The Workforce Development Council of the U.S. Conference of Mayors reported Friday on significant legislative action pertaining to the public workforce system. The report came through WDC’s weekly update. The inclusion of this information on MissouriWorkforce.net does not imply an endorsement in favor or against the legislation reported from WDC. This information is provided merely as a convenience. [Read more…]
DWD report chronicles a unique year
October 4, 2011 By
The 2011 Annual Workforce System Report from the Missouri Division of Workforce Development chronicles the challenges faced this year and the successes in rising to those challenges. In addition to regular features like performance attainment, business services, and job seeker services, the report profiled the Disaster Recovery Jobs Program and the Next Generation Career Center initiative.
Aspen suggests ways to align WF and Eco Dev
October 3, 2011 By
The Aspen Work Strategies Initiative published a white paper suggesting ways for aligning economic development with workforce development efforts. The paper describes how capacities of workforce development programs need to better connect to employers and economic development in their community. The publication also highlights how groups of stakeholders in three cities collaborate to support local industry and ensure that job opportunities that occur through economic development go to local residents.
NLC: America’s job training system is working
May 4, 2011 By
The National League of Cities published a news analysis on May 2nd on the effectiveness of the public workforce system. The NCL represents more than 19 thousand communities nationwide.
If there is a single mantra that is heard over and over again, it is that the country must find a way to put Americans back to work. Though a major obstacle to putting people back to work is a lack of jobs, another obstacle is the mismatch between the skills of unemployed workers and what business needs. This mismatch has contributed substantially to the slow rate of return of America’s unemployed to the workforce.
Recognizing this is one part of the solution. Addressing it head on is yet another part. There is at least one important way to address this problem at the local level and that is through the nation’s workforce development system. Established by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the nation’s workforce development system is designed to provide a wide range of services to individuals in need of job training and placement assistance.
For example, last year, the workforce development system provided more than 10 million Americans with a wide range of services including apprenticeships, job training, basic education and job placement assistance. More than 8 million of those came through the Workforce Investment Act system alone. The remainder came through a range of workforce development programs designed to meet the needs of specific populations like migrant workers, American Indians, seniors and youth. And if you add those who received Internet-based assistance, an additional 8.5 million adults were helped.
As one travels across the country, one will find example after example of individual job training programs that have provided individuals with excellent job training assistance that have resulted in them being placed in well-paying if entry level jobs. Programs funded by the WIA are placing nearly 60 percent of their enrollees in jobs paying on average nearly $14,000 per year. And of those in jobs, nearly 80 percent were still on the job after one year.
Strategic growth plan presented to Gov. Nixon
April 18, 2011 By
The final report of the Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth and an Executive Summary was delivered to Governor Nixon on April 11. The blueprint includes a specific strategy with five tactical goals on workforce development.
According to David Kerr, director for Missouri’s Department of Economic Development, this work concludes nearly 10 months of work of the Executive Advisory Committee, the 41 member Steering Committee, the six Regional Planning Teams, Market Street Services, MERIC, the 41 persons that submitted white papers, and numerous Missourians that participated in surveys and provided additional comments and suggestions. The Hawthorn Foundation funded the project.
To help design the strategy, planners used input from regional focus groups and white papers from eight subject matter experts in education and two in workforce development. Jasen Jones, director of the Southwest Missouri Workforce Investment Board, presented a white paper on behalf of the WIB titled, High-Octane Workforce Development as a Catalyst for Regional Economic Growth. This approach helped drive the launch of a new Workforce Committee with the Missouri Economic Development Council to help better integrate workforce and economic development stakeholders statewide.
From the workforce perspective, the strategy states that Missouri will attract, develop and retain a workforce with the education and skills to succeed in a 21st-Century economy. Overall, the workforce strategy is supported by five tactical goals:
- Tactic 1: Develop a tuition forgiveness program for qualifying Missouri high school graduates to attend Missouri colleges and universities.
- Tactic 2: Develop a statewide assessment to measure and certify core competency skills of Missouri’s graduating high school seniors. Assessment would be informed by college and career‐readiness criteria.
