orkforce read y sector - workforcezone.net · jason cravens, joplin schools janet douglas, missouri...
TRANSCRIPT
Fall 2015
SectorR
eady
ORKFORCE
High Tech Meets High Touch for Workforce Strategies
Leadership
Workforce Investment Board of Southwest MissouriP.O. Box 1706 | Joplin, MO 64802 | 417-206-1717 | www.workforzone.net
Chair: Brad Baker, US BankSecretary: Teddy Steen, United WayTreasurer: Albert Johnson, XPO Logistics Past Chair: Marsha Wallace, Empire District ElectricChair-Elect: Susan Adams, Joplin Workshops, Inc.Mary Bader: Carthage School District AELCary Beasley, Joplin Area Chamber of CommerceCorin Berryhill, Carpenters UnionTrish Carroll, Optic Communications/CTCJohn Claybrook, Standard TransportationShiloh Cooper, Preferred Family Healthcare/AOChristopher Corbett, Innovative Objects Jason Cravens, Joplin SchoolsJanet Douglas, Missouri Family Support DivisionMichelle Ducre, Missouri Southern State UniversityJulie Carter, Division of Workforce DevelopmentBrenda Fletcher, All Points RecyclingTeresa Gilliam, Wildwood Ranch DevelopmentSonya Hayward, Arning Canopies, Inc.Dan Hill, Crossland ConstructionClaude Howard, Crowder College Debbie Little, RKL CommunicationsJeff Meredith, Monett Chamber of CommerceLarry Shellhorn, Arvest BankScott Simonds, IBEW Local 95 Jane Sligar, NY Life Insurance Rhonda Stafford, RBC Horizon, Inc. Mark Turnbull, Joplin Regional Partnership Cathee Wolford, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Board of Directors
Jasen Jones, Executive DirectorSherri Rhuems, Operations ManagerRobert Shyrock, Fiscal Manager
Regional System Support Staff WIB StaffLeslie Abram, Business ServicesKris Baldwin, Quality Assurance Melinda Carrico, Accounting Tom Evansco, Outreach Projects Frank Neely, Research & LogisticsTroy Roland, Job Center Manager
AWARDS HONOR ROLL
• System-Building Award, National
Association of Workforce Development
Professionals, 2015
• America’s first nationally-certified ACT
Work Ready Community, 2013 (also first
to be re-certified in 2015)
• 2014 Show-Me Award for
Collaboration, MO ACT Council
• Presidents Award, MO Economic
Development Council
• Governors E-3 Award for Excellence in
Employment, Education, and Economic
Development, 2012
• IEDC Case Study on Economic
Development Integration, 2010
• Nation’s first quad-state WIRED
initiative with DOL, 2008-2010
• DOL National Case Study on Labor
Market Innovation, 2008
• DOL National Business Learning
Partnership, 2006-2007
• Numerous invitations for state and
national conference presentations on
WIB innovations
Fall 2015
Employers Get Ahead with SectorReady™;
Next Steps for the Workforce System
Workforce Summit Blazes New
Pathways to Sector Excellence
Monett Honors Employers and Work Ready
Communities for Manufacturing Day
Job Fest 2016 Expands to Meet
Employer Growth
Transition Grant Powers Competitive
Labor Study and Prepares WIOA Partners
New Education Law Mandates Public
Education Alignment with Workforce
We Need to Re-Wire the Labor Market
Guest Feature from Opportunity@Work
Making Regional Impact
Looking Ahead
Regional Workforce Heroes...Unite!
New Partnerships Spur WIOA Implementation
SectorReady™ Leaders Excel at Statewide
Sector Strategies Summit
Crowder joins Missouri Colleges with CMT’s
Empowering Education Initiative
Workforce System Impact and Performance
At Your Service
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The WIB of SW MO is an equal opportunity employer/program. Auxiliary aids and services are available upon request to individuals with disabilities. Missouri TTY users can call (800) 735-2966 or dial 7-1-1. This workforce product was funded by a grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration. The product was created by the contracting agency and does not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Labor. The Department of Labor makes no guarantees, warranties, or assurances of any kind, express or implied, with respect to such information, including any information on linked sites and including, but not limited to, accuracy of the information or its completeness, timeliness, usefulness, adequacy, continued availability, or ownership. This product is copyrighted by the institution that created it. Internal use by an organization and/or personal use by an individual for non-commercial purposes is permissible. All other uses require the prior authorization of the copyright owner.19
Employers Get Ahead with SectorReady; Partners Prepare Next Steps for Impact
4
SectorReadyORKFORCE
Following the region’s economic
shifts ranging from recession
recovery to disaster recovery, the
labor market systems of the past
are not keeping pace with employer
demand. Workforce, economic
development, and education leaders
rose to the occasion with the new
SectorReady™ framework and its
innovative training and credentialing
solutions. This top ten list (at right)
illustrates the major concerns
employers express when looking for
new ways to address the challenges
of new labor market realities along
with how SectorReady™ makes a
difference.
SectorReady pathways use a supply chain approach to business needs and economic development strategies with local education and workforce systems to expand the region’s prosperity. SectorReady brings a new era of workforce excellent to area employers.
