Around the County: An Intern’s Perspective on Workforce

My biggest takeaway from my tour and conversations with Perdue and Artisan Ice—besides admiring the tasty chicken nuggets and stunning ice sculptures—was their shared concern for the future of their skilled workforce, a challenge faced by many local companies.

Perdue highlighted their concerns that a large portion of their experienced staff have been with the company for over 20 years and are set to retire within the next 10+ years, prompting a need to recruit and train new employees with the right skills.

Similarly, Artisan Ice Sculptures is also focused on this issue, actively training new hires and seeking additional methods to ensure they can develop the necessary expertise. 

This issue was further highlighted at the Cabarrus Industry Council meeting, which shared results from a manufacturing survey indicating that 53% of the local workforce is expected to retire in the next decade.

The data shows that this problem that Perdue and Artisan Ice face is part of something much larger. It expresses the need to raise awareness about programs and opportunities that support both workers and companies, ensuring a more secure and stable future for the workforce. Visit our Facebook post to get to know our summer intern, Roger Cornejo, a little better.