- Tactic 3: Partner with the state’s colleges and universities to ensure students remain in Missouri after graduation.
- Tactic 4: Develop optimized and coordinated cluster based career‐training pipelines, protocols and assessments.
- Tactic 5: Provide a streamlined workforce training incentive for expansion and relocation prospects coordinated through Missouri’s community college network.
The final report and the executive summary can be obtained at the project website. The Targeted Cluster and Marketing Analysis, which was posted on the website about two months ago, is also an important component of the Initiative.
The purpose of the Initiative was to “identify specific strategic and tactical plans which must be accomplished over the next five years to transform Missouri’s economy for sustainable growth in the 21st Century.” The scope of the Initiative was to:
- Develop a focused set of key strategies, which must be data-driven and have a statewide view, but recognize the uniqueness of Missouri’s regions;
- For each strategy, develop tactical implementation plans;
- Identify the high growth industry clusters that will drive the Missouri economy; and,
- Concentrate on “primary” businesses (which are those that mostly sell and compete outside the local market area) due to their impact on the economy. Other sectors, including tourism, military installations, agriculture and others critical to Missouri’s economy, are unique and were not included in this study.
In his memo, Kerr outlined several actions already underway as a result of the initiative. The groundwork is being paved to enact the other recommendations
Legislative Initiatives
At the meeting on November 30, 2010, based on the surveys of the Regional Planning Teams, the Steering Committee recommended the development of three legislative initiatives to enact certain key strategies. These recommendations led to the creation of the Compete Missouri business incentives and workforce incentives, which was introduced in SB 279, SB 296, and HB 670. The Steering Committee also recommended the passage of the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA), which was introduced in SB 79, HB 467 and HB 468. Both are still under consideration in this session, and DED is hopeful of passage.
State Small Business Credit Initiative Funding
Based on the recommendations of the Plan to develop funding for small business and growth/technology companies, Governor Nixon submitted an application for $27 million to the US Department of Treasury, and on March 22, 2011, the funding was approved. The funding involves $10 million for “conventional” business loans by the Department of Economic Development, and $17 million in seed and venture capital investments by the Missouri Technology Corporation. More information and a link to the applications can be found online.
“On behalf of Governor Nixon, I want to thank you for your valuable insight and forward thinking which we believe will have a significant impact on Missouri’s economy,” Kerr concluded. “Taken in full, this report represents a solid roadmap to jobs, growth, and prosperity in the 21st Century.”
Workforce development and education systems face major changes
April 13, 2011 By
The modern era of “workforce development” traces its roots back to the Manpower Development and Training Act (MDTA) of the 1960s and the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) of the 1970s. These federal workforce programs were followed by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) of the 1980s which established a stronger role for employers via “private industry councils,” and the 1990-era Workforce Investment Act (WIA) which emphasized service/funding coordination via “one stop centers.” It is apparent to me that we are about to enter another milestone transition, one that will greatly affect employers, the workforce, as well as professionals in the system. The changes that I foresee will be shaped by these factors.
Agility
More than ever, the workforce system must rapidly respond to changing situations. The next three years will probably be the most volatile period ever faced by the workforce development system. It will be marked by economic restructuring, continuing high unemployment, political unrest, and severe constraints on public spending. To be successful, state and regional leaders must be prepared to navigate this environment skillfully and will need new models of employer and community engagement to do so. Traditional models of strategic planning resulting in changes at the margins will not suffice in this environment. We will need to act with speed in “acting our way to a new plan” instead of “planning for new ways of acting.”
The federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) will change, perhaps substantially
Congress will soon either reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act with significant restructuring or will replace this act outright. Originally enacted in 1998 as a five-year law, a review of this program is long overdue. While federal policy makers will reshape and fund this program, the core issues faced by employers and job seekers will remain at the state, regional and community levels. The workforce development system – employers, staff, educators and the economic development community — must be prepared for major transitions requiring new partnerships, new political alliances, and the use of new technology. Given the current federal budget discussions, doing more with less with be the rule of the day.
