A recent study that sounded an alarm about the region’s possible inability to fill thousands of jobs in coming years might not have presented the full picture.

The study, commissioned by the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce, was critical of what a consultant saw as a lack of coordinating manufacturing workforce development, education and training in the region.

But Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College President Phillip Neal disagrees.

“There actually is a lot more collaboration going on than the consultant referenced,” Neal said. “Which may mean we need to communicate more than what we are doing. We have a lot invested in industry. We do a tremendous amount of customized training.”

For the study, a consultant relied on personal interaction with 80 people and the return of surveys from 40 industries in the region.

Neal said the technical college actually has ties with or has served about 600 industries across southcentral Kentucky. Industries are involved in an advisory capacity with each of its programs to make sure that the school is offering to students what industries need in employees.

“Industry representatives review our equipment and curriculum,” Neal said. “They have been doing that for years.”

The school has a half dozen two-year degree programs that directly relate to what industries need, such as welding, engineering technology and industrial maintenance, Neal said. There also are multiple certificate programs available that take from eight to 16 weeks to complete. Within six months of graduation from the two-year degree programs, about 80 percent of students have jobs. Students in the robotics program typically have jobs lined up before they graduate, he said.

And the school provides customized training for industries, he said.

For instance, the college last year set up a robotics center to help provide training for General Motors Bowling Green Assembly Plant employees so they could learn how to use the robotics that are manufacturing the new Corvette Stingray, he said.

Without a local training site, all employees would have had to travel either to Ohio or Michigan.

“We took the resources and brought in the equipment, and we were able to offer the training,” Neal said. “We are offering courses in that now because more than a dozen other manufacturers in the area use that equipment. Many of the skills that she was talking about (the employment pool) needing, we offer.”

But the consultant’s report said 67 percent of employers surveyed couldn’t find skilled candidates for some positions, 88 percent see limited access to a skilled workforce as a barrier to expansion and 74 percent worry about maintaining a skilled and motivated workforce.

Asking the questions that prompted these responses was not meant as a criticism of the system here, said Nick Furhman, policy and communications director for the chamber.

“Asking the questions was meant to be constructive,” Fuhrman said. “And our role is to facilitate conversations. We stand behind what Audrey Theis brought forth. As a result of this report, we now have an Advanced Manufacturing Council Formed … that will ensure that industries open their doors to schools and teachers so that they can see what industries are about and to be responsible for communicating their needs.”

Rodney Kirtley, executive director of the Barren River Area Development District, takes issue with the report.

“I thought what she did was very negative, and I don’t agree with it,” Kirtley said.

The BRADD coordinates the Workforce Investment Board, which Kirtley said is made up of industry representatives. The board oversees training programs for youths and provides and connects services to displaced workers.

That youth training program is being recognized next month at the National Association of Development Directors. The program helped turn around the life of an at-risk Simpson County youth who now has a secure job and hope for even more education. The board also sponsored a training this summer for high school teachers so they could see what industries are looking for.

Kirtley admits there might be a lack of skilled workers for certain positions. But he doesn’t think it’s a widespread problem – otherwise, places such as Franklin Precision Industry wouldn’t be expanding and adding jobs.

As for the report’s statement about a significant mismatch between workers’ skills and industry needs, Kirtley said that just isn’t true.

Kentucky’s Career Center helps employers do just that and encourages potential employees to obtain career readiness certificates.

“If there is a problem … it is that we aren’t recruiting high-paying jobs,” Kirtley said. “The ones we do recruit are paying about the same (base) as unemployment, so people aren’t taking the jobs because they will lose benefits such as (Kentucky Children’s Health Insurance Program). Lawmakers need to do something about the unemployment benefits program.”

Kirtley said he feels the consultant felt compelled to find something wrong.

“When you hire a home inspector they have to find something bad. But to say there is no coordination, I disagree with that. We work all the time; (Western Kentucky University), (SKyCTC) and high schools work together and meet with industry. (SKyCTC) even has a campus at the Kentucky Transpark,” he said.

Neal said those “pathways” between education and industry exist.

Neal said students at SKyCTC can mostly take their two-year degrees and transfer to WKU for four-year degrees. Training is also being offered to high school students.

But as the consultant pointed out, Neal said there may be a need to inform parents and high school students that there are a wealth of good jobs available in the manufacturing industry.

“We will still try to recruit (students), and we will keep doing what industries ask us to,” Neal said.

— Robyn L. Minor covers business, environment, transportation and other issues for the Daily News. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/bowserminor or visit bgdailynews.com.