Local workforce development practitioners are being asked to be productive effectively blindfolded and without data. Since October, I have attended 4 workforce development meetings, led by highly competent professionals and facilitators, that I know would not choose to convene a large number of professionals on multiple occasions without any data. In fact, such gatherings without data, results in diminished productivity while costing taxpayers.
In the pipeline, since October after 5 years without data and the persistence of disconnected workforce development efforts, the community awaits a report from Burning Glass. Burning Glass is a company out of Boston who does labor market analysis. Labor market analysis is endless and never perfect, while in most environments, at least some form of summary data is provided to local professionals so they can be productive in their work while awaiting final report production. But not in Memphis.
To that extent, routinely it is said by practitioners in these meetings, that go back well beyond October that “we meet all the time and nothing happens”. It’s true. Disconnected workforce development efforts have persisted for 5 years in Memphis costing taxpayers an estimated and now recurring $15M per year. Additionally, fundamental questions and themes commonly emerge from such meetings with no specific answers while wasting valuable time and taxpayer money. Some of these questions are below.
What’s The Goal and How do We Measure it (Data Requirement) ?
Concerns of showing up on time and drug use, which are voiced throughout the country, are often voiced as obstructions to employment. But, in many ways, those areas reside outside of the control of the education sector. At the same time, increasing post-secondary completion rates resides within the control of the education sector while targeting grades 8 thru adult. The fact is, when compared to its peer counties and based on its population, Shelby County needs to increase post-secondary completion rates by 6,000 per year across all award levels.
Sample Goal: Increase post-secondary completions across all award levels by 1,500 per year with an increased focus on 1 and 2 year awards over the next 4 years.
What about career planning, awareness and soft skill development ?
This is a data, curriculum and marketing requirement. In order to increase the post secondary completion rates, career planning and navigation must be implemented in the standards based academic curriculum for all students starting in middle school and continuing in high school. This curriculum work is not limited to career and technical education participants but is for ALL students so that enrollments and completion rates will increase for in demand post-secondary career pathways.
In this way, through curriculum integration, its not additional content for educators to deliver but just part of the academic curriculum where the discrete in demand soft skills, as identified by data, are integrated into the academic curriculum experience.
This curricular experience alerts students and parents to in demand career opportunities that align to students interests, preferences and skills while educators address academic standards and promote State of Tennessee measured Early Post-Secondary Opportunities (EPSOs)
Sample Goal: Develop initial standards based curriculum templates that promotes EPSOs by the end 0f 2019-20 school year for initial implementation in 2020-21 with supporting professional development occurring in the Summer of 2020
What about professional development for educators ?
Because most educators career paths consist of them going to school, college and going to school to work, they lack confidence in discussing career content that resides outside of academia. To that extent, professional development and standards based academic content is needed to help them increase their confidence. There are programs to support this need such as this Pennsylvania Teacher in the Workplace Program.
At the same time, Memphis is fortunate to have the Junior Achievement (JA) Biz Town facility that is designed to model the local economy through scenario based learning. This facility, typically used for student learning, would be excellent for educator professional development to expedite educator career content professional development at scale while boosting the revenues and visibility of Memphis JA. This JA experience would of course coincide with other professional development opportunities.
Sample Goal: Design educator professional development that leverages JA Biz Town for Summer 2020 delivery
What about Funding and Wraparound services ?
Locally, wraparound services have come to mean all of those services that financially complement the traditional education experience in areas like public transit, child care and funding for books in for example what is found with the Southwest Community College Foundation. Wraparound services is largely a funding requirement to boost and improve existing programming for increasing post-secondary completion rates. Additionally, greater funding is needed for workforce development within the context of overall economic development.
Sample Goal: Equipped with an economic development business case, publicly advocate for increased public-private funding for workforce development, in legislative Chambers on a regular basis, while requesting specific amounts of funding.
Conclusion
At least some recognized summary form of labor market data is needed to facilitate productive workforce development planning and goal setting efforts. Without it, taxpayers time and money is being wasted…
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