Manpower Study
by Dr. George Lowrey

In the summer of 1972, with funds from the Illinois Park and Recreation Society for printing and mailing, an attempt was made to assess the recreation and parks manpower needs of the state of Illinois. As a part of the study, inquiry was made on awareness of the two-year college degree (Associate of Arts) in Recreation and how students from these institutions were faring in the job market.

We would like to report on the findings of that survey for your information and whatever use might be made of the results.

SAMPLING

Six hundred and twenty-three (623) questionaires were sent to thirteen different types of agencies throughout the state of Illinois. One hundred and eighty-seven questionaires were returned for an approximately 30% return rate. The returns break down as follows:

Type of Agency	of Sample Percentage
Park Districts ..............................	48.6
YMCA, YWCA ............................	19.7
Municipal System ........................	15.5
Boy Scouts ....................................	5.3
Forest Preserve District ............	2.2
Illinois State Parks ......................	2.2
Conservation Districts ................	1.6
Girls' Clubs, Boys' Clubs, Resident Camps, Jewish Community Centers ..................	4.9
	100%

Thus, results come primarily from the top three agencies which comprise 83.8% of the sample. Geographically, the sample breaks down as follows:

Area	Percentage
Chicago Metro ..............................	..... 55.1
Northwest .......................................	..... 12.8
West Central ..................................	.... 11.2
East Central ..................................	.... 8.0
Southern ........................................	.... 3.7
Far South ......................................	.... 3.7

Other questionnaires were from agencies not specifically located in one area, such as the Illinois State Park System or the Boy Scouts organization, i.e., agencies with statewide jurisdiction.

By community size, the sample was distributed as follows:

Size of Community*	Percentage
0- 25,000 .................................	56.7
25- 75,000 .................................	19.8
75-125,000 .................................	4.8
125-200,000 .................................	1.6
Over 200,000 .................................	4.3
Country-wide ...............................	8.0
State-wide .....................................	1.1
Indeterminate .............................	3.7
*Area Served

Although the overall return was low, the sample seems to be quite representative in distribution, with Park Districts, YMCAs and Municipal Systems being the primary employers of Recreation and Parks people and the Chicago metropolitan section of the state being the major job market. Small Communities, typical of Illinois in general, make up over half of the sample.

Data regarding the AA (Associate of Arts or two-year degree) is the most reliable from this survey. We found that 60.9% or 114 of the respondents were aware of the existence of this degree. However, in the summer of 1972, only 8 agencies or 4.3% indicated that they employed staff with such a degree. When asked how many two-year college graduates were employed, 11 agencies responded with a total of 77 employees. The following chart depicts these responses.

Type of Agency	Total Employed
Park Districts .......................	.................15
Municipal Agencies ..............	................. 4
Conservation Districts ..........	................. 2
YMCAs ..................................	.................44
Illinois State Parks ................	................12
	77

The market appears to be in Park Districts, YMCAs, and state or county park systems located primarily in the far south, the Chicago area, and in smaller communities.

In what positions are the two-year graduates hired? The data indicates two agencies using them at the administrative level, one agency using them at the leadership level, and eight agencies using them at the supervisory level. The one agency utilizing these graduates in a leadership level was a municipal system, and those utilizing the graduates on the administrative level were park districts.

Two explanations dominate the reasons given for not hiring two-year college graduates. "No full-time positions open" accounted for 65.2% of

Illinois Parks and Recreation 6 September/October, 1975

the responses, while "Job requires more than AA degree" accounted for 26.7% of the responses.

Only sixteen agencies of the 176 currently not employing two-year college graduates indicated that they would consider such an applicant.

Respondents were asked to give their general impressions of both the two-year and four-year degrees. Sixty-eight (68) percent of those listing a general impression of the two-year degree were accounted for by three responses:

Good, excellent............................................... 40%
Well prepared for leadership/specialist position........ 18%
Good but inadequate for our agency's manpower needs ................. 10%

Eighty-two percent of the responses came from three types of agencies: park districts, municipal systems, and YMCAs. (It should be noted that 39 respondents stated they were not acquainted with the AA degree program, and 66 respondents did not answer this question at all.)

The same three types of agencies provided the bulk of the responses on general impressions of the four-year degree. High responses were:

Good, excellent ............................................. 50%
Need more coursework in Administration & Management .............................. 10%
More field work experience should be required............ 10%
Too much theory, more practical applications needed.............. 8%

Fourteen indicated they were not acquainted with the four-year degree, and 71 respondents did not answer this question.

Total manpower needs of the agencies were requested, but despite what we thought were rather specific definitions, the terminology applied to various positions confused the data. An additional problem occurred when respondents were asked to predict their needs on a three-year and five-year basis. The uncertainties of the job market and continued growth and expansion were just beginning to be felt in 1972, and at times as many as 90% would not predict ahead.

The results of this survey are interesting but inconclusive. While some trends appear to be indentifiable, the small return of the questionnaire (approximately 30%) and the failure of a large majority of respondents to gaze into their crystal ball makes projections from the data unreliable. In addition, the tremendous downturn of our economy within the last two years would render invalid the best of data, for we are no longer in a growth economy and job markets are in a constant state of flux.

Manpower predictions are hazardous at best, but a better prepared, more personal approach might reveal the true job picture.

(Editor's Note: The 1972 Manpower Study was conducted by Dr. George Lowrey, Jr. with the assistance of graduate students Penny Devin and Roger Guthrie for the Professional Preparation Committee of the Illinois Park and Recreation Society. All three are from the Department of Recreatwn and, Park Administration of the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.)

Illinois Parks and Recreation 7 September/October, 1975