Transcript Overview of Targeted Industry Strategies

Overview of
Targeted Industry Strategies
Academy on State Economic Development Policy
The Working Poor Families Project and EARN
Atlanta, GA
September 5, 2008
Gary Yakimov
Director of Business and Industry Strategies
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Today’s Discussion
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Regionally Targeted Industry Strategies
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Accelerating State Sector Strategies
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Policy Intersections Between Sector Strategies
and Low-Income Workers
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Next Generation industry strategies
Regionally Targeted Industry
Strategies: Sectors and Clusters
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Are they different?
Of Course!
Are their similarities?
Of Course…..
See Handout on Sectors and Clusters
 Key Distinctions
 Design Principles
Similarities Between Sector and
Cluster Work
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Multi-Firm in one or more related industries
Promote Regionalism
Public-Private Partnerships
Desire to be demand-driven/industry-led
Collaborative
Align resources and strategies
Workforce is a (critical) component
One Way to Think About the
Relationship
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Are both regionally targeted industry strategies
Both take a multi-firm approach
If you agree that workforce development is an important
part of economic development…
…then sector/industry strategies can be the workforce
activities within economic clusters and innovation
strategies
There can be multiple industry strategies within a
cluster strategy (Wine Cluster – vineyards, bottling,
distribution, tourism, etc.)
Let’s recognize the similarities and distinctions, but not
be caught up in nomenclature and definitions. The
important thing to understand is that your state may
have one or both of these strategies.
What is a Sector Strategy /
Initiative
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Address the needs of employers by focusing intensively on the
workforce needs of a specific industry sector over a sustained
period of period, often concentrating on a specific occupation or
set of occupations within that industry;
Address the needs of workers by creating formal career paths to
good jobs, reducing barriers to employment, and sustaining or
increasing middle class jobs;
Bolster regional economic competitiveness by engaging
economic development experts in workforce issues and aligning
education, economic, and workforce development planning;
Engage a broader array of key stakeholders through
partnerships organized by workforce intermediaries; and
Promote systemic change that achieves ongoing benefits for the
industry, workers, and community.
State
Workforce
Intermediary
Businesses &
Industry
Associations
Education
and
Training
Providers
Work
Support
Providers
Workers
Results of Sector Initiatives
Benefits to Employers*:
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41% reduction in turnover
19% reduction in rework
23% reduction in customer complaints
100% of companies reported that
partnerships with other companies
were valuable
*Third party evaluation of sector
initiatives in Massachusetts
Benefits to Workers**:
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% of respondents who worked at
some point during the year went from
74% before training to 94% after
training
Among the 94% who worked:
◦ Median personal earnings rose
64% after one year; and rose 107%
after two years
**Survey conducted by Aspen
Institute of participants in six
sector initiatives across the U.S.
Accelerating the Adoption of
State Sector Strategies
Accelerating the Adoption of State
Sector Strategies
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Partnership between National Governors Association Center for
Best Practices, National Network of Sector Partners, and
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
Purpose: Advance regionally targeted industry strategies as a
state strategic framework around human talent development
Roundtable for States in early 2006 (75 participants from 33
states)
Three tracks:
◦ Learning Network of 6 states: AR, IL, MA, MI, PA, and WA
◦ Policy Academy of 5 states: GA, MN, NC, OK, OR
◦ Knowledge Exchange: Webinar series,
www.sectorstrategies.org, Issue Brief at
http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/06STATESECREG.PDF
Funded by Charles Steward Mott Foundation and the Ford
Foundation
Phase II for 2008-2009 (More Later)
Sectors as a Strategic Framework:
Common Elements Across States
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Engaging Leadership
Co-Creating Core Principles
Promoting Regionalism
Funding Strategies
Data-Driven Decision Making
Aligning Resources and Strategies
Marketing
Capacity Building
Legislative Strategies
Regionally Targeted Industry
Strategies:
Promoting Regionalism
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Illinois Critical Skills Shortage Initiative
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Michigan Regional Skill Alliances
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GA Work Ready Regions
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Competitive RFPs used by most states
State Sector Strategies:
Funding Examples
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WIA Discretionary Funds
◦ WA, MI, IL
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TANF (AR-$14m for Career Pathways)
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State General Revenue (PA $5m for industry partnerships, $15m
for related training in target industries and occupations)
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Unemployment Insurance (PA state legislature set aside $1.5
million to fund training-related equipment purchases for priority
industries)
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Integrate criteria into existing funding streams
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Leveraged funds across agencies (MA Bay State Works)
Philanthropic organizations (MI-Mott Foundation)
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◦ WA, CO guidelines, D.C. ITA policy
State Sector Strategies:
Data-Driven Decision Making
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Pennsylvania
◦ Identified key industries and occupations at state level,
regions can add to the list with additional data
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Illinois
◦ Root-cause analysis
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North Carolina, Oklahoma
◦ Health care studies
See Handout: Evaluation Framework
State Sector Strategies:
Aligning Resources and Strategies
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Arkansas
◦ Career Pathways
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Colorado
◦ Resource Mapping
◦ WELLS Center
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Michigan
◦ NWLB, 21st Century, etc.