™
Sparse pool of job candidates with misperceptions about our sector
Strong pool of informed candidates eager to work at an employer of choice
Job applicants missing modern skills needed for basic entry into the sector
Job applicants well-prepared with cognitive and technical skills
Employees difficult to retain, no interest in longevity or growth at our company
Employees eager to grow with new tasks and skills for career advancement
Candidates hard to find with specialized skills for higher level positions
High performers ready to promote from within through career pathway model
Social/family struggles affect productivity and retention
Eligible new hires come from a stronger social support system to alleviate barriers
No way to prove to vendors, regulators, or investors that we hire qualified workers
Verifiable skill levels to prove quality standards for certifications or compliance
THE OLD WAY THE NEW WAY
New hires take longer to train and reach productivity
New hires equipped with entry-level credentials that are easier to train
Working with the public sector means lots of delay and bureaucracy
Improvements in training and talent supply require more funds to participate
High risk and poor past performance of traditional screening and training
Improved leverage for sector employer groups on shared needs and challenges
Shared capacity building as employers join forces to share costs and efficiencies
Preferred provider system for candidate pipelines and training helps manage risk
™
™
5
SectorReady™ partnerships are
simple, user-friendly alliances of
employers, supported by strategic
partners, to fuel the demand-driven
design of career pathways and
workforce solutions. Employers
plug in for one-on-one research
and consultation. Sector-wide
gatherings help review research
findings, add collective insights, and
plan potential strategies. Contact
Jasen Jones or Frank Neely at the
WIB, or Mark Turnbull at the Joplin
Regional Partnership, to schedule the
consultation for a winning workforce
of the future.
• Employer interviews and consultations on skill gaps and workforce issues• Job Profile-Plus and Competency Model pilots with participating employers
for skill data aggregation• Sector Partnership meetings and design teams (mix of virtual and in-person)
to develop solutions that shrink skill gaps and boost candidate pipelines• Production of realistic job preview videos and testimonials by sector• Portal online at SectorReady.org with pathways and career planning tools for
student/adult job candidates• Portal and pathway training deployed to job counselors region-wide at
schools and public agencies • Employer Toolkits with pathway and sector resources for employers such
as fast-track recruiting, competency-based interviewing, competitive labor analysis, and more
• Preferred provider network for training and credentialing through SectorReady™ schools and agencies
• Collaboration with educators for design teams to deploy short-term, low-cost training for industry-driven credentials
• Design and implementation of sustainability and performance metrics
Looking Ahead for SectorReady™ Deliverables• Renewable &
Q4 2015 to Q1 2016
Q1 to Q2 2016
Q2 to Q3 2016
Q3 to Q4 2016
The WIB polled 26 employers
throughout the region to gauge initial
interest in sector partnerships and
career pathways. Firms expressed a
wide array of reasons for the hiring
difficulties, with nearly a third in total
citing a lack in skills or competencies.
To dig deeper, WIB and JRP project
leaders refined the workforce
survey to seek additional input on
career progression along with the
certifications and training desired.
Employers are invited to contribute
data and trends through one-on-one
interviews and consultations that
launched in December and will run
through February.
Trends Showing the Need for a New Skills Approach
Talent Shortages Practices
Pay or Location
Undesirable
Factors in Difficulty
Filling Jobs
Applicant
Shortage
Lack
Exper
ience
5%
7%
20%
19%
13%
12%
11%
11%
Lack Technical Competencies
Motivation/Learning Mindset Issues
Lack Industry-Specific Skills/
Certifications
Lack Workplace Competencies
(soft skills)
Flexibility/Adaptability Issues
To address the talent
shortages, 12% of
employers are willing to
try new methods and 9%
specified the use of career
development tools during
the recruitment phase. Half
of the surveyed firms in
total cited three different
approaches to training.
20%Training to
Develop New Skills
Training to Develop
Existing Skills
16%
More Training & Development for Existing Staff
12%
14%
12% Non-Traditional or Untried Recruting
Practices, Both Internal & External
8%
Increase Starting Salaries
9%Providing Clear
Career Development Opportunities to Applicants
Enhancing Benefits
Refine Qualifying Criteria, Skills,Certifications
7%
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The 6 P’s of Pathways: A Blueprint for SectorReady™
In preparation to implement the SectorReady™ framework of career pathways and partnerships, the WIB’s research and
development efforts spanned multiple agencies in economic development, workforce, education, and social services. The
6 P’s approach simplifies the introduction and adoption of the SectorReady™ framework customized to the strengths and
opportunities for the greater Joplin labor market.
Purpose• Passion for the vision
• Improving perceptions of sectors
• Patience for longer-term impact
Probing• Predicting growth and skill needs
• Overcoming paradigms
• Problem solving to remove
barriers to regional growth
Portal• SectorReady.org suite of
interactive pathway tools,
testimonials, career exploration
trends, job preview videos
• Multiple formats of online,
mobile, and print versions for
maximum accessibility
• User-friendly resources for
families, students, school
counselors, and service agencies
Process• Profiling skill standards through WorkKeys® system
• Prioritizing knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors for training and job selection
• Preparation with innovative training that’s high-volume,
high-impact, and cost-efficient
• Proving skill quality and supply through suitable credentials, skill badges, etc.
• Promotion of workers between training and job levels
• Personalized pathways to meet needs of unique populations’ strengths and
weaknesses
• Placement solutions that enhance the human resources system through efficiency,
value, retention, productivity, etc.
