Oregon’s schools and colleges might consider offering more training in soft skills, exposing young people to potential career paths earlier and bumping up the number of nurses and dental assistants they train, according to a new report on Oregon’s workforce.

Portland consulting firm ECONorthwest surveyed and interviewed hundreds of employers around the state for the 2022 Oregon Talent Assessment, released by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission and state Workforce and Talent Development Board this week. The report highlights what business and industry leaders say they need and the ways that Future Ready Oregon, a $200 million government initiative to upgrade the state’s workforce, could help fill those gaps.

The pandemic created the “greatest disruption to the workforce since World War II,” the report says, and while recovery varies sector to sector, statewide employment levels have not rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

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