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Oklahoma
◦ Grow Oklahoma
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Oregon
◦ OWIB Plan makes the link to both cluster and sector strategies; competitive
monies must demonstrate these linkages
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Washington
◦ Centers of Excellence
◦ Common RFP Criteria
State Sector Strategies:
Activities / Interventions /
Strategies
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Pennsylvania
◦ Training
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Illinois
◦ Root-cause analysis
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Georgia
◦ Work-Ready Regions
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Kansas
◦ Aligning post-secondary education with economy and
industry targets
State Sector Strategies:
Capacity Building
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Convening applicants beforehand
◦ GA, NC, OK
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Convening grantees for launch/training
◦ MA, WA
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Convening grantees to learn from one another
◦ MI, PA
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Online, Interactive Toolkit
◦ OK (in development)
State Sector Strategies:
Legislative Strategies
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Pennsylvania
◦ $20m each of the past 3 years; $5m for partnerships;
$15m for training
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Massachusetts
◦ BEST…Bay State Works….
◦ …Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund ($18m)
Evaluation Framework
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Collaborative effort, first by Learning Network
States, then Policy Academy states
Dynamic, never-ending process
Not just about employers and workers, but also
partnerships and systems change
Looking for states to adopt and adapt the
framework, changing it to their specific needs
Also a starting point for new states to think
about how evaluation informs their strategies on
the front end
Phase II of State Project
 Policy Academy
 Six New States (April 2008)
 MD, MI, NH, NV, NY, WI
 Technical assistance, national meetings
 Learning Network
 12 advanced states
 Previous list plus Colorado
 Focus on the development of a state policymaker “toolkit” and lowincome and at-risk workers, “green” and continued work on
evaluation (seeking funding for 3 pilot states)
 Knowledge Exchange
 http://www.sectorstrategies.org
 Relaunching the site as a blog for state sector policy
Policy Intersections – State Sector
Strategies and Low-Income Workers
About the Paper
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Funded by Seattle Foundation for State of Washington
Desire to see best practices
Interviews with individuals from fifteen states about why
sector strategies are being adopted or expanded in their
states
Major Themes:
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Theoretically but not practically linked
Policy principles for integration
Why human service policies should consider sector strategies
Examples of state policy intervention
Theoretically But Not Practically
Linked
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Focus on economic competitiveness
◦ Best way to engage employers
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Low-income worker advancement seen as
outcome rather than core element or criterion
Focus on high-wage, high-growth not always
aligned with low-income focus
Social service policy makers lack awareness
about benefits of sector strategies
Lack of deliberate decision to integrate
The integration is too difficult
Policy Principles for Integration
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Employers as customer, workers as constituency
(Maureen Conway, Aspen)
Build skills attainment into sector strategies
◦ Career pathways, remedial education, occupational
skills training, work ready certification, bridge programs,
etc.
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Design sector and cluster strategies as
complements (per morning slide)
Take customization to scale (e.g. regional grants)
Find a champion for integration
◦ To do the hard, messy work
Why Human Service Policies
Should Consider Sector Strategies
If national trends indicating low post-secondary education
completion remain true:
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Need for more skilled workers
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Recruitment and retention efforts around
competitiveness will leave target pop behind
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Sector strategies address skill gaps
Sector strategies acknowledge that no system, no employer,
and no organization can achieve success alone.
Evaluation demonstrateds increased wage gain and access
to employment (see morning slide)
Seek to identify and remove systemic barriers such through
root cause analysis, identification of minimum qualifications
and entry-level points, and career ladders
Examples of State Policy
Intervention
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Michigan
◦ Jobs, Education,and Training (JET)
◦ No Worker Left Behind (now with “Green” focus)
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Washington
◦ Opportunity Grants
◦ Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST)
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Massachusetts
◦ Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund
◦ ECCLI
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6 New States in Policy Academy
◦ Martin Simon (NGA) to talk further
What the Future May Hold for
Regionally Targeted Industry
Strategies
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Regionally targeted industry strategies should/will continue to play
an increasingly important role within cluster/innovation strategies
Federal legislation introduced by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-CO)
and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) – See handouts
Emerging and growing clusters need a skilled workforce to grow
and prosper.
Green Jobs
STEM
Bio Science
Gold Collar (technician level, 12 plus)
Knowledge Clusters / Knowledge Workers
Labor Clusters
Questions or Comments
Gary Yakimov
Director of Business and Industry Strategies
Corporation for a Skilled Workforce
734.769.2900
[email protected]