Community and Economic Development: Collaborative Leadership To Promote Regional Workforce Development Presented By: Todd Greene Vice President
ATLANTA SKYLINE Photo by Chuck Koehler, Creative Commons
THE OPPORTUNITY The workforce development system is complex and comprised of entities with multiple geographic, customer, funding, service boundaries and networks. Opportunities exist for strengthening connections by... leveraging the networks in place, building new relationships, and building capacity and practices. First step requires better intelligence on the full ecosystem than we have now.
THE REAL PROBLEM.. THE SAME PROBLEM! Racial Political Low Trust Level Among Component Organizations Lack of Leadership Lack of Agreement on Problem Statement No Mechanism to Craft a Durable Solution 4
HOW CAN THIS BE HELPFUL? For workforce development providers... create a stronger potential for cross-referrals, collaborations, and the joint pursuit of major funding opportunities. For potential funders... provide a greater picture of the pipeline of available support to help individuals (from high school through adult) participate in the workforce, enabling identification of more strategic regional funding priorities. For businesses and other employers... provide a one-stop online resource for connecting with workforce development providers. For policy makers / government... inform decision making with sharing of research. For other community patrons... raise awareness among those who can benefit from and further support the workforce development ecosystem.
DEVELOPING THE SOLUTION Summer 2013: leaders banded together to respond to the need for a better connected workforce system and one that is that is aligned to meet employer needs January 2014 Launched project and assembled Steering Committee Spring 2014: reached out to nearly 500 potential providers to learn more about their service areas, services, customers, funding, and partnerships Fall 2014: built portal, analyzed data, and initiated mapping out a longer term plan for the group December 2: launch of MAX
STEERING COMMITTEE Atlanta CareerRise Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Atlanta Gas Light Atlanta Regional Commission Bobby Dodd Institute Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta Georgia Center for Nonprofits Georgia Chamber of Commerce Georgia Department of Economic Development, Workforce Division Georgia Department of Education Georgia Department of Human Services Georgia Department of Labor Georgia Power Georgia State Workforce Investment Board Georgia Vocational Rehabilitation Agency Goodwill of North Georgia Governor s Office of Student Achievement Invest Atlanta Metro Atlanta Chamber Technical College System of Georgia Technology Association of Georgia The Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta The Essential Economy Council University System of Georgia
INTRODUCING.
MAX s Initial Toolbox u Searchable On-Line Service Provider Portal u Website with Events, Reports, News, Resources u Regional Real Time Labor Market Data Initiative led by the Atlanta Regional Commission, Atlanta CareerRise and Metro Atlanta Chamber
Example of the Portal Interface
ABOUT Intermedi ary and provider, 39 Respondents Providers by type Intermedi ary only, 20 Who we heard from 204 organiza,ons responded, 145 are providers only, 39 are providers and intermediaries, and 20 are intermediaries only. Some provider organiza,ons have main and branch offices, therefore the results of this study reflect the services provided at 300 loca,ons serving the 10- county metro area. Provider only, 145 Academic institution, private nonprofit, 2 Academic institution, public, 11 Publicprivate partnership, 3 Government, state, 6 Other, 4 Academic institution, private forprofit, 36 Unidentified, 15 Government, local, 5 Nonprofit organizati on, 60 For-profit organizati on, 42
ABOUT Reaching customers, providing services A provider organiza,on s mission, set of services, and funding sources help determine the types of popula,ons that are served. Of the 271 provider loca,ons that provided informa,on about their customers, 86 provide services for adults only, 16 for youth only, and 169 provide both adult and youth services. In 2013 it is es,mated that repor,ng providers served over 100,000 customers. Who are they serving? Adults and youth, 169 Adults only, 86 Youth only, 16 Post employm ent services, 140 Job training, 180 Services offered Job search and placement, 167 Supportive services, 144 Employmen t screening, 88 Adult basic education, 84 Soft skills training, 168
CONNECTIN G FINDING: Connecting workforce development to employers and economic developers is an aspiration, not a reality.
Other 5 CONNECTING FUTURE: Desire New Partnerships with... Responses Partnerships today and in the future Given the importance of employer- driven strategies in workforce development, providers were asked a number of ques,ons about their rela,onships with employers. TODAY: Less than one- third (30%) indicated at least one type of engagement with an employer. FUTURE: Employers top the list of new partnerships that providers want to foster. Employers City or County Economic Development Organiza,ons State and Regional Economic Development Partners Job Training Providers Other Than Academic Ins,tu,ons Local Workforce Investment Boards Chambers of Commerce Support Service Providers Technical Colleges Four- Year Colleges and Universi,es K- 12 Schools 122 108 108 104 103 102 92 84 80 67
CONNECTING RECOMMENDATION: Strategically work to build, nurture and maintain connections between the workforce community, employers, and economic development. MAX can facilitate a stronger link between employers, trade associa,ons, chambers, and state and local economic development en,,es to bring about more coordinated forward- looking strategies for regional growth. Across sectors and occupa,ons, communica,on about the supply and demand for talent needs to be regular, efficient, and agile, not lec to serendipitous contacts between individuals.
