1999 Workforce Development Assessment

Preliminary Planning

Step One: Bring Stakeholders Together To Build Community Ownership

Step Two: Implement Community Wide Investment Strategies to Maximize Resources

Step Three: Implement Industry-Specific Micro Strategies

Step Four: Build Macro Strategies to Address Community Conditions

Step Five: Apply Appropriate Best Practices to Meet Local Needs

The search for what works in workforce development is continuous. Whether borrowed from others or locally born, identifying, developing and implementing well coordinated workforce development strategies is the key to success. Several steps toward a stronger workforce development system have been identified.

Step One: Bring Stakeholders Together:

At the Greater Austin@Work Summit (June 1999), Austin took a first critical step towards building a more successful workforce development system. Currently, there are a multitude of programs and initiatives but they are too disconnected and disjointed to be as effective as possible. In June, the Capital Area Workforce Development Board, the City of Austin, Travis County and the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce joined together to host the Greater Austin@Work workforce development summit. This conference brought together, for the first time, local employers, educators, training and social service providers, government policymakers and others to discuss and develop solutions to Central Texas workforce development problems. The most significant aspect of this meeting was the fact that all stakeholders in the system were at the table together. Additionally, the conference work groups were organized by industry cluster so that solutions that were developed were designed for a specific industry.

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Step Two: Community Wide Strategies

The Greater Austin@Work Summit (June 1999) was an important step toward a comprehensive community strategy for workforce development. This summit brought together local government, education, workforce development, training, and large and small employers from multiple industry clusters to begin developing strategies in a community planning process. This process has reemphasized the importance of a community wide, and even regional strategies.

The first critical step toward building community wide strategies is to complete a comprehensive resource and asset map. In order to maximize the resources available, this map would identify the following:

• source of funds (federal, state, local)
• restrictions on uses (TANF only, work first only, etc.)
• unrestricted funds available
• amount of funds targeting specific programs/uses/populations
• leveraging opportunities (federal match for local dollars, etc.)

Concurrently, stakeholders need to collaborate to develop a comprehensive plan for workforce development in Central Texas. This plan would identify all of the service needs, populations, strategies, etc. The goal of the plan is to identify each component of the system and what stakeholder is responsible for that component. Using the resource map, funds can be matched to components. This would allow for strategic application of resources.

Planning would revolve around identified industry clusters, as well as the foundation of supportive services necessary to an effective workforce development system (child care, transportation, etc.). Though the asset mapping needed to put industry specific strategies into practice has not been completed, the work of this assessment in identifying current investments and promising efforts is a starting point. Initial planning and strategies around industry specific needs did come out of the summit.

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Step Three: Industry Specific Strategies

The most important result of the conference were the micro and macro workforce development solutions developed by the various industry specific breakout sessions. The micro strategies are industry specific actions for resolving workforce development issues. The number one solutions identified during the Greater Summit are as follows:s

INDUSTRY	MICRO STRATEGY
Construction	Training
Healthcare/Biomed	Promote/create an "attitude shift" from competition to collaboration regarding workforce development among employers
Hospitality	Subsidize privately operated shuttles to be used solely for the purpose of providing transportation for the greater Austin area workforce
Consumer & Professional Services	Create internal opportunities for lateral and vertical career growth
Automotive	Create a clearinghouse of all resources - individual employment opportunities, training, etc., maximize web site opportunities
Telecommunications/Call Centers	Implement a PR campaign to market industry opportunities to educational institutions and transitional workforce, utilizing items such as job fairs, tours, etc.
Semiconductor	Develop a marketing plan to sell industry to students, parents and educators (to motivate learning in math and science)
Computers & Peripherals	Offer internships and encourage employees to spend time in local schools
Software & Multimedia	Develop centralized web site to provide comprehensive information about industry and opportunities

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Step Four: Community Strategies

Each industry group also identified a list of macro strategies. These strategies are intended to help resolve the workforce development issues facing Central Texas. The number one solutions from each group at the Greater Austin@Work Summit are as follows:

INDUSTRY	MACRO STRATEGIES
Construction	Identify underlying or needed skills to communicate to parents, educators and employees.
Healthcare & Biomed	Use a systemic approach to addressing workplace issues (use a comprehensive model)
Hospitality	Improve the greater Austin area support services to be more affordable and accessible in order to attract more employees, including an expansion of transportation for employees, as well as affordable and subsidized child care housing and education
Consumer and Professional Services	Develop a regional centralized information source in reference to workforce related issues
Automotive	Provide 5,000 summer internships to area high school students to heighten awareness of the regions high-growth careers and the skills required
Telecommunications/Call Centers	Create a regional initiative to increase the marketing of career awareness, core competencies, training and job opportunities in the emerging and transitional workforce through: Industry/community based collaborations Career pathways Internships Job shadowing Mentoring and tutoring Special vocational programs
Semiconductor	Develop a marketing plan to sell Austin through multimedia
Computers and peripherals	Implement timely education reform - where industries needs will be addressed - via an employer-led alliance that will develop the pipeline of the emerging and shifting workforce
Software and Multimedia	Create an organization to coordinate workforce initiatives between intermediary organizations

The results of the Summit provide an excellent guide for developing a smart system that meets the needs of individuals and employers.

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Step Five: Best Practices

There are best practices outside of our community could also be applied to support a successful, community wide workforce plan. Some examples include:

• The White House at Work Conference reported that former welfare recipients who are employed are more likely to get promoted if they receive support through a mentor.
• Programs successful in moving individuals from welfare to work have the following characteristics:
  • Focus on employment related goals
  • Hands on work experience
  • Collaboration with community based organizations
  • Incorporate early intervention and personal attention in addressing problems
  • Commitment to continuous staff development

In the planning and development stages of the Greater Austin@Work Summit, a number of industry specific best practices were identified. These include both local and national examples ranging from construction and automotive, hospitality and health, to semiconductors, software and multimedia.

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Industry Specific Best Practices

Construction Industry
Construction Gateway local	Gateway was created to provide basic skills training and employment in the construction industry to unemployed and under-employed adults. Program also draws from the Criminal Offenders Re-Entry (CORE) program.
Automotive Industry
Automotive Industry Steering Committee local	Automotive Technology programs coordinated industry sponsorship of outreach, curriculum, teachers, tools and equipment, as well as placement assistance. Currently offered at Johnston, Reagan, Round Rock and Georgetown High Schools.
Hospitality
Crime Prevention Institute Job Fair local	Crime Prevention Institute Inc., has coordinated job fairs with the Austin Hotel Motel Association to match employers to employees
Texas High Schools for Hospitality local	Matching high school hospitality management classes paired with hotel partners so that students can learn about the industry, not only in the classroom, but through hands-on experience.
Health
Project LINC (Ladders in Nursing Careers) Texas	178 Project LINC participants throughout the state are pursuing associate or bachelor degrees with the financial support and assistance of their hospital employers. Participants agree to continue working with their employer for 2 to 4 years after obtaining their degree.
Health Industry Steering Committee - local	Health Industry Steering Committee is a group of employers, educators and community leaders who are working together to ensure that our community has the education and training in place to prepare people for jobs in the healthcare industry
Bio-Link Consortium	Consortium of six colleges to develop new curricula and programs to meet needs of emerging biotechnology industry ACC biotechnology program will enroll its first class in the Fall of 1999.
High Tech
Applied Information Management Institute Omaha, NE	AIMs formal mission is to promote and support business growth related to Information Technology by strengthening the areas technology infrastructure.
Keystone International: Realistic Job Preview local	Job applicants are placed in a simulated work environment at Keystone for multiple days to learn and perform industry specific job duties before being assessed to qualify for employment with a company in that particular industry. This paradigm is applicable in any industry that wants to staff itself with entry-level, direct hire personnel.
Advanced Technology Curriculum Seattle, WA	North Seattle Community College is developing curriculum in connection with local high schools, Intel of Oregon, and the University of Washington to prepare students to transition from high school, to higher education, to growth industry.
ACE Program Accelerated Careers in Electronics local	Electronics career pathway that allows students a seamless transfer of credits and training from high school to ACC and Southwest Texas State University, in partnership with major semiconductor employers.

Additional information on these and other best practice case studies are available from the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and the Capital Area Training Foundation.

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