Skill certifications will drive the system
Skill certifications are rapidly becoming the currency for both hiring by employers and advancement in progressive levels of education. Employers are placing much higher value on whether its workers come to them ready to work with the specific skills needed for the job rather than general degrees. They’re looking at the demonstration of skills through the prism of work experience or specialized training. In addition, education systems are rapidly developing and deploying “stackable certificates” to define articulation agreements and to accelerate students’ degree attainment. This trend includes the increased practice of allowing adult students to “test out” of courses where they already have competencies achieved on the job or via industry-specific training. Finally, the high cost of college has led many students to begin their training through lower-cost industry-defined certifications or at community colleges, where credits earned are then transferred to higher-cost institutions. Successful workforce development programs will need to be adept at managing a certification-driven system with stronger partnerships among employers, community colleges and technical schools, while providing better transitional guidance for workers who are laid off and receiving unemployment compensation.
Technology will continue to change the way we find jobs and acquire training
Employers are increasingly using a variety of job boards and social media sites to search for talent, and states are working to have greater relevance to employers in a crowded field of sites. Improvements in state platforms provide the opportunity for numerous applications that are customer-friendly and cost-effective at a time when customers increasingly expect 24/7 service access with high functionality. Advances in instructional technology will also lead to an increase in on-line training and educational offerings. Greater use of skill certifications and new technology will enable workforce development staffs to offer more creative and attractive options to laid-off workers and to the employers who hire them. Community colleges and technical schools are already working to increase on-line access for workers impacted by the movement of jobs overseas and to use improved technology to attract, retain, track, and ultimately place candidates. Workforce development staffs will need to be well-versed in the new tools and technologies and be able to assist staff and system customers in applying them in ways that connect seamlessly to services offered through one-stop centers.
Regional Leadership
The key partners in the workforce development world must continue their work at strategically thinking and acting at the regional level. Regional sector-based leadership will be the hallmark among workforce investment board and their partners in economic development and education. The workforce boards must strategically plan for talent development and retention as a primary asset for regional economic growth. New leadership skills will be necessary to develop joint planning processes aimed at partnership building with economic development and education officials. From these strategic partnerships, it will be essential to engage employers on a sector-by-sector basis in new and creative ways that demonstrate a clear menu of value-added services, customer-friendly access points, and joint solutions involving multiple agencies and funding sources. Business contact programs must be refined and re-invented to provide new level of efficiency in providing information to employers and in coordinated responsiveness for solutions to their needs.
The current environment is a source of anxiety for everyone in the system. For workers and employers, the overall job market along with much discussed yet not realized growth areas such as “green jobs” provide great anxiety. It is also an uncertain time for workforce development and education staffs as anticipated funding cutbacks threaten both their jobs and their resources for serving their customers at a time of increased service demands and high stress. We cannot allow the current uncertainty to lead to paralysis. Rather, it is a time when new ideas and new partnerships need to flourish in the environment that is described above.
The issues related to skills and education deficits, along with related barriers of drug abuse and deteriorating family support structures, will not go away. A high school dropout is likely to enter a life of poverty, and a high school graduate lacking a post-secondary credential is increasingly unlikely to enter the middle class as we have known it. Leadership at the state and local levels to craft solutions and communicate key messages to employers and to the public has never been more important than it is now.
Roy Vanderford is Senior Vice President of Workforce Solutions at Thomas P. Miller and Associates, an Indianapolis-based consulting firm. He has previously led Workforce Development agencies in Indianapolis, Evansville and Louisville.
IEDC & EDA launch restoreyoureconomy.org
February 11, 2011 By
From U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary Brian P. McGowan
Through our work in the Gulf Coast’s recovery efforts, I had the opportunity to meet with community leaders along the Gulf who spent the last five years rebuilding their local economy in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, only to turn around and face another disaster with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
As part of the White House National Incident Command (NIC) Economic Solutions Team, which we were asked to form to help communities and regions mitigate the impacts of the oil spill, I visited with and listened to many of these leaders who were seeking solutions to help ensure the long-term resiliency of their community’s economy.