• Practices that shift culture to innovation and growth with competency-based policies
Payoff• Productivity and
other key metrics for
employers
• Performance
indicators to
measure success and
regional impact
• Continuous
improvement cycles
and revisions of
pathway tools based
on market changes
and innovation
Planning• Partnerships of the
right people to keep
the ship afloat
• Perfecting services
and products for
users through
Human Centered
Design
• Prototyping
of models to be
tested by workers,
employers, and
schools
• Pitching the
SectorReady™
model by change
agents to decision-
makers and investors
Workforce Summit Blazes New Pathways to Sector Excellence
Setting the stage for the SectorReady™ launch, Jasen
Jones’ presentation covered job growth trends in the
region’s current targeted industry sectors along with
characteristics of current employment demand and
work readiness credentialing. The trends aligned with
components of the framework introduced in Jasen’s
presentation.
Jim Maher, author of the new book Leaders, Losers,
and Lessons, provided the luncheon keynote
titled, Dynamics of Job Growth and Training. This
highly-interactive program spotlighted leadership
characteristics in highest demand by employers.
Strategies and Techniques for Employers, Educators,
and Community Leaders for Sector-Driven Growth
capped off summit with a collection of promising
practices that motivated summit attendees to take
the next steps for the SectorReady™ launch. Scott
Sheely is the new sector/pathways expert with the
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture following
his previous post at the Lancaster, PA Workforce
Investment Board. Scott’s story on Lancaster’s
Ready2Work initiative showed summit participants
how training, testing, placement, and pathway
innovations can revolutionize the region’s workforce.
The 2015 Heartland Workforce Summit marked the official launch of the SectorReady™ Toolkit. Powered by the WIB and the Joplin Regional Partnership, the toolkit reflects the region’s framework development and research in 2014-2016 for a robust array of career pathway and sector partnership resources.
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Along with the presenters and attendees, the Workforce
Summit was a success thanks to summit sponsors:
Joplin Regional Partnership, Empire District Electric,
and the Joplin Regional Business Journal. Freeman
Occumed sponsored the summit’s Exhibitor Room
and Downstream Casino Resort helped underwrite the
technical presentation resources. Portions of the summit
are captured on video for those unable to attend or those
wanting to share their summit experience with colleagues.
Dr. Mark Johnson from PSU provided a strong kickoff
for the summit with his presentation Train Smarter, Not
Harder. The talk covered the importance of eliminating
the latency gap between training and practice by
thoroughly integrating key functions of the revised Blooms
Taxonomy.
The Employer Innovation Panel, always a favorite of
summit attendees, featured Mark Haynes of Innovative
Objects, Jeff Merrithew of Owens-Corning, and Zach Ward
of Grasslands Group, LLC. Each panelist gave an overview
of leading-edge practices in critical HR functions such as
recruitment, retention, training, and career progression.
This portion of the summit typically generates the most
audience feedback, as experienced in the dynamic Q&A
with this year’s panel.
Thanks for our 2015 Summit Sponsors
The Monett Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated
National Manufacturers Day with a special ceremony
October 2nd at Playpower. The event included
special proclamations from the Missouri House of
Representatives, the Monett City Council, Barry County
Commission, and Missouri Enterprise. The Workforce
Investment Board also joined the celebration and
presented an award from ACT recognizing Barry
County as a Certified Work Ready Community. Check
out this feature from the Monett Times newspaper
at monett-times.com/story/2239630.html. Pictured
right: Jeff Meredith accepts the ACT CWRC trophy
with Jasen Jones of the WIB and Tracey Kelly with
Missouri Enterprise.
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The success of the National Career Readiness
Certificate® (NCRC) and Certified Work Ready
Communities (CWRC) for the WIB and JRP counties
helped build a solid foundation for the SectorReady™
initiative. The NCRC is the most preferred measure
by local employers for the cognitive skills needed
to be successful on the job. The CWRC designation
shows potential investors and decision-makers that
the JRP and WIB counties rank among the highest
in the nation for work readiness and a collaborative
culture for education, employment, and economic
development. Pictured left: four of the eleven
counties have full certification, including Jasper
County as the first in the nation to achieve both the
initial certification in 2013 and the renewal of the
certification in 2015. Four more counties are nearing
certification at 87% or higher completion of CWRC
goals. See page 17 for detailed progress on each
county goal.
Monett Honors Employers, Work Ready Communities for Manufacturing Day
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
In-ProgressNearing Complete GoalsGoals 100%, Pending ApprovalFully Certified
Registration is underway for employers, resource
exhibitors, and sponsors for Job Fest 2016. Job
Fest gets a good or excellent rating from 94% of
participating employers. Exhibiting employers often
conduct basic interviews with potential candidates
on site at Job Fest with hundreds more follow up
interviews scheduled after the event. Job seekers
were overall pleased with Job Fest as well, with 89%
ranking Job Fest as helpful.
It’s not just the unemployed who benefit from the
event. According to the 2015 survey of participants,
almost a fifth of Job Fest attendees are currently
employed and seeking better opportunities. The
sector interests of job seekers are diverse as well.
Customer service, manufacturing, and sales ranked
among the highest. Interest is strong for healthcare,
construction, transportation, and I.T. as well.
Quick and simple registration is available online at
gojobfest.com. For more information, call the Job Fest
hotline at 855-JOBS-417 (855-562-7417, option #5).
Pictured above, Attendees line up for Job Fest prior to
doors opening to the public.
The region’s largest hiring and resource event celebrates its 5th anniversary in 2016. Job Fest is set for Tuesday, January 26th from Noon to 5:00 at the Joplin Convention and Trade Center, 3535 Hammons Blvd., near I-44 and Range Line in Joplin.
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Job Fest Expands to Meet Employer Needs
Job Fest 2016 is proudly sponsored by:
Transition Grant Powers Competitive Labor Study, Prepares WIOA Partners
The key advantage of an Area Labor Market (ALM)
analysis is that it expands the pool of potential workers
by including workers excluded from the Civilian Labor
force (CLF). It also allows researchers to examine
those individual members of the ALM pool who have
a propensity to consider a job opportunity given their
employment expectations. The study area for this
project includes Barry, Barton, Dade, Jasper, Lawrence,
McDonald, Newton, and Vernon counties in Missouri;
Bourbon, Cherokee, Crawford, and Labette Counties in
Kansas; and Ottawa County in Oklahoma.
The WIB awarded the technical assistance grant to
Inpspiring Innovations, LCC. The desired technical
assistance functions help meet some of the more
complex guidelines around workforce development
reform under WIOA. In developing the Memorandum
of Understanding, the WIB facilitates WIOA resource
mapping to identify partner capacity for direct and
indirect one-stop system contributions. Another
important function is the design of referral systems
that meet confidentiality guidelines, but overcome
obstacles of multiple data systems.
Triple-I will help establish benchmarks for the WIB’s
procurement of the one-stop operator based on
applying WIB, DWD, and DOL strategic priorities
to one-stop Job Center operations, a re-design of
process and mapping for product box and routine
operations, along with common outreach and service
strategies for limited-English populations and those
with disabilities or other unique barriers.
10
The Southwest Missouri WIB is poised for a successful
implementation of the Workforce Innovation
Opportunity Act (WIOA) to transform the strategies
and service delivery for the region’s workforce
system. Special grants through the Missouri Division
of Workforce Development helped fill the gaps for
advanced technical assistance and training for the
Southwest Missouri WIB to implement WIOA. The
$50k grant helps cover costs for a regional labor shed
analysis in collaboration with the Joplin Regional
Partnership. Other grant initiatives include WIOA
planning, MOU development, and youth system
training.
The WIB awarded the labor study grant to Growth
Services Group. A primary goal of any Area Labor
Market (ALM) or labor shed analysis is to estimate the
potential availability of workers and determine how
well the surrounding geographical areas are able
to provide a stable supply of workers to the central
focused core of the ALM or labor shed.
A key source of good employees is the category of
the underemployed, those individuals whovare now
working but desire a better job and who possess the
skills, education, and experience tovqualify for better
jobs. Underemployment or underutilization of skills or
experience is a significantvissue in many communities
and is an important element for employers assessing
a community forvlocation or expansion. The
availability of a highly skilled and experienced labor is
among the top threevimportant location factors for
businesses considering expansions or relocations (Area
Development Annual Surveys).
11
The long-awaited replacement of No Child Left
Behind passed the U.S. House and Senate and
became law with the President’s signature December
10th. This bipartisan, bicameral bill to replace NCLB
and improve K-12 education is known as the Every
Student Succeeds Act (S. 1177).
The Joplin (MO/KS/OK) region enjoys strong
alignment of public education and workforce/
economic development through initiatives such as
Certified Work Ready Communities, the National
Career Readiness Certificate, and SectorReady™.
Through the Joplin Regional Partnership, the WIB,
and other strategy groups, educators have a stronger
sense of the cognitive and technical skills needed
by area employers. Improvements in the policy
framework through the new federal law can empower
local education leaders to take the next step on
demand-driven training and credentials that move
the region forward.
“Today, we helped turn the page on a flawed law and
a failed approach to K-12 education,” said Committee
Chairman John Kline (R-MN). “But more importantly,
we adopted a new approach that will help every child
in every school receive a quality education. Parents,
teachers, and state and local school leaders support
this bill because they know it will restore local control
and help get Washington out of our classrooms.
I want to thank my Republican and Democratic
colleagues, in both the House and Senate, for their
work on this important effort.”
According to the National Association of State
Workforce Agencies, the legislation fosters better
alignment between workforce development and
education programs. Key features include:
• State education goals align, where possible, with
the state’s workforce development plan and state
career and technical education initiatives to ensure
that students develop the skills necessary for the
state’s current and future workforce needs
• Career and guidance counseling programs as well
as training on local workforce needs join various
options for postsecondary and career pathways as
an allowable use of funds under the Student Support
and Academic Enrichment grants in Title IV
• Ability to use of local education funds that lead
to industry-recognized credentials that meet the
quality criteria established under section 123(a) of the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
• State educational agencies must prepare a state
plan that is coordinated with programs that partner
with in-demand fields and ensure career readiness
skills are aligned with the Carl D. Perkins Career
and Technical Education Act of 2006 along with the
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act
Learn more online at workforcezone.net/?p=1557.
