Workforce Skills & the Economy: Ventura County’s Pathway to Economic Recovery

1. Workforce Skills & the Economy: Ventura County’s Pathway to Economic Recovery Bruce Stenslie, EDC-VC, October 22, 2010

2. For years prior to the Great Recession, Ventura County had been a national leader in jobs & economic vitality, our success built on the skills of our workforce.

3. Since 2007, Ventura County has taken a hard fall, so severe that we approach the bottom of labor market and economic performance.

4. Economic recovery will be found througha high road strategy, built on quality of life & productivity, through workforce skills applied to quality jobs.

5. Focus on the Good Years • Forbes/Milken Index, Best Places to Do Business • 2002, Ventura County #4 out of 200 nationally • 2005, #7 nationally, 5-year wage & salary growth • 2007, still in top 15% nationally, all measures

6. Current State of Ventura County 31,400 jobs lost since December 2007, over 11% of our base Milken Best Cities Index dropped us from #4 in the nation in 2002 to 158 out of 200 nationally in 2009, and all the way down to 180th in 2010 Since 2002 we have had a net DECREASE in total non-farm employment by 10,700 jobs Since 2002 we have ADDED 26,900 workers to our labor force In January 2002 we had 24,200 unemployed workers, 6.0%, in August 2010, 48,200 unemployed, 11.2% Mix of retained occupations & industries increasingly becoming lower wage, service sector

7. The Hard Fall: The National Profile • Risk of layoff is higher now than any prior period measured • More workers in the transition from job to job: • experience unemployment, for longer periods • lose their benefits, risk financial disaster • face some period of poverty • Fewer workers in transition: • have any savings to carry them • are eligible for unemployment insurance • have a retirement package

8. Reasserting our competitive edge is fraught with risk & challenge, for workers & business. • Fast-changing economy & markets, resulting in a turbulent workplace • Workers are unprepared for a labor market in which employers expect & demand multiple skills • Talent is concentrated in our incumbent workforce, but there are few pathways for skills advancement • The old compact between workers & business is broken, a relic of the past

9. “Unemployed finding old jobs now require more skills: Companies willing to wait for workers who cover multiple needs”Ventura County Star Headline, Sunday, October 16, 2010 “Joe Bozada, chief of staff of Bayer Corp. in Pittsburgh, had a hard time filling a job because Bayer is demanding more skills in available positions. Employers are combining duties and skills that used to be spread across several jobs.” Credit: Ventura County Star, posted October 16, 2010 at 3:01 p.m., by Christopher S. Rugaber, AP economics writer. Photo credit: Keith Srakocic/AP. www.vcstar.com/news/2010/oct/16/unemployed-finding-old-jobs-now-require-more/#ixzz12ez65dP0, at www.vcstar.com

10. Unprecedented Long-term UnemploymentU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Issues in Labor Statistics, October 2010, www.bls.gov

11. Education Pays: More Education Leads to Higher Earnings, Lower Unemployment

12. The Reality of Middle Skills Jobs From the National Skills Coalition California’s Forgotten Middle Skills Jobs http://nationalskillscoalition.org/

13. Question for today, how do we find our way back to better times? • First, we need a reality check on the importance & place of workforce skills & education. • Second, we need a frame of reference to understand our policy options, a means of evaluating our solutions. • Third, we need to clarify what are the problems for which we seek solutions. • Fourth, support the good work toward recovery already underway, launch other well