After the initial emergency response and when the media spotlight goes away – the hard work of economic recovery begins. In retrospect, and as a former city and county government official, I think about how a tool designed to facilitate communication and collaboration would have been so valuable to those communities as they took on this daunting task. The difficult work completed and lessons learned in restoring local economies in this region of the country should serve as a powerful tool to other communities who are dealing with disasters or making the plans to ensure they are prepared when future disasters hit.
Now, I’m pleased to announce that there is such a tool. The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) partnered with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) to launch RestoreYourEconomy.org, a website that provides critical information for public and private stakeholders seeking to rebuild their local economies after a disaster, as well, as assistance to prepare their business community for a future disasters. The portal is a vital one-stop shop of resources, tools, events and an opportunity to connect with other cities, states and regions. In fact, is was recently used extensively in Australia as communities there were dealing with severe flooding.
RestoreYourEconomy.org enables the sharing of best practices in making preparations to reduce the economic consequences of a disaster. It also provides practical guidance and post-recovery tools to promote investment, to retain local employment, and restore lost jobs.
I encourage communities that have been affected by a disaster or those working to be prepared for future disasters to take advantage of this invaluable resource.
McGowan led the White House National Incident Command Economic Solutions Team, charged to help communities and regions mitigate the impacts of the BP Oil Spill. This initiative is part of EDA’s goal to support collaborative regional innovation to promote sustainable job growth and strengthen communities that have suffered disproportionate economic and job losses to become more competitive in the global economy.
Workforce among top priorities in statewide strategy draft
December 2, 2010 By
Workforce Development is prominent in the strategies drafted statewide to advance the economic development efforts throughout Missouri. Missouri’s initiative to identify the tools and industries that will transform the state’s economy for the 21st Century reached an important milestone today, as the Strategic Initiative for Economic Growth submitted its initial recommendations to Gov. Jay Nixon.
“To compete in the 21st-century economy, Missouri must strategically review where we are investing our resources to create the jobs of tomorrow,” Gov. Nixon said. “Refining our economic-development efforts to ensure the best return on investment is what this strategic initiative is all about. I applaud Director David Kerr and the hundreds of leaders from the private sector, educational institutions and economic-development organizations who are stepping forward to share their insights and expertise through this process. The final result truly will be a roadmap to jobs, economic growth and prosperity for years to come.”
Following recent focus groups held in regional quadrants across Missouri, the project solicited white papers from various channel leaders to help guide the steering committee. The initiative now has 40 white papers across a wide array of economic development categories with two position papers specifically on workforce development and an additional eight on education.
Launched in May, Gov. Nixon established the strategic initiative to develop a five-year economic roadmap for Missouri. Under the leadership of Director of Economic Development David Kerr and an executive advisory board of private-sector leaders, the initiative today submitted its preliminary strategic objectives to Gov. Nixon.
When he announced the planning initiative, Gov. Nixon instructed the steering committee to submit a set of preliminary objectives to spark growth in targeted industries by Dec. 1. Over the next three months, the steering committee will develop detailed tactical plans, which could include legislative and policy proposals, to carry out each of the eight broad objectives identified by the group.
Eight strategic objectives
• Missouri will attract, develop and retain a workforce with the education and skills to succeed in a 21st-Century economy
• Missouri will support its local economic-development organizations in the retention and expansion of existing businesses and employers
• Missouri will optimize its tax, incentive and regulatory policies to best support the growth of high-value target business sectors
• Missouri will invest in technology and innovation to attract, launch and sustain the growth companies of the future
• Missouri will aggressively market the state to domestic and select international audiences
• Missouri will develop a best-in-class foreign trade initiative
• Missouri will develop a culture that encourages small- and minority-business development and entrepreneurship
• Missouri will provide the infrastructure necessary for companies and communities to be successful
Based on the data they have reviewed, the members of the steering committee believe these strategic objectives are important steps to create a business climate conducive for the development of the high-growth industries of the future, including:
• Advanced Manufacturing, including transportation equipment, aerospace and defense
• Energy Solutions
• Bioscience, including plant and agricultural technology; companion- and feed-animal science; and biomedical
• Health Sciences and Services, including health care innovation, services and sciences;
• Information Technology, including software, hardware, systems design and data centers
• Financial and Professional Services
• Transportation and Logistics, including freight haulers, warehousing and wholesalers
The final plan will outline specific steps Missouri should take to create jobs in these industries over the next five years.
