Sectoral Strategies for Workforce
Development
Overview of Demand-Based Initiative sponsored by
New Jersey State Employment and Training
Commission
August 22, 2003
John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development
Rutgers University
www.heldrich.rutgers.edu
Paget Berger (paberger@rci.rutgers.edu)
Carl Van Horn (vanhorn@rci.rutgers.edu)
Demand-Based Workforce
Development Goals
• Contribute to economic growth in New
Jersey by addressing employers’ workforce
needs and gaps.
• Create an industry sector-based approach to
workforce development that better balances
workforce supply and demand.
Goals (contd.)
• Establish a mechanism for maintaining and
updating demand-based employment
information.
• Produce demand-based profiles of
representative occupations, including skills,
knowledge, and educational requirements.
Study Components
• Knowledge Inventories
• Industry-Sector Reports
• Work Group/Occupational Profiles
• Dissemination Strategy
Methodology
– Created Industry Knowledge Inventories (economic
impact, current statistics, best practices)
– Convened Sectoral Advisory Groups (to help identify
trends, validate findings and plan dissemination)
– Conducted Primary research (Focus Groups and
interviews with employers and educators)
– Selected industries, sectors, occupations (in
collaboration with State/regional WIBs, using LMI
data)
User Benefits
“Get connected, stay connected, move the market”
• Better inform jobseekers and educators
• Provide reliable,employer-based information on
occupations and skills.
• Improve effectiveness of workforce investments
and enhance collaboration within workforce
system
• Provide employers with a means to communicate
their needs and influence supply side responses
Dissemination Strategy
• Present findings to stakeholder groups and create
ongoing dialogue
• Work with Sectoral Advisory Groups on next
steps, adapting market approach for key industries
• Launch website providing access to industry
reports and occupational database with
opportunity for user input.
• Engage high school and college guidance
counselors in design and delivery of advice to
their students.
New Jersey Industries Selected
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Construction
Tourism and Hospitality
Healthcare
Manufacturing
Finance/Insurance
Logistics
Utilities/Infrastructure
Information Technology
Construction
“Listening to Employers”
• Challenges:
– Strong/increasing demand (due to school
construction, re-building in lower Manhattan
etc.)
– Increased skill Requirements (from new
materials, computerized equipment,
architectural requirements)
– Attracting qualified workers – “construction
image”
Construction
Recommended Responses
• Increase efforts to recruit students (esp.women and
minorities)
– provide better information to counselors about use of
technology, wage structures and advancement in
construction industry (ie. Construction Career Kits)
• Provide full-time technical curriculum at high
school level
– Support workforce readiness initiatives (ie. School
Counts!)
• Encourage collaboration among community
colleges and trade associations
– Best practices include “construction tracks” nested
under traditional degrees (ie. Engineering)
Utilities
“Listening to Employers”
• Challenges:
– New technology and consolidation has changed
the nature of work for front line workers and
their supervisors
– Aging workforce places premium on having
steady pool of new entrants who are interested
and qualified
Utilities
Recommended Responses
• Increase state-of-the-art employer based training
– Provide more tuition aid, certification and support for
degree programs on-the-job
– Use online learning effectively to increase employee
training options
• Create partnerships with higher education
– Promote employer sponsorship of specialized degree
programs and certificates - (ie. Associate’s Degree in
Energy Utility Management)
Healthcare
“Listening to Employers”
Challenges:
– Lack of training capacity and clinical
opportunity (especially in nursing)
– Untapped labor pools
– Working conditions perceived as undesirable
Healthcare
Recommended Responses
• Expand labor pool for recruitment of toughto-fill positions
– Better inform guidance counselors of options
for non-traditional recruits; provide more
tuition aid and scholarships
• Increase and reward potential mentors
• Implement regional recruiting strategies (ie.
J&J website “Discover Nursing”)
Statewide Recommendations
For improving the Workforce System
• Enhance and integrate math/science curriculum in
secondary schools
• Improve opportunities for career exploration without
further taxing guidance personnel – use web-based
solutions to bring the “world of work” closer to students
• Mount effective “marketing campaigns” to attract people
to sectors with high demand – low interest
• Capitalize on community college’s facility to develop midlevel, sector-based technical/professional skills
• Exploit portable credentials as the new currency for
workforce development
Creating a Market-Driven Approach
to Workforce Development
“Checklist for Strategies, Tactics and Roles”
• Shared goals linking workforce and economic development with
profitable outcomes for industry
• Blended data source using primary and secondary labor market
information
• Language and credentials designed to communicate to supply/demand
participants
• Empowered coordinating body to institute dynamic process
• Metrics aimed at narrowing workforce quantity/skill gaps by labor
market sector