Nearly 60,000 New Skilled Trades Jobs Expected in Oakland through 2019

2387

Nearly 60,000 jobs in high-demand vocations — in industries including manufacturing, health care, information technology, energy, and agriculture — are expected to open up in the next five years in Oakland County and the region.

The jobs — nearly 11,000 a year— are predicted to have long-term growth and require less than a four-year college degree, says a new report from Oakland County Michigan Works! and the Michigan Department of Technology, Management, and Budget.

“The baby boomers are starting to age out of the workforce,” says Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson. “There are plenty of challenging and rewarding careers starting to open up. Our goal is to connect talented Oakland County residents with these jobs.”

Of the openings, nearly 13 percent will be for registered nurses, who earn an average salary of about $68,000 a year. The report also predicts that Oakland County and the region will have about 375 openings annually for electricians and more than 250 openings for plumbers, who both make about $63,000 a year.

Other high-demand careers include electricians, dental hygienists, and first-line supervisors, Patterson says.

To search a list of current job openings, visit MITradeSchool.org, launched last year by Oakland County’s Department of Economic Development & Community Affairs.