A good engineer is hard to find

How tough is it to find qualified powertrain engineers?

Pretty darn difficult according to Felicia Fields, Ford group vice president for human resources and corporate services, who is looking to social media to help fill hundreds of technical jobs the automaker has open, including 60 powertrain engineering positions.

"Ford has a high degree of recruiting success in many areas, but in the U.S. we do see a talent shortage when it comes to specific skill sets," Fields said.

That's just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics jobs also left unfilled by the thousands at area corporations and small companies down the street.

It's a problem plaguing Detroit, Marquette, Traverse City, Benton Harbor, Kalamazoo and towns in between.

"Michigan has a real talent gap, especially in the skilled trades," said Stephanie Comai, director of the newly created Michigan Talent Investment Agency.

"Employers are desperate to find qualified talent to fill their vacancies," Comai added. "Our mission is to make people aware that the skilled trades offer a great career path if that's their choice, and to create opportunities for skilled trades training that helps employers fill their in-demand jobs. "

The agency is one of three comprising the newly created Department of Talent and Economic Development, with the others being the Michigan Economic Development Corp. and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Gov. Rick Snyder recently created the new agency to more effectively address changing workplace and talent needs.

Getting back to Ford's dilemma of finding engineers with the right stuff.

"Powertrain engineers with electrification skills, software developers with engineering and manufacturing expertise, and automated driving engineers, are examples of talent that we are seeking," Fields said.

To bridge the gap, Ford is stepping up its efforts and supporting STEM initiatives in a more holistic way.

"We are also using social media to communicate the reasons Ford is an exciting place to work," she said.

Added Karol Friedman, Automation Alley's director of talent development, "One of biggest challenges facing the local tech workforce today is that the technical talent pool isn't very deep."

"Hiring talent was given as the No. 1 answer in our recent membership survey as the top challenge for company growth in the coming year," Friedman said.

When the Michigan Future Business Index recently asked its small-business members: "What do you see as the single greatest challenge to your business over the next year?" they responded: "Keeping/attracting good employees" was their top concern.

"As a reflection of a much better economy the greatest challenges now are related to growth and the highest priority for growth are good people," said Chris Holman, founder of Michigan Business Network.

No doubt there will be more to say about the STEM challenge facing Michigan in the months ahead.

Carol Cain can be reached at 313-222-6732 or clcain@cbs.com. She is senior producer/host of "Michigan Matters" airing 11:30 a.m. Sundays on CBS 62. See Gov. Rick Snyder speak at the Michigan Chronicle's "Pancakes and Politics" stage on today's show.