The Republican race for Oklahoma labor commissioner is headed to a runoff later this month, with state Rep. Kevin West squaring off against state Rep. John Pfeiffer. The two agree on many of the challenges facing Oklahoma’s workforce, but they disagree on how to address them.

Building Oklahoma’s Workforce

With Oklahoma continuing to face hiring challenges in some industries, both candidates say building the state’s workforce should be a top priority. Pfeiffer said the Labor Department should play a larger role in workforce development. West agrees that Oklahoma needs more workers, but he believes the pipeline has to start earlier.

West’s focus would be getting students connected to careers before they graduate. He mentioned expanding apprenticeships and internships for 16- and 17-year-olds, giving people in high school an opportunity to get connected with the workforce and actually see what it’s like, get some of that hands-on training to determine if that’s even what they want to do.

Oklahoma CareerTech is a strength for Oklahoma, but the candidates emphasize different benefits. West wants more students to take advantage of its programs, while Pfeiffer wants more businesses to use its training resources.

Original reporting: Oklahoma City News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.