A quarterly report from staffing company Manpower Inc. found that 25 percent of area companies surveyed planned to hire more people from October to December. And 69 percent expect to maintain their current staffing levels.

The California Economic Forecast reported last week that there has been 1.9 percent job growth this year in Ventura County, with the leisure and hospitality industry driving the improvement. In July, Ventura County unemployment was 4.7 percent, which was less than the state and national jobless rates.

"We're in a good situation. Ventura County's labor market is so diverse - it's not all agriculture, manufacturing, bioscience or hospitality," said Tom Nikirk, interim director of the county's Workforce Investment Board.

Nikirk noted that some industries are heavily affected by the aging baby boom population - more employees are needed to provide services for older residents or to replace retirees.

In manufacturing, there is increasing demand for machine operators, machinists, and tool and die makers as people with those skills retire, he said.

With fewer high schools offering vocational courses and too few training programs for adults, some manufacturing companies have to hire underqualified people and then train them, Nikirk said.

"You can imagine the impact on your company when you have to do that," he said. "That's why we're beginning conversations and putting steps in place to increase training."

He said the board also plans to focus more on helping businesses fund programs for their employees who want to move to new positions within the same company.

For example, it could assist a hospital receptionist who is interested in becoming a medical assistant or nurse. The program would help companies fill positions while finding a replacement for an employee who changes jobs.

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