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Federal initiatives reflect sectoral strategies
By DUANE M. ELLING
Sectoral employment programs have piqued the interest of federal officials. Since 2000, the U.S. Department of Labor has funded various initiatives designed to explore and strengthen the relationships between high-growth industries and the field of workforce development.
The Sectoral Employment Demonstration was launched in 2000 to explore how the country’s Workforce Investment Boards might design and implement sectoral strategies to connect low-income individuals with employers in need of skilled workers. Such boards traditionally function at the local and regional levels to direct federal, state and local funding streams to workforce development programs.
The sectoral programs planned by the 38 participating boards focused on such industries as information technology, hospitality and manufacturing.
A 2004 review -- conducted by the Aspen Institute and the Urban Institute -- of the three-year demonstration found that:
- Twenty-one of the sites reported improved relationships between employers and workforce development agencies as a result of sectoral programs. The same number planned to continue with sector work after the demonstration, including expanding the approach to other industries.
- Sixty-five percent of the sites leveraged the resources necessary to continue sectoral program planning and implementation beyond the demonstration’s end.
- Eight of the 12 sites that implemented sectoral programs during the demonstration reported successful job placements for trainees, with two reporting average wage gains of 18 percent or more among those placements.
The High Growth Job Training Initiative was started in 2002 to explore how sectoral strategies can help workers prepare for careers in such high-growth industries as advanced manufacturing, biotechnology and health care.
Specifically, the initiative helps state and local workforce development systems create sector-specific job-training programs in partnership with employers, industry leaders, business associations, training providers, and community and technical colleges.
A 2007 evaluation -- conducted by the Capital Research Corporation, Johns Hopkins University and the Urban Institute -- profiled 20 funded programs. Among the highlights:
- Forsyth Technical Community College, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, created in 2002 an associate degree program focused on the region’s emerging biotechnology industry. To date, 412 students have enrolled in -- and 60 have completed -- the two-year program.
- Management and Training Corporation (MTC), based in Centerville, Utah, began in 2004 to connect workforce development programs in three states -- Illinois, Ohio and Pennsylvania -- with local community colleges to prepare low-income, out-of-school youth for careers in health care. The result: more than 170 students had enrolled in sector-specific training via the programs by March 2007, with 45 finding jobs in their chosen fields.
The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) initiative, launched in 2006, provides nearly $200 million in grants to 13 regions across the country to develop new industries and train workers for new jobs.
Three Michigan-based collaborations received three-year, competitive WIRED grants totaling $30 million to address the economic problems facing their communities. One of those collaborations, the Mid-Michigan Innovation Alliance, is a 13-county consortium -- originally convened by the Mott Foundation -- focused on developing a unified strategy for restructuring the regional economy.
The alliance is expected to leverage $35 million in additional state, local and private resources, which will be used to develop a skilled workforce that meets the needs of area employers. Funding also will be used to support the creation of new technologies (including alternative energy), strengthen the region’s core economic competencies, and create new businesses.