Tagged: aerospace workers

OLYMPIA, Wash. - Two aerospace companies plan to expand their operations in Washington. Governor Chris Gregoire made that announcement Monday from the Farnborough Air Show in London. But the news highlights a gap between the legions of unemployed and the skills they need for many new jobs.

Everett, Washington is a good microcosm for the so-called skills gap. The industrial city north of Seattle is home to Boeing and hundreds of key aerospace suppliers.

The same day Boeing announced it is employing more than 80,000 workers in Washington for the first time in nearly a dozen years, Sen. Maria Cantwell said the state needs 21,000 more educated and trained workers to fill jobs in the aviation industry in the next decade.