New Education Law Mandates Public Education Alignment with Workforce
12
This guest feature comes from Byron Auguste and Tyra Mariani, co-founders of Opportunity@Work, a civic enterprise housed at New America whose mission is to re-wire the U.S. labor market to enable more Americans to achieve upward mobility in the job market and the workplace.
We Need to Re-Wire the Labor Market
How do we ensure that motivated Americans get the
skills they need to find meaningful work, to thrive in
the workplace, and to move forward in our job market?
We need to ask deeper questions about our labor
market’s role in upward mobility (or immobility),
because the way we assess unemployment and
underemployment doesn’t tell the full story of the
U.S. economy’s loss of dynamism in the past 15 years.
For example, how many people are engaged by the
work they do, and see a career path ahead of them?
Who can clearly say: If I make the extra effort to do X,
I can learn Y, and then be hired or promoted into job
Z? How many can confidently quit their current job to
take a better one?
Too many Americans lack that confidence, because
when it comes to work, they are “stuck” without a
way to translate their best efforts into economic
progress. This situation undermines U.S. economic
dynamism and growth, because human capital — the
most valuable asset on America’s economic balance
sheet — is not realizing its full value.
Right now our job market works best for those
Americans who follow conventional paths to four-
year college degrees and who have the social capital
and mentorship that encourages employers to take
a chance on hiring, training, and advancing them.
It works poorly for the growing number of people
whose journeys are less linear or gilded, including the
35 million people with “some college” but no degree,
mid-career industry switchers, un-credentialed
workers who mastered their skills on the job, full-time
parents re-entering the workforce, the long-term
unemployed, skilled immigrants, and young people
reaching for the first rungs on the career ladder.
With U.S. job openings at their highest levels in at
least 15 years, how can so many American workers
find themselves so stuck? It seems like a paradox, but
a few statistics and recent human resource analytics
research offer some clues.
In the United States, voluntary job changes — quitting
to seek a better job — are down by 28 percent since
2000. While only 19 percent of administrative
assistants have four-year college degrees, consulting
firm Burning Glass found that almost two-thirds of
new assistant jobs require a four-year degree just to
be considered. Less educated workers receive only
half the formal on-the-job training that more educated
workers receive. Employers are only half as likely
to grant an interview to a long-term unemployed
candidate when compared to someone more
recently employed with identical education, skills and
experience — yet, an Evolv study of 20,000 hires found
that this distinction made no difference in likely job
performance.
13
With such a broad goal in our sights, we’re starting
with information technology jobs, which constitute 12
percent of today’s open jobs — over 680,000 of them–
in the U.S. As part of the TechHire initiative President
Obama launched in March 2015, we have created a
learning network for 35 communities from Wilmington
to Chattanooga to Albuquerque. This network will
help align employers to hire for middle-class IT jobs
based on competence and readiness, rather than
pedigree.
When President Obama announced TechHire he
said, “If you can do the job, you should get the job.”
LaShana Lewis could do the job, but after being unable
to get a job interview for the IT work that was her
passion, she worked as a bus driver and in customer
support for over a decade. Today, LaShana is a systems
engineer at MasterCard, after being matched by
hiring on-ramp LaunchCode, a TechHire partner in St.
Louis that connects non-traditional job seekers to job
openings.
Opportunity@Work will be part of the movement to
realize the full capabilities of our country’s leading
institutions of technology, education and training,
business services, and workforce development to
enable employers to institute “hire when ready”
practices in communities nationwide, to reach millions
of Americans who could learn and excel at jobs that
employers struggle to fill. Talent like LaShana’s should
never be invisible. Bringing potential like hers out into
the open is essential to bringing America’s founding
promise of opportunity through work into the 21st
century.
Opportunity@Work is a civic enterprise whose mission
is to re-wire the U.S. labor market to enable more
Americans to achieve upward mobility in the job
market and workplace, to facilitate actions by U.S.
employers to develop the talent they collectively need
to succeed and grow, and to scale up innovations that
unlock more fully all people’s potential for higher-
value, meaningful work as a source of economic
opportunity and national competitive advantage.
Learn more online at opportunityatwork.org.
What these startling data — and the dysfunctions
they reveal — all have in common is an origin on
the “demand” side of the U.S. labor market — how
employers recruit, hire, train, and promote. Yet most
policies that aim to improve employment outcomes
focus on the “supply side” — education and job training.
These efforts are important, but they can’t “close the
skills gap” without demand-side reforms. We need
smarter employer practices and the partnerships and
public policies to support them.
Re-wiring the demand side of U.S. labor market is the
goal of Opportunity@Work, our civic enterprise based
at New America. Employers are now experiencing
a classic market failure, in which hiring and training
practices are inadvertently limiting the collective
talent pipeline and creating “skills mismatches” with
economy-wide ripple effects. These mismatches are
a key reason why nearly half of U.S. employers report
difficulty hiring employees who have the skills their
companies need to compete.
While focusing on the demand side, we aren’t
overlooking the many employers who are already
investing in workforce skills by partnering with
educators or unions to shape vocational training
curricula or offering apprenticeships or other work-
based learning. Some are also innovating more
inclusive ways to identify talent. There are now many
pockets of success to emulate but adopting these
strategies remains too slow, costly, and complex — as
each one invents (or re-invents) its own approach.
