The State of the Region’s Economy and Workforce Building on the Region’s Assets

1. The State of the Region’s Economy and WorkforceBuilding on the Region’s Assets 4th Annual Regional Economic and Workforce Development Summit John P. Metcalf CSW Sr. Partner Strategic Community Planning

2. Summary • Greatest opportunity is sustainedcollaboration to build talent, agility, entrepreneurial culture, and a great quality of life • Winning in a 21st Century Labor Market is hard • Clear maps of the path don’t exist – for workers, for businesses, for regions • The work never ends – work must continue to tackle the region’s needs and its “wicked problems” and leadership matters Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

3. The Region • Place Matters to compete globally (regional branding matters) • The Region’s Personality underscores our “get it done attitude” • Visionary • Progressive • Diverse • Friendly • Accommodating • Innovative • Charlotte-Mecklenburg has enormous influence over the region’s reputation and its competitive advantage Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

4. The Golden Crescent Provides The State’s Economic Engine

5. Storylines: Then and Now • With Great Growth Comes the Need for Stability: • Then: the region was growing at a faster than normal rate and had created an imbalance between jobs available and the available workforce Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

7. Storylines: Then and Now • Now: with the economic downturn accelerates the imbalance • the region is continuing to grow • but has even more job seekers than jobs available Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

8. Storylines: Then and Now • A Cluster/Sector-Based Approach Aligns Resources and Strategies • Then: there was more than one competing economic development plan with unnecessary duplication of effort and a lack of plan integration Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

9. Storylines: Then and Now • Now: with the leadership of the Charlotte Regional Partnership and its supporting county partner economic development offices, the region is enjoying a tighter focus than in 2005 to assemble a “single” integrated strategic plan. • Now: with the creation of the region’s Competitive Workforce Alliance comprised of the 16 counties’ seven (7) Workforce Development Boards there is a single voice to integrate workforce strategies with economic development and education strategies. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

10. Storylines: Then and Now • Technology Enables Economic and Workforce Development • Then: the region’s technology assets and their use were critical to support industry and business growth Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

11. Storylines: Then and Now • Now: this is more of a critical success factor for the region to continue economic expansion • With the growing need to provide for a telecommuting generation of workers, people are increasingly able to live and work anywhere and must have access to technology to become productive Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

12. Storylines: Then and Now • A Well Prepared and Career Aware Workforce is Essential to Maintaining Economic Vitality • Then: too many individuals, young and adult, were not prepared to enter the work environment and help businesses compete on a global basis Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

13. Overview of NC Occupations and Occ Growth by Ed. Requirements “Success Favors The Prepared Mind”NTHS • Two-thirds of all jobs require more than a GED • 25 percent of all jobs require at least a 2-year degree • 38 percent of all NEW jobs in the next 10 years will require at least a 2-year degree • Workers with at least a 4-year degree make over three times as much as someone without a GED • Someone without a GED makes 60 percent of the state average

14. Storylines: Then and Now • Now: improvement in these areas has been less than ideal. • The continuation of unacceptable dropout rates and low graduation rates makes this the region’s number one priority to correct • The consequences of having high value employers by-passing this region for a more prepared region is real. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

15. Storylines: Then and Now “The challenge is to find quality workers with the education and skills to be successful in the workplace. If business as usual continues and the education and professional skills of the workforce do not radically improve, the current and future careers available in the Counties will be beyond the reach of current residents.” Cabarrus and Rowan Counties Education and Workforce Development Acton Plan, 2008, prepared by Market Street Services, Atlanta, Ga. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

16. The Economy and the Workforce:The Disappearing Middle • Bifurcating into two camps • Those with adequate skills and education and are capable to navigate the labor market • Low in number but high in demand • Can move upstream to new and emerging jobs • Those with little or no skills and are incapable of moving into new emerging industries • High in number but in low demand • Must move downstream in deep recessions and high sector displacement to find work Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

17. Storylines: Then and Now • “Growing Your Own” Helps Offset Impacts of Global Change • Then: there was a growing demand to build off of our entrepreneurial assets and grow our economic sectors by “growing our own” • The new economy Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

18. Storylines: Then and Now • Now: the demand continues to build with the displacement of highly talented, educated, and skilled individuals that are available to create new businesses • Many are from the financial sectors and are catalysts for either starting their own business or filling new financial sector businesses growing and relocating to the region • It is a perfect time for the region to create a single entrepreneurial system to “grow our own”. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

19. Storylines: Then and Now • What Goes Around, Comes Around • Then: our intra-regional dependence on a well thought out and diverse transportation system was critical for connecting our labor force to the needs of business Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

