Hundreds Gather In St. Paul To Address State's Workforce

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- The North Star Summit's "Mapping Economic Prosperity for Minnesota" took place Monday in St. Paul.

The event included legislative leaders, higher education officials as well as labor industry experts.

"We have a low unemployment rate, and businesses are hiring and they need people who are adequately skilled, and they don't always feel like they are getting them," said Sean Kershaw, the executive director of the Citizen's League.

He also said there is a disparity among whites and people of color.

"And it's not just a moral question, it's an economic one," Kershaw said.

He says if anything emerges from the summit, there needs to be an urgency to the matter.

"That productivity is key to Minnesota's future," he said.

Another interesting fact is that 70 percent of people in the workforce now will be in the workforce in the year 2030.

"They are going to be retrained," Kershaw said.

Legislative leaders are looking at ways to work with the private sector to help young people get the higher education and training they need in order to be ready to join Minnesota's workforce.