Re-wiring the US labor market at scale will require
more than replicating best practices. We need to build
a flexible, dynamic, and common “operating system”
for the labor market that employers, educators,
workers and job seekers can plug into as a tool to
better align their own investments with each other’s
priorities, recognize potential, and respond to
market needs. If achieved at scale, such alignment
would result in higher-value education and training
programs; more inclusive and better-matched pools
of candidates to hire; and a more engaged and
productive workforce.
Regional Workforce Heroes...Unite!
14
and retention outcomes through the SectorReady™
model for career pathways, sector partnerships, and
competency-based hiring.
The Regional Workforce Partners zero in on the
supply side of the employer-driven SectorReady™
strategy. This group optimizes the human capital for
the region’s economy by modernizing the operations
of workforce programs. The partners seek to make
their solutions available to more residents than
ever before through a no-wrong-door approach
to pooling resources, referrals, a tele-health pilot
for job counseling, and easier access. The group is
probing the successful principles of the United Way’s
CIRCLES initiative to improve job counseling and case
management of students and transitioning adults.
Likewise, the WIB is working with United Way to link
workforce solutions with long-term career pathway
goals for CIRCLES participants and stakeholders.
Representatives of the two new task force groups
encompass the ultimate who’s who of regional impact.
Joining the Workforce Board and Job Center crews
are colleagues from Adult Education and Literacy
(AEL/GED for Crowder College, Carthage, and Joplin),
Alliance of Southwest Missouri, Crowder College
Training and Development Solutions, Department of
Economic Development’s Workforce Development
Division, Economic Security Corporation, Experience
Works, Family Support Division, Joplin Chamber
of Commerce, Joplin Regional Partnership, Joplin
Schools, Missouri Enterprise, Missouri Work Assistance/
TANF, Preferred Employment Services, United Way,
and Vocational Rehabilitation. The Business Services
Roundtable and the Regional Workforce Partners are
currently meeting monthly. For more information,
contact Jasen Jones at the WIB, [email protected]
or 417-206-1717, Extension 106.
The new partnerships emerged through the WIB’s
implementation of WIOA, the Workforce Innovation
Opportunity Act. The new WIOA law allows workforce
leaders more flexibility and encourages thinking
outside the box on strategies and operations. Taking
advantage of WIOA for the Joplin/Southwest Missouri
region, many long-time partners and colleagues
organized around two new task force groups, the
Regional Workforce Partners and the Regional
Business Services Roundtable.
The Regional Business Services Roundtable seeks
to improve the quality of user-friendly services to
local employers. By sharing leads and coordinating
solutions, firms can increase their efficiencies
through a single partnership of employer services
rather than dealing with multiple entities and extra
red tape barriers. Even though Roundtable agencies
represent a wide array of workforce programs,
members aim to cross-train one another in order to
co-broker services and increase the reach to help
more employers throughout the region. Roundtable
members rally around increased skills, hiring, earnings,
The super heroes that lead local groups to put people to work and fuel the region’s most powerful economic engine began gathering recently at the Hall of Workforce. Okay, they’re not really super heroes and the Hall of Workforce is simply the Southwest Missouri Workforce Board, but the mission of economic prosperity is just as important.
15
SectorReady Leaders Excel at Statewide Strategy Summit
Local Workforce leaders represented Southwest
Missouri for the Show-Me State’s kickoff of sector
strategies in a planning/training event held recently
in Osage Beach. Tucked away on the banks of the
Lake of the Ozarks, about 130 professionals from
the state’s workforce system and their partners from
education, economic development, and workforce
worked over two days to plan for advancing sector-
based work in the ten economic regions of the state.
“I am always amazed to see folks from different silos
come together around a common goal and witness
them break down traditional walls in favor of creating
new opportunities for the common customers we
all have,” said Richard D. Maher, President & CEO of
Maher & Maher. “With thinner budgets every year,
our work is getting harder and more complex in a
globally competitive world. The old ways of working
are not going to get it done any longer, and the folks
in Missouri clearly understand that. Although the
goals of the session were to learn more about sector-
strategies and plan to use sector-based approaches to
guide the workforce system’s work, ultimately it is all
about working collaboratively to help develop talent
for high-yield sectors within regional economies – and
that is really at the core of WIOA.”
Southwest Missouri leaders included Mark Turnbull
and Cary Beasley from the Joplin Regional Partnership,
Tom Franklin from Crowder College, Mary Bader from
Carthage Schools, Leah Barber and Troy Roland from
the Joplin Job Center, Janet Douglas from Family
Support Division, Cathee Wolford from Vocational
Rehabilitation, along with Jasen Jones and Sherri
Rhuems from the Workforce Investment Board.
Participants worked together in regional teams over
the course of two days. The efforts started with an
objective self-assessment around the Six Critical
Success Factors that Maher and Maher developed for
world-class sector work, and continued with action
planning around priorities for the development of
sector strategies on a selected target sector. Skilled
Maher & Maher facilitators were assigned to each
regional team and will continue to work with regional
and state leaders to advance each plan moving
forward. Consulting facilitators for Southwest
Missouri included Rodney Bradshaw previously with
the Houston WIB and Scott Sheely previously with the
WIB in Lancaster, PA.
