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Closing Minnesota’s Skills Gap

December 17, 2010 in Featured Content, Public Policy

The good news: Minnesota’s economy is diverse and increasingly built on the types of “knowledge” jobs that will power economic growth in the coming decades. Compared to other states, we are seemingly well-positioned to be competitive in the new economy.

The bad news: Minnesota’s workforce is not on track to be prepared for these jobs. In 2018, 70 percent of Minnesota jobs will require some education beyond high school, and yet only 40 percent of working age adults have reached this threshold. This reality has the potential to undermine our economic growth well past the current, somewhat stagnant, recovery.

A few other facts further illuminate the structural challenges we’re heading into:

71 percent of American workers are in jobs for which there is low demand or an oversupply of eligible workers.
For the first time since the government started keeping track, the average education of American workers is expected to decline.
The number of new workers entering the workforce is starting to dwindle: from 30,000 per year in the past five years to just 3,000 by 2025.Our state’s leaders must take the long view to tackle the skills gap. While the current problem is a lack of jobs, this will soon by trumped by a lack of appropriately-skilled workers.The GWDC recently released its 2011 Policy Advisory, All Hands on Deck, to give policy makers some practical and effective ideas for tackling this problem now. We chose the title All Hands on Deck to reflect three realities in the new economy:
- The growing demand for skilled workers requires that we strengthen the skills of all Minnesotans, especially those underrepresented in the workforce.
- Solving complex problems like skill shortages and unemployment requires collaboration and partnership.
- Engaging diverse stakeholders is the only way organizations like the GWDC can develop inclusive workforce strategies.

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by luke

Just a little organization and structure…

September 14, 2010 in Featured Content

I’m normally a relatively free thinker – even sometimes accused of being too “loose”, “open”, or “free-wheeling” when it comes to structuring work activity, meetings, or events. However, of late, I’ve craved just a little organization…a little more structure in our workforce development arena. Two specific recent examples may be helpful here:

#1 – A federal grant opportunity was announced, with about a 90 day window before it was due back to the federal agency. Several stakeholders were in touch informally for about a week and half. A meeting was called by one organization to discuss possible responses. Of the universe of potential respondents, only some were at the meeting. In the remaining 30 days or so, a few proposals were under development, with little communication between potential competitors (or potential partners!). A lot of valuable time and the opportunity for stronger strategy was lost because we don’t have an organizational structure or a protocol within our world for responding to opportunities like these.

#2 - A client asked me for a list – yep, just a list. Could I provide them with a list of public and nonprofit job training providers to whom they would broadcast an opportunity that could be of value to program participants among those service providers? I said I could. And then I realized that to deliver such a list, I’d have to go to about a half-dozen sources: Workforce Investment Boards and their contracted vendors; United Way-funded service providers; TANF-funded vendors (who contract outside of their local Workforce Investment Boards); philanthropically-supported job training providers (who may not receive any public funds); other programs aimed at specific populations in need of service…and still more. Who have I forgotten?

There may be no hew and cry for new structures or hierarchy. Maybe just a communications protocol and a commitment for open, clear, and timely sharing of information? Is a list-serve too old-fashioned? Share your thoughts here and perhaps we’ll strengthen our arena along the way.

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by Nick Maryns

A Preview of the GWDC’s 2011 Policy Recommendations

July 30, 2010 in Featured Content

Over the past ten months, the Governor’s Workforce Development Council has been hard at work developing policy recommendations for the state of Minnesota.
The process has been thorough and collaborative, including the input of four policy workgroups and over 150 stakeholders across the state, and will culminate in the release of the GWDC’s 2011 Policy Advisory later this fall.

The GWDC’s policy work this past year has touched on many key themes, including increasing access to training and education, strengthening accountability, and further integrating systems and services. The GWDC’s policy workgroups have focused on a few key workforce pipelines/demographics:

Working Learners. The GWDC’s Resource Alignment Committee, which is charged with developing ideas to efficiently and effectively align resources at a systemic level, has taken a particular interest in working learners, i.e., the sixty percent of Minnesota’s working age population (age 25 and over) that lacks a postsecondary credential. This large demographic (over 1.9 million Minnesotans) is of great importance because more and more jobs are requiring some postsecondary education. A recent study shows that by 2018, seventy percent of Minnesota jobs will require some postsecondary training beyond high school. To address this skills gap, the committee has developed recommendations that touch on many areas, such as:

- Expanding and sustaining the efforts of the Minnesota FastTRAC Initiative to provide working learners with credentials in high-demand careers that provide family-sustaining wages.

- Setting goals and developing plans for increasing credential attainment statewide.

- Integrating state data systems to better understand and serve working learners.

- Creating additional incentives for working learners to attain postsecondary credentials.

K-12 Students. The Education Policy Workgroup’s charge is to recommend policies that will help all Minnesota students graduate high school prepared for careers and postsecondary education in an increasingly demanding and dynamic economy. The workgroup’s recommendations cover many areas, including:

- Requiring students to complete career and postsecondary plans so they understand the steps needed and the opportunities available to reach career and postsecondary success.

- Further aligning state academic standards and teacher preparation with “real-world” learning in and out of the classroom.

- Increasing opportunities for students to pursue postsecondary credit while in high school.

- Strengthening assessments and supports to identify “off-track” students and bring them back on track.

- Encouraging schools and districts to take innovative, comprehensive approaches to preparing students.

Aging Workers. The goal of the Older Workers Workgroup is to develop recommendations that support, encourage, and retain aging workers. Projections show that by 2018, the number of workers over age 55 will double, increasing Minnesota’s median age and decreasing the state’s labor participation rate. At the same time, the recession has taken a toll on aging workers’ employment outlook and retirement savings. Due to these trends, as well as evidence suggesting that aging workers generally want to continue working for personal and social reasons, the workgroup has developed a number of ideas to help extend the working life of Minnesota’s aging workers, such as:

- Examining the capacity of Minnesota’s workforce development system relative to the state’s looming demographic and economic shifts.

- Establishing Lifelong Learning Accounts to help aging workers finance continuous learning opportunities.

- Supporting entrepreneurship and small business development among aging workers.

- Establishing a taskforce to examine employer and state policies and to develop a state plan to extend the work life of aging workers.

People with Disabilities. The Disability Employment Workgroup has developed a number of recommendations to support the increased employment of people with disabilities and better access to workforce services. Despite the strong business case for employing people with disabilities, labor force participation is much lower among people with disabilities. Accordingly, the workgroup focused on two areas: improving the accessibility and usability of WorkForce Center services, and helping the State of Minnesota become a model employer of people with disabilities. The group’s recommendations include:

- Enhancing processes and creating additional mechanisms to ensure the WorkForce Center system is responsive to access and usability issues.

- Ensuring all Workforce Center staff receive training on serving individuals with disabilities.

- Expanding internship opportunities and other pathways to employment with State executive branch agencies.

- Ensuring the usability of the State’s online job application system, improving how the state funds accommodations for employees with disabilities, and ensuring state accountability for employment outcomes.

The GWDC will be voting to approve these policies on Tuesday, August 10 in Duluth. For updates and more information, head to www.gwdc.org.

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