Workforce

Availability of workforce is the # 1 issue facing employers today.  On this page you’ll find information about Hutchinson’s award-winning skilled workforce development initiative, sources of employees, area workforce availability and local wage rates.

Skilled Workforce Development

Hutchinson has launched the most ambitious skilled workforce development initiative in Minnesota!

It’s called TigerPath and it’s built around the premise that the solution to our skilled workforce needs is right in front of us:  it’s the kids in our high schools.  Here’s a PowerPoint presentation outlining our plan:

Skilled Workforce Development Plan Presentation (pdf)

The TigerPath Initiative is a collaborative effort between the Hutchinson EDA, ISD 423, Ridgewater College, the Southwest Initiative Foundation and 25 local employers and partners to develop the skilled workforce our economy needs.

To date we’ve raised over $1.56 million to implement the plan.

The central fact that informs our effort is that 2/3 of all jobs in the economy require 2-years or less of education past high school (but currently 58% of graduating seniors pursue a bachelor’s degree).  With TigerPath our goal is to get young people going to where the jobs actually are.

TigerPath is: “Discovering Talent, Developing Skills, Building Careers.”

Six core strategies make up Hutchinson’s TigerPath initiative:

1. Realign high school education by implementing the TigerPath Academies – a career academy model of education designed to help students discover their talents, develop their skills and build rewarding careers based on their own interests and aptitudes,  getting away from “one-size-fits-all” solutions.
2. Build seamless educational pathways between high school & college so students can earn free college credit and industry-recognized credentials before they graduate high school.
3. Change outdated stereotypes about manufacturing, education & career choices and gender in the workforce through tours of local precision high-tech manufacturers, job shadowing, a dedicated website and other marketing activities.
4. Build school-employer relationships by implementing an internship program for high school students with local manufacturers and other employers, along with other initiatives such as “adopt a class-room.”
5. Dramatically upgrade high school tech-ed facilities & equipment at the high school to change the stereotype students & parents have of manufacturing, get students inspired and excited about technical education & careers and provide first-class, real-world equipment for students to train on.
6. Launch Tiger Manufacturing – an authentic manufacturing business based in the high school, run by students, designing and manufacturing real products for real customers.  Tiger Manufacturing will add relevance to coursework, provide a realistic work experience, build teamwork & soft skills, foster critical thinking & problem solving skills, and teach entrepreneurship and business operations.

For more information about TigerPath, check out the flipbook pdf at the top of the page.

An executive summary of the TigerPath Initiative can be downloaded here: TigerPath Executive Summary

Finally, this website contains a lot of useful information about the TigerPath Academies at Hutchinson High School and the rationale behind them:  www.HutchTigerPath.com

If you have any questions or need additional information, please call Miles R. Seppelt, our Economic Development Director, at (320) 234-4223 or Email Miles

Sources of employees