Southwest Missouri had a head start on the two-
day assignments given the WIB’s early work in
research and development of the targeted sectors in
collaboration with the Joplin Regional Partnership.
Employer and partner engagement got underway in
September with the WIB’s annual Workforce Summit
and the launch of the SectorReady™ framework.
“We believe states need to take the lead on sectors as
they consider how they are going to integrate around
WIOA,” continued Maher. “Sector-based work requires
collaborating, working regionally, and focusing on
both job seekers and business. If you do sectors right,
you’ll do WIOA right. States need to define regional
economies and put policy in place, but the work and
decisions happen regionally and locally – and that’s
what our process is designed to foster and advance.”
For more information about Maher and Maher, visit
mahernet.com or call 1-888-90-Maher.
ROI Calculator Shows Skill Gap’s Cost to Businesses
The ROI Calculator points out that investing in a long-
range strategy leading to quality workers takes time
and money, but the reward in having a steady pipeline
of workers with the right skills more than makes up for
that investment. Consider what happens if a company
can’t fill a position – or if a new hire doesn’t meet its
expectations or doesn’t last. Not only do companies
have to start the recruiting process again, but in the
meantime they will likely pay overtime, increase use
of staffing agencies, or simply reduce production until
they are back to full strength.
As you try to increase companies’ involvement in
education and training programs in your region,
you may find this ROI Calculator useful in your
recruitment efforts. Even though some of the specific
calculations in the tool are geared to manufacturing,
the components will probably have validity for other
business sectors as well, and just discussing the
concepts raised in the tool with the businesses you are
trying to recruit will help you make the case for their
involvement.
Companies of all sizes have reported positive returns
on their investments in education and training
programs. A company in Northern Kentucky that
partnered with a workforce intermediary on a
subsidized on-the-job training program reported a
more than 800 percent return on its investment. The
biggest savings came because participants required
less training on-the-job and had a lower turnover rate.
Workforce professionals can be an important link
helping companies to 1) understand the range of
workforce solutions available to them, and 2) decide
on a strategy that works for them – and for job
seekers. You can make the ROI Calculator an important
tool in your arsenal as you work with companies in
your area.
Training and competency-based hiring doesn’t cost – it
pays! That’s the value proposition of the SectorReady™
initiative echoed in this article by Brent Weil of The
Manufacturing Institute published in the NAWDP
Advantage.
The mismatch between the skills required by companies
and the skills of individuals looking for work is a critical
issue today. According to a study by The Manufacturing
Institute and Deloitte, over the next 10 years there are
expected to be 3.4 million job openings in manufacturing
– and an expected shortage of 2 million workers to fill
those jobs. A range of strategies are required to fill that
gap. These include partnering with education and training
programs leading to industry certifications, strengthening
work-based learning programs, and investing in
incumbent workers.
Why don’t more companies participate in these solutions?
One reason is they have had a hard time quantifying the
impact of the skills gap on their business operations – in
essence, the cost of doing business as usual.
That’s why The Manufacturing Institute created a Return
on Investment (ROI) Calculator at www.costofahire.
com. It helps capture, in one place, a range of savings
that companies can expect by building solutions in
partnerships with workforce boards, community colleges,
and other community resources. These savings include
hard costs, such as recruitment and on-the-job training
– as well as productivity costs that companies may not
always be factoring in. Some of these include the cost
of overtime when companies run short of qualified
workers, and the cost of turnover from having the wrong
workforce in place. The potential savings can be tens of
thousands of dollars per employee. The ROI Calculator
balances these costs against the investment of time and
resources that a community partnership entails.
16
Crowder, Missouri Colleges Join CMT Workforce Program
Hazard Community & Technical College (HCTC) in
Hazard, Kentucky was the first to host such an event,
and spotlighted coal miners who returned to school
and found success re-training for different careers.
Since HCTC held its CMT Empowering Education event
in 2014, the school has added additional programs to
accommodate increased demand.
Larry Jeffers, a coal miner for more than 17 years
before being laid off, said “Through education and
completing [the radiologic technology program
at Hazard], I now have a job that provides me with
opportunities for future employment as well as
retirement. You can have success through education
and with hard work and determination.”
CMT Empowering Education is a comprehensive
educational campaign that provides both an online
resource, www.CMTEmpoweringEducation.com, and
on the ground support to aid prospective students
in overcoming the most commonly perceived
obstacles to furthering education. The initiative is
founded on education research and insights through
a partnership between Viacom and the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation. Advising partners for the CMT
Empowering Education campaign include Achieving
the Dream, the Association of Career and Technical
Education, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the
Center for Workforce and Economic Development at
the American Association of Community Colleges, the
National Skills Coalition and Skills for America’s Future
(the Aspen Institute).
Cable network CMT continues to add partner colleges
to its CMT Empowering Education initiative including
Crowder College and other schools in the Missouri
Community College Association. The program aims to
increase the number of residents with postsecondary
credentials including degrees and certificates in
economically-depressed communities. For the first time,
CMT Empowering Education will expand into Arizona,
Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska,
Oregon and Texas, bringing the total reach of the
program to 25 colleges across 17 states.
“Although the number of available jobs is on the rise
nationally, many go unfilled to the lack of applicants with
the necessary skills or credentials, Rural areas are among
those which struggle the most,” said Folk. “Through
this initiative, we’re working in smaller communities
to highlight the available tools and resources to earn
degrees and certificates. In less than two years we’ve
nearly doubled our reach, but there’s still much more to
do.”
