Skills, Credentials and Jobs: Minnesota’s Workforce 2011 and Beyond

1. Skills, Credentials and Jobs:Minnesota’s Workforce 2011 and Beyond Eric Seleznow, National Skills Coalition November 14, 2011

2. Our Mission • We organize broad-based coalitions seeking to raise the skills of America’s workers across a range of industries. • We advocate for public policies that invest in what works, as informed by our members’ real-world expertise. • And we communicate these goals to an American public seeking a vision for a strong U.S. economy that allows everyone to be part of its success.

3. Investing in the Forgotten Middle Middle-skill jobs, which require more than high-school, but less than a four-year degree, make up the largest part of the American’s labor market. in themiddle

4. Minnesota's Growing Skills Gap

5. What’s the Problem? • Lots of issues competing for time, attention, funding, etc. • Workforce should be more central in economic policy • Need to raise visibility

6. Why’s the Problem? • Is there common message for the field? • Is there a clear goal the public can understand and support? • Is there an exciting skills agenda that policy makers can support and talk about?

7. Create a Policy Framework • Sector partnerships: engaging employers in a meaningful way • Career pathways: increasing access to education and training • Targeted investments: ensuring investments lead to credentials that have value in the labor market

8. What are Some Other States Doing? • Rhode Island • Massachusetts • Indiana • Oregon • Washington • Maryland

9. Recommendation #2: An Opportunity • Setting goals and developing plans for increasing adult credential attainment. • Minnesota’s workforce development partners should make an explicit commitment to increasing credential attainment among working learners.

10. Cross Agency Credential Measurement • Helps you understand the outcomes across a range of human capital investments. • Allows you to set a system wide goal and work to increase outcomes. • Provides a framework to use cross agency outcome data to measure progress. • Increases agency accountability.

11. Elements of a Cross Agency Credential Measurement Policy • Leadershipfrom a senior policymaker with authority over the multiple participating agencies and institutions is critical for leading this effort and in gaining the cooperation of agency heads, education leaders, and program directors. • Creation of a statewide policy, executive order, or legislation to organize, plan and sustain the policy over time.

12. Elements, continued • Set a bold goal for skill attainment and credential outcomes to set agency expectations, bring public attention, and encourage a wide range of agencies to be jointly invested in the effort. • Creation (or designation) of a senior level cross agency council(such as a SWIB) to coordinate data collection, break down silos and improve agency alignment.

13. Elements, continued • Collection and tracking of credential attainment outcomes to assess education and training investments;  • A mechanism for reporting outcome data to policymakers and monitoring agencies progress; • Developing a comprehensive “workforce system” report for policy makers, stakeholders and consumers.

14. Keys to Success • Strong executive leadership - Governor, L.G • Commissioner level cabinet participation and support • On going cross agency coordination by SWIB • On-going measurement and accountabilityby Governor’s representative • Agency collaboration

15. Governor's Goal? Increase the Outcomes of the Workforce Training System by XX percent by 20XX.

16. Credential Measurement Basics • Moves the needle on post-secondary success. • Establishes a system wide goal to increase credential attainment. • Collects cross agency outcomes. • Measures progress regularly . • Keeps agencies accountable • Reports on progress towards goal

17. What Credential Outcomes Can be Collected? • Community Colleges • Associate Degrees • Certificates (30 hrs. certificate based) • Non Credit Continuing Ed (leading to a license or credential) • Apprenticeships • Private Career Schools • WIA Occupational & Incumbent Worker Training • CTE & Adult Ed matriculating to post secondary • Voc. Rehab, Vets, TANF, Corrections

18. Cross Agency Coordination – Who Brings Data to the Table? • Department Economic Development • Department of Housing and Community Development • Department of Human Resources • Department of Labor • Department of Correction • Department of Aging • Higher Education Commission • State Department of Education • Division of Rehabilitation Services • Department of Veterans Affairs • Representation of the P-20 Education Council • Association/Board of Community Colleges • Representative of WIB Association

19. Challenges and Barriers • Organizing cross agency partners and buy in. • Collecting the “right” data – K.I.S. • Data questions need to be precise. • May discover a need to create a collection system or ask for different data. • Credential data is elusive – may need to start small and build.

21. Outreach and Marketing to Customers

22. Contact Eric Seleznow State Policy Director National Skills Coalition P: 202.223.8991, ext. 105 erics@nationalskillscoalition.org

25. Many Partners, One Vision

26. Cross Agency Credential Measurement Policy • Enables state policy makers to assess the skills development and credential attainment outcomes of a range of the state’s human capital investments, set broad statewide goals for credential attainment outcomes, and measures progress over time.

27. What Governors Can Do to Close the -Skills Gap • Set a bold goal for the number of residents to be trained with market-ready skills. • Change perceptions of middle-skill jobs. • Make sure training dollars go toward in-demand credentials aligned with real jobs.

28. What Can be Learned? • Understand the "workforce training system” as a whole. • Ability to set a system-wide goal. • Organize an array of workforce training programs towards a common goal of increasing credential outcomes.

29. Moving the Needle on Post-Secondary Success • All oars rowing in the same direction for a singular outcome under Skills@Work • All state agencies focus and track their achievement • Other partners under the credential counting umbrella -- LWIBs, community colleges, private career schools, and CBO’s

30. What the Policy Can Do? • Help meet the goals of Skills@Work? • Provide policy makers with the information necessary to determine if these programs are producing workers with the skills and credentials needed to meet the labor market demand within the state.

31. Sample Progress Tracking Template

32. Getting Started? • A high level body should lead the way (Governor's WIB, P-20 Council, Legislative Task Force). • Education of governor’s policy and communication's staff is critical. • Governor’s office should take the lead – and establish a quantitative goal. • Establish a mechanism to measure progress and provide accountability for progress.