20. Storylines: Then and Now • Now: The need for a comprehensive intra-regional transportation system is very important. • The demand for access to employment opportunities is critical for the region to continue to grow economically • Having the capability for employers to access qualified labor from anywhere in the region is what will distinguish this region from other competitive regions • While the light-rail system is a step in the right direction, it alone is not enough to eliminate congestion and bottlenecks to allow for a transparent connection of job seekers with employers Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

21. The Sectors That Drive the Region’s Economy 2005 • Pharmaceuticals & Bio-informatics • Finance & Insurance • Logistics (inclusive of Transportation and Warehousing) • Automotive & Motor Sports. • Manufacturing • Back Office Support Services 2009 • Healthcare • Life Sciences • Energy/Environment • Defense/Security • Entrepreneurial Activities Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

22. Agile Communities Agility comes from the ability to make necessary changes to direction as outside influences intervene into well laid plans “Can a region dance the dance when the music changes?” Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

23. What Will Get In the Way of a Regional Recovery? • Jobless recovery - the new norm • Expect high unemployment numbers for a protracted period • If you thought green was a movement – lean is now a movement across all sectors • Efficiency will drive new productivity gains • New skill set demands for re-hires Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

24. What Will Get In the Way of Recovery? • The second financial downturn – commercial real-estate foreclosures and second mortgage re-set • No place for people and firms to go for relief • Lack of capital • The public “safety net” – getting thin and frayed • More requests than assets to cover needs Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

25. What Will Get In the Way of Recovery? • Unknown international conflicts effecting energy costs • Will impact economic recovery fostering less growth • Will reset labor sheds and their development • What were a few issues turns into a mountain of wicked problems demanding new approaches to rectify Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

26. What Will Get Us Through the Recovery?What Will We Build On? Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

27. Demand Generators: Fuel for Creating New Jobs…the big hitters for the region that will help recapture its economic vision and provide the energy to create new jobs Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

28. North Carolina Research Campus By some estimates the total employment created by the campus will approach 13,000 direct and indirect jobs, PhD to certificate based jobs, by 2035; a substantial demand generator for the region. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

29. Healthcare and Life Sciences Currently there is a large expansion of hospitals in the region. When hospitals are built, there soon follows an expansion of medical offices and doctors facilities fueling the growth of additional population centers. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

30. Energy There is a sense that green energy is the next level of innovation to become a primary industry for the region and nation. …the movement towards green energy finds its way to Charlotte as a national leader to develop ways to de-carbonize energy usage. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

31. University of North Carolina Charlotte Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) aimed at training engineers and upgrading knowledge in every energy field from nuclear to solar to biofuels. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

32. Entrepreneurism the economic downturn is a national problem and not just a local problem, many of those workers will find their next choice of career is to create new business startups. Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

33. Demands on the Workforce: New Level of Talent and Skill Required • Business’ Global Context • Entrepreneurial Spirit • Technology Driven Communications • “Multi-task masters” – trainable across multiple skill sets • Collaborative Planning • Job Retention Skills Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

34. “Wicked Problems” the Region Continues to Face and Must Solve If We Are to be Globally Competitive Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

35. What is a Wicked Problem? • Not good vs. evil • But it is an issue/problem that is so resistant to resolution it demands new thinking and approaches to tackle them • they are not tamable through normal linear thought and means • Most wicked problems never go away, just mitigated over time Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

36. Our Wicked Problems • Graduation/Dropout Rates • Valuing education • Literacy • Acculturation of In-migrants • Community College Funding • Transportation Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

37. New Regional Storylines to Evolving • NC Research Campus – Creating a New Center of Gravity for Bio • Energy – Charlotte at the Epicenter of Green • UNC Charlotte – Growing Into Its Own • Tourism – Now a Destination Region • Healthcare – Providing for a Growing Region • Entrepreneurism - A New Vision for the Region’s Entrepreneurial Strategy Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

38. Final Thoughts Partner Collaborate Network The power is in the connection and regional leadership matters Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

39. The Opportunity for the Region • Greatest opportunity is sustainedcollaboration to build talent, agility, entrepreneurial culture, and a great quality of life • Winning in 21st Century Labor Market is hard • Clear maps of the path don’t exist – for workers, for businesses, for regions

40. Changing Strategies for Changing Times • Build strong connections between economic, education, and workforce development • Don’t just talk, do it!!! • Help industry sectors and businesses more directly meet talent needs • It’s all about the “Talent Search” • Improve lifelong education opportunities and outcomes to: • Grow talent, attract talent, retain talent

42. A Famous Philosopher Said Somebody’s got to do something, and it’s incredibly pathetic that it’s got to be us. Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead

43. Questions? 900 Victors Way, Suite 350 Ann Arbor, MI 48108 (734) 769-2900 John Metcalf, jmetcalf@skilledwork.org www.skilledwork.org