“As Governor, my top priority is creating jobs and putting Missourians to work in the high-demand industries of the 21st Century,” Gov. Nixon said. “By focusing on these critical industries, we are laying a granite foundation for economic growth in our state.”
The strategic objectives are the product of three meetings of the statewide steering committee and six regional planning forums, which took place in every region of Missouri in September. The next step in the planning process will involve a second series of regional forums, in which local leaders will be asked to help formulate detailed tactical plans to execute the strategic objectives. Those regional meetings will take place in early January.
After the second round of regional meetings, the statewide steering committee and executive advisory board will finalize the detailed tactical plans. Those plans will be submitted to Gov. Nixon by March 31, 2011.
“From global giants to one-room start-ups, every successful business has a detailed plan for growth and development,” said David Kerr, director of the Missouri Department of Economic Development. “Missouri should not be any different. To compete against other states and foreign countries for the jobs and investments of tomorrow, we need a clear roadmap of where we’re headed and how we’re going to get there. I encourage the local leaders who took part in our first round of regional forums to participate again in January. We need input from leaders in every industry and every corner of Missouri to make sure our plan is as detailed and comprehensive as possible.”
The members of the initiative’s private-sector executive advisory team are: Ann Marie Baker, UMB, Springfield; Paul Combs, Baker Implement, Kennett; Bill Downey, Kansas City Power & Light, Kansas City; and David Steward, World Wide Technology, St. Louis.
10 things LEOs should know about Economic Development
November 13, 2010 By
A new report released from the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) offers helpful advice that workforce development leaders and system staff could emulate as well. The Role of Local Elected Officials in Economic Development: 10 Things You Should Know is a valuable tool in building relationships of local developers with their local elected officials. The guidebook outlines the “top 10 list” of things elected officials should know about economic development in order to be effective leaders. The publication is the result of a partnership between the National League of Cities Center for Research and Innovation and the International Economic Development Council.
The road to recovery is named Main Street
November 13, 2010 By
Dozens of local groups such as WIBs, economic development agencies, schools, and civic organizations held focus group forums in 2010 on economic recovery. Those insights were shared as part of the multi-state think-tank effort through the Southern Growth Policies Board. Titled, The Road to Recovery is Main Street, Southern Growth’s 2010 Future of the South report presents the results of Southern Growth’s Listening to the South process, which engaged over 2,300 Southerners in talking about community economic recovery. The report also discusses the implications for state policy action and highlights creative initiatives in the region that aim to help communities recover from the recession.
“Communities felt that they needed to find ways to help themselves,” according to Southern Growth Executive Director Ted Abernathy. “They knew their answers would be found not on Wall Street but on Main Street. Nationally, we talk about creating jobs with place-based strategies, innovation clusters, expanding exports and improving regional competitiveness. Locally, while the language is different, citizens old and young, urban and rural told us they needed new ideas and needed to try new things. Their local economies were now different.”
In addition to sharing insights from dozens of local forums, the publication recommends five key strategies for local economic recovery in the South: look beyond industrial recruitment, reduce regulations, identify and build on community assets, revamp workforce training, and facilitate partnerships. Director Abernathy, in the book’s forward, pledged Southern Growth’s efforts to help communities to share ideas, success stories, and tools by disseminating the 2010 report widely with political, educational, and economic leadership throughout the South.
Missouri-based influences noted in the 2010 Southern Report on the South included the Four-States Partnerships of WIBs and Chambers at Joplin as well as an innovation award for Northwest Missouri State University’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Southern Growth’s 2010 Report: The Road to Recovery is Named Main Street may be downloaded from Southern Growth’s website. Participants may listen or view a webinar online as well.