State chamber leaders warn workforce gaps threaten Oklahoma’s growth

The leading statewide voice of Oklahoma’s business community says the state faces a workforce problem that cannot be ignored.

That was the message the State Chamber of Oklahoma delivered to the state’s congressional delegation this week during its annual fly-in to Washington, D.C.

"It's critically important when people come from home, the real world, to talk to members of Congress and our staffs about the things that matter back home," said Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK3).

Chamber leaders said what matters most to business leaders in Tulsa, Oklahoma City, and across the state is mounting evidence that being business-friendly isn’t enough.

"What we're seeing when we look at the data is, we're really falling behind when it comes to GDP, per capita income growth, we’re terribly behind in health care outcomes, terribly behind in education outcomes," said State Chamber President and CEO Chad Warmington.

"We've got folks entering into college, going into our career tech system, or going right into the workforce that literally can't read. And it's an absolute, tragic dynamic," said State Chamber Board Chair Rick Nagel.

Nagel said companies with good jobs want to expand or relocate to Oklahoma but cannot because of workforce shortcomings.

"A lot of these new jobs require STEM backgrounds—science, technology, engineering, math, the arts. And we do not have young people that are capable," Nagel said.

Warmington said the Chamber is preparing to launch an initiative called Oklahoma Competes to help move the needle, but success will require buy-in from business, state government, and federal leaders.

"They're very interested and they want to be a part of the solution, because Oklahoma's best days can be ahead of us. But we're not going to get anywhere if we’re 47th in third-grade reading scores," Warmington said.