AWARENESS FINDING: Providers need help promoting awareness of their services.
AWARENESS What s stopping people from utilizing services? Awareness topped the list iden,fied by the organiza,ons serving job seekers and people wan,ng to improve their career readiness as the main barrier to u,lizing training and other workforce development services. Rank Barrier 1 Do not know about the services available 2 Lack transporta,on op,ons to reasonably access services Score 8.92 8.67 3 Cannot afford services 8.25 4 5 6 7 8 Do not have adequate support (e.g. child or adult care) to u,lize services Do not have confidence that u,lizing the services will ensure befer employment outcomes Do not have available,me to u,lize services Are not interested in the services No barriers limit par,cipa,on in our services and/or programs 7.81 7.24 7.17 6.15 5.23 9 Do not trust providers 5.19
AWARENESS RECOMMENDATION: Continue to improve the MAX Provider Portal in completeness, quality and credibility. The MAX Provider Portal at www.maxworkforce.org is a searchable repository of informa,on on the workforce development providers and intermediaries that shared informa,on about their services and ac,vi,es. It is a first step to enhance visibility of workforce services, but will need beta tes,ng, addi,onal development and refinement, and quality control. Outreach needs to be conducted to increase provider par,cipa,on, ensure that informa,on is accurate and complete, and to con,nually improve the portal usability and visibility in the community.
RESEARCH FINDING: More research is needed to better understand gaps, capacities, and alignment with regional labor needs.
RESEARCH Are services aligned to future job demand? MAX Study, providers serving each industry ARC, forecasted job change by sector Health care and social Professional, scientific, Administrative, support, Construction Retail trade Accommodation and food Real estate and rental Finance and insurance Transportation and Wholesale trade Manufacturing Educational services Arts, entertainment, and Information technology Management of Utilities Agriculture, forestry, etc. Mining, quarrying, etc. 0 20 40 60 80 100 Health Care and Social Professional, Scientific, Administrative and Waste Construction Retail Trade Local Government Other Services, except Accommodation and Real Estate and Rental Finance and Insurance Transportation and Wholesale Trade Manufacturing Educational Services State Government Arts, Entertainment, and Information Federal Civilian Management of -100 0 100200300400500600700800 1990 1990-2013 2013-2040
RESEARCH RECOMMENDATION: Develop a consistent and aligned research agenda to address questions about the regional workforce system. The MAX data suggests key ques,ons the region should answer to improve the connectedness and prac,ces of its workforce system, and for the first,me provides a mechanism to begin to answer those ques,ons. MAX should take a lead in working with civic leaders, policy makers, and other investors to ensure that the next itera,on of data collec,on and analysis results in impact- oriented research to inform policy and investment and to improve outcomes.
ACCESS FINDING: Access issues limit connecting services with customers.
ACCESS What prevents people from getting to services? Over half of the responding providers offer their services to the en,re 10- county region. Traveling within the region is costly in,me and money, especially for individuals who are income constrained and/or transit dependent. More research is needed to befer understand the geographic reach of providers and the ways individuals want to access services to remove barriers Rank Barrier Score 1 Do not know about the services available 8.92 2 Lack transportalon oplons to reasonably access services 8.67 3 Cannot afford services 8.25 4 5 6 7 8 Do not have adequate support (e.g. child or adult care) to u,lize services Do not have confidence that u,lizing the services will ensure befer employment outcomes Do not have available,me to u,lize services Are not interested in the services No barriers limit par,cipa,on in our services and/or programs 7.81 7.24 7.17 6.15 5.23 9 Do not trust providers 5.19
ACCESS RECOMMENDATION: Convene stakeholders to develop strategies to mitigate access issues. If the lack of transporta,on op,ons to reasonably access services is as significant a barrier as suggested, then considera,ons about the physical loca,on of services, more transporta,on alterna,ves, and/or more u,liza,on of services delivery online (recognizing that customer access to technology will also have to be addressed) are needed. More research with the stakeholders is needed to carefully define the root cause of the access issue in order to crac the workable interim and permanent solu,ons.
MAX Next Steps u u u u u u u u Development of short-term and long-term strategic plans Hire interim project manager Maintain and promote portal Data and report repository Foster peer learning Promote data and tool usage Share best practices Engage and influence the policy environment
TODD S LESSONS LEARNED WII-FM (clarify and customize value proposition yet tune to the same station) Avoid the politics (and the politicians) No Chiefs (distribute leadership and accountability) Go to Switzerland (convene at a neutral place, find a neutral facilitator) A Fine Wine Takes Time (and so does building trust) Build a Trojan Horse (identify a tangible short-term project/ quick win) Talk Is Cheap (Use data to inform perspectives) Set a big table, but everyone is not invited (Include all voices through proxies)
Thank you for your time Todd Greene, CEcD Vice President, Community & Economic Development Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta todd.greene@atl.frb.org COMMUNITY & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT