Washington Business Fall 2019 | Washington Business | Page 25

what’s working
Practical Solutions for Washington’s
Workforce Shortage
A high school manufacturing curriculum called
Core Plus is quickly expanding across the state.
Andrew Lenderman
Washington’s labor shortage continues to pose a challenge for employers. But the new
Core Plus program backed by private industry and state leaders shows promise as one
practical solution to support the state’s economy – and its workforce.
At A Glance
The Boeing Company wrote the first
curriculum for Core Plus in 2014
and donated it to the state.
The program began with a focus
on aerospace and advanced
manufacturing and is now
expanding to maritime trades and
manufacturing and construction
trades.
Core Plus helps employers reduce
training time, and students
who graduate with a Core Plus
certificate gain entry into a
promising career path.
Khalid Abdikarani was exposed to Washington manufacturing through an expanding high school
program called Core Plus. Today he’s working at Boeing, just a few months after graduation.
Khalid Abdikarani is on a roll.
The 18-year-old from Auburn signed up for a new high school program called
Core Plus as a junior. That led to an internship with Boeing. Today, just a few
months after graduation, he’s got a full-time job working on airplane wings. This
fall he plans to start college at the University of Washington Tacoma. Boeing will
pay the tuition as long as it meets the program requirements.
“I love the work, the benefits, the atmosphere, the coworkers, the community.
It’s a really good environment,” Abdikarani said in a recent interview.
Washington and the rest of America need many more young people like him.
There are roughly 300,000 manufacturing workers in Washington today. But a
lot of them are ready to retire.
“All industries are experiencing an increase in retirements,” says Amy Anderson,
AWB’s government affairs director for workforce.
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