grow a career in any number of fields. We encourage those who are sitting outside of the workforce at the moment to consider re-entering and we encourage businesses in our area to remain informed and up-to-date on how to best compete for employees in an ever-changing world. The LSCP – and our many talent partners – can help, so please reach out.

For more information, contact the Lake Superior Community Partnership at (906) 226-6591. The Lake Superior Community Partnership (LSCP) is Marquette County’s resource for economic development, providing a wide variety of affordable and effective development services. The LSCP helps our partners make the connections that matter – between businesses, organizations, leaders and legislators, and provides a powerful legislative voice for programs and policies that strengthen our regional economy. More information on the Lake Superior Community Partnership can be found at www.marquette.org.