DEVELOPING THE
YAKIMA VALLEY’S
TALENT PIPELINE
Presentation to Washington
Economic Development
Association Conference
Vancouver – June 2011
THE CHALLENGE FACING
LOCAL EMPLOYERS
The Yakima Valley’s employers face a difficult
time filling skilled or technical positions at their
operations.
With limited higher education and technical
training institutions, it is difficult for employers
to find enough graduates or graduates with the
right background from these local institutions.
Our “team” is using a two-pronged approach to
address this issue in Yakima County:
Talent Attraction strategies
Incumbent worker training
TALENT ATTRACTION
AND DEVELOPMENT
 For our talent attraction we worked with local
HR managers, recruiters, real estate agents,
and workforce council staff.
 For our talent development component we
worked with skill panels, the workforce council,
impact Washington (formerly WA Mfg Services)
 For each initiative we worked with a core group
and then expanded partnerships as specific
products and timelines were developed
TALENT DEVELOPMENT
 We started an incumbent worker training
initiative to boost core and specialized
workplace skills for key employees and
managers at local manufacturing plants.
 It started as a result of discussions with our local manufacturing
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skill panel
We then worked with the Workforce Council and impact WA to
implement a lean manufacturing training initiatives where we
helped these key workers learn how to streamline manufacturing
operations;
We added a lean office component as well
We recently completed a 3-day supervisory training series
Our next course or series will focus on “Green” training
TALENT ATTRACTION
 We started a talent attraction (and retention)
initiative recognizing that key local employers have
difficulty filling professional and technical positions
at their facilities.
 Our advisory committee identified initial strategies to support their
recruitment efforts.
 We created two websites, www.liveyakimavalley.com and
www.workyakimavalley.com to support company recruitment
efforts.
 We trained over 60 local leaders to help in specific situations
involving newcomers to the Yakima Valley. These “Ambassadors”
can help host key job applicants and new employees.
 We host receptions several times a year for new employees. Our
ambassadors help hosts these events and we provide an overview
of our community at the receptions (history, schools, local
government, health care options, etc.)
PROGRAM METRICS
AND OUTCOMES
 Talent Development Metrics:
 Number and types of companies participating (70+)
 Number of incumbent workers trained (250+)
 Number of trainees in entry level management or promoted
to management (?)
 Number of follow-up impact WA project (or other partner
projects) (6)
 Private funds or in-kind resources donated to support training.
($40,000)
 Talent Attraction Metrics:
 Number and type of visitors to websites (1600 per month)
 Number of “newcomer” ambassadors trained (65)
 Number of receptions hosted and number of newcomer attendees
(5 events – 62 guests)
 Number of people attracted to area due to initiative (?at least
two)
LESSONS LEARNED
 Communities cannot wholly fill the talent pipeline with
existing education and training institutions.
 Using WIA dislocated worker funds to train incumbent
workers can make an impact at companies and help them
improve skills for key workers
 Upgrading worker skills in turn helps the company maintain
competitive position
 Employers need all the help they can get when trying to
attract technical and professional workers from outside the
area;
 Helping companies fill key positions promotes business
retention and competitiveness
 Filling these positions is somewhat similar to creating new jobs in
your community (esp. if these position go unfilled or are hard to
fill).
 With baby boomer retirement unfolding both talent
development and attraction are critical
UNIQUE AND REPLICABLE
Our talent development initiative that focuses on incumbent
worker training has won state and national recognition.
Talent development depends on partnerships between EDCs,
Workforce councils, training providers, and companies
 Funding to subsidize or jumpstart these initiatives is important
 Gauging industry’s ongoing needs for professional training is
essential.
Our talent attraction efforts are unique (to our knowledge) in
the Pacific Northwest. We found models to follow in Ohio,
South Carolina and Virginia
It is fairly easy for communities or regions to develop a talent
attraction (and retention) initiative
 Ask yourself if you have “welcome” and “jobseeker”
websites catering to professional and technical employees.
 Our initiative has cost approximately $5000 over the last couple
years, and there are opportunities to do this cheaper or increase
investment to add more elements.
 This is one of the most popular initiatives we have ever mounted for
our top end employers
FOLLOWUP OPPORTUNITIES
Talent Development:
 High performance team building
 Green training and certification
 Train the trainer
Talent Attraction
 Increase utilization and effectiveness of ambassadors
 Host career counselors from state and private
colleges/universities
 Develop YouTube video series featuring new people in our
community.
Generally we need to develop clearer metrics for both
these initiatives. We have good data on process,
participation, and effort. Now we need to measure and
determine the impact of these initiatives on participating
companies.
Is It Time for the
Reception Yet?!?
David McFadden
President
Yakima County Development Association
PO BOX 1387
Yakima, WA 98907
509-575-1140 -- davemc@ycda.com
www.ycda.com
www.liveyakimavalley.com
www.yakimavalley.biz
www.workyakimavalley.com