CMT first announced the community college initiative in
2014 at the Clinton Global Initiative-America meeting.
Working in collaboration with the American Association
of Community Colleges (AACC), CMT Empowering
Education experienced early success as the 10 pilot
partner schools hosted local events, bringing star-power
and helping to put a face on education by highlighting
success stories of students. Prospective students learned
about solutions to some of the biggest obstacles they
face, including financial aid and part time programs.
17
Employer Engagement: Getting It Right
• To help participants gain appropriate skills and
experience: Employers can help participants gain
skills by informing program design, but they can also
play a more direct role. This can include activities
such as participating in mock interviews or offering
opportunities to build skills at the work site through
internships or apprenticeships.
• To establish credibility and access networks:
By involving employers, workforce development
programs can heighten credibility not only with other
potential partners, but also with program participants.
Employer involvement sends a message about a real
link to jobs.
• To effect change for workers: Although helping
participants access jobs may be the ultimate goal of
employer engagement activities, some programs also
aim to achieve broader improvements for workers,
such as better wages or working conditions.
• To generate resources: Employers can pay directly
for education and training, but also can contribute in-
kind resources like training space or industry-relevant
equipment.
By starting with these goals, workforce development
programs can identify how to best involve employers
in their programs. They can also work toward
developing deeper partnerships so that they can
help participants build the skills they need to secure
employment.
Learn more and download the 15-page policy brief,
Goals and Dimensions of Employer Engagement
in Workforce Development Programs, by visiting
workforcezone.net/urbanbrief.
(Urban Institute, December 15, 2015) Last summer,
Congress passed the Workforce Innovation and
Opportunity Act (WIOA), the new law of the land
governing public workforce programs—programs that
help match workers with jobs and provide training. One
notable change from the preceding Workforce Innovation
Act is that WIOA puts a stronger focus on engaging
employers as partners in these efforts.
Although making employers a part of public workforce
programs is not a new idea, there is mounting evidence
that this leads to better outcomes for jobseekers. Public
and private funders are increasingly expecting service
providers to have employers at the table.
But due to issues like resource constraints, reluctant
employers, communication challenges, and competition
among providers, workforce systems and programs have
long struggled to bring employers into the fold. What will
it take to overcome these obstacles?
The first step is thinking through strategy. In a new brief,
we lay out a framework for thinking about the goals and
dimensions of employer engagement, and how providers
and other stakeholders can be strategic about their
reasons and methods for engaging employers.
Beyond the obvious goal of helping program participants
prepare for and secure jobs, there are many other reasons
why workforce organizations should strive to partner
with employers. Understanding these intermediate goals
can help workforce organizations figure out how to best
involve employers in their programs:
• To build knowledge of industries or occupations:
This can be to inform program design, but also to help
participants make informed choices about program
participation or to engage in career planning.
18
Workforce System Impact and Performance
19
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
McDonald
Newton
CherokeeJasper
BartonDade
Lawrence
BarryOttawa
Labette
Crawford
Metrics: Goal Actual % Met
Entered Employment (Got a Job)Adult 63% 57.7% 91.6%
Dislocated Worker 64% 59.4% 92.9%
Employment Retention (Kept a Job)Adult 80% 74.5% 93.2%
Dislocated Worker 85% 78.2% 92%
Average Earnings (Six Months)Adult $10,341 $10,903 105.4%
Dislocated Worker $11,443 $11,498 100.5%
Youth Program (VOICES)Placement (job/school) 67% 68.9% 102.8%
Educational Attainment 67% 74% 110.4%
Literacy/Num Gains 60% 60.9% 101.4%
All individual metrics scoring 80% or higher are judged as
meeting the mandated workforce system performance
measures established for Southwest Missouri by state and
federal authorities. Performance period is July 2015 to
present.
Customers Served by County
County Customers Served NCRCs Awarded
Barry 536 564
Barton 152 243
Dade 41 63
Jasper 3,361 5,407
Lawrence 313 561
McDonald 183 312
Newton 757 1,550
NCRC™/CWRC GoalsThe WIB tracks and assists county-level programs for
NCRC® and employer engagement goals to help each
CWRC-in-progress county attain its full certification.
The overall percentage of goal attainment reflects
NCRCs for emerging workers (students), current and
transitioning workers, as well as supporting employers.
Results are posted through November 30, 2015. Goals
in green are fully met for that county’s category.
Monthly progress for each county may be tracked with
the mapping tool at workreadycommunities.org.
County % Emerg. Current Trans. Emplyrs.
Barry 100% 171 109 188 45
Barton 100% 57 53 73 22
Dade 59% 21 7 16 13
Jasper 100% 1356 780 1424 126
Lawrence 100% 134 108 233 41
McDonald 80% 74 65 84 22
Newton 100% 353 298 481 73
Cherokee 91% 119 104 161 19
Labette 87% 104 33 115 22
Ottawa 95% 366 247 757 21
Customers Served covers the period of July 2015 to
present. NCRCs Awarded reflects 2006 to August 2015.
Workforce Performance Summary
In-ProgressNearing Complete GoalsGoals 100%, Pending ApprovalFully Certified