Partnerships Between Public and Private Sectors Forging New Opportunities for Economic Advancement
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A new white paper has been released, shedding light on community reskilling initiatives that aim to create a more resilient, equitable, and future-proof workforce infrastructure. The report, which focuses on Sacramento, Louisville, and Buffalo, presents key findings and strategies to navigate community reskilling efforts in the face of the rapidly changing labor market.
Employer leadership, such as Humana, M&T Bank, and Microsoft, has played a critical role in spearheading and supporting these projects. The core tenet of community reskilling is that no organization can go it alone. Over the past two years, community reskilling efforts have been led by coalitions of employers, elected officials, workforce leaders, traditional higher education institutions, and non-profits.
The whitepaper aims to help prepare workers and job-seekers for an increasingly uncertain and volatile future of work, influenced by the accelerating integration of technology, resignations and retirements, shifting remote work policies, and rejection of low-wage jobs.
One of the key strategies outlined in the report is a place-based, flexible, and proactive skills development approach. This strategy tailors reskilling initiatives to the unique economic and social needs of specific regions, aligning with local industries and employment opportunities.
Another challenge identified is geographic and logistical barriers that limit workers’ participation in training programs close to home or work. Improving accessibility means expanding both local training options and online learning resources with necessary support.
Effective programs begin by identifying existing skills and gaps among the local workforce, particularly focusing on transferable skills to enable smoother transitions into in-demand roles. This approach increases the success rate of workforce development by targeting training that meets employer needs and leverages workers’ potential.
The strategies involve collaboration among local governments, community organizations, training providers, and industries to ensure training is relevant and tied directly to job opportunities in growing sectors. The vision for the "new social contract" includes living wages, health care benefits, and quality of life supports.
To address regional challenges and funding deployment issues, the report highlights the importance of effective fund management at the community level. Buffalo exemplifies difficulties beyond training design, such as mismanagement or slow deployment of crucial federal funding for workforce and related community development initiatives.
The whitepaper also emphasizes the role of American employers as engines of funding and strategic guidance in community reskilling programs. Following a recent Executive Order to modernize workforce development, there is a push for policy alignment to support credentialing and high-demand skills development, including expanding educational savings plans to cover non-traditional credentials such as industry certifications.
Finally, successful community reskilling programs depend on the coordination of many different players. Successful initiatives engage early and deeply with local organizations that work with the targeted populations. The U.S. federal government could galvanize community reskilling efforts with investment in economic recovery, such as those proposed in the Biden Administration's Build Back Better agenda.
To learn more about these strategies and case studies from Sacramento, Louisville, and Buffalo, download and read the full white paper here.
- Technological advancements in the future of work require continuous reskilling and education-and-self-development to ensure workers are equipped with high-demand skills, as outlined in the whitepaper.
- The collaboration between employers, such as Humana, M&T Bank, and Microsoft, along with local governments, community organizations, training providers, and industries, is vital for effectively managing funds and designing relevant reskilling initiatives to meet the needs of specific regions and growing sectors.
- To foster a more resilient, equitable, and future-proof workforce infrastructure, it's essential for businesses, education institutions, and policymakers to join forces, prioritize finance allocation for community reskilling programs, and leverage technology to facilitate access to training, regardless of geographic location.
