Washington was one of 46 states facing budget shortfalls this year, as fallout from the national and global recession continues to cause drops in employment and corresponding spikes in demand for state services. The financial hurdles we are going through are not extraordinary, but Washington state is taking extraordinary measures to kickstart our economic engines. In fact, part of the journey to economic recovery is starting right here in Snohomish with two of our state’s most important industries – nursing and aerospace.
Like the rest of the nation, our state is facing unprecedented nursing shortages. As the demand for health care services continues to rise, projections indicate the nursing shortfall will significantly compromise the health and health care of state residents. According to the Center for Health Workforce Studies at the University of Washington, if we do nothing, the nursing shortfall would reach nearly 25,000 in only one decade.
UW Bothell has a nursing program at its Bothell campus, as well as at Skagit Community College, but they are overenrolled. The University Center at the Everett Community College was approved for 250 full-time equivalents at the upper-division and graduate levels, and it is already at 285.
That’s why I worked this legislative session to secure funds in the state budget to allow the University Center at the Everett Community College, in conjunction with UW Bothell, to expand its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. The 25 new slots for Bachelor of Science in Nursing degrees, that we got in this year’s budget, will help to meet the growing demand and help more of our residents get trained in a fast-growing, high-wage industry.
Another step toward recovery is taking place in Washington’s aerospace industry, which contributes $36 billion annually to the state economy and represents nearly 1/6th of Washington’s Gross Domestic Product. The more than 650 companies that make up our state’s aerospace industry require a wide array of well-trained and educated workers such as engineers, engineering technicians, systems analysts and computer programmers. But the industry keeps telling us these skilled workers are hard to find.
Not for long. After numerous obstacles that could have stalled progress, the new Washington Aerospace Training and Research Center opened its doors at Paine Field earlier this month, sooner than anyone thought possible. This is due entirely to the collaborative leadership that came from every direction to overcome the challenges and raise more than $6 million in federal, state, local and private funds to make it happen.
Operated by Edmonds Community College via the Aerospace Futures Alliance, the new Aerospace Training and Research Center will be a place for research, technology transfer and aerospace training that meets specific, real-world needs of the industry’s employers. For those older aerospace workers in need of retraining, the center provides a smooth transition to the classroom. Training and retraining, at least in the very important context of workforce development, is and should always be industry’s highest priority.
The Center is an excellent example of private industry and government working together to fulfill that priority. Economic recovery won’t happen overnight, but these successes show that we’re definitely on the right track. The nursing program at the Everett Community College and the aerospace program at the new Training and Research Center will help meet the growth of the health care sector and stimulate aerospace industry clusters, while helping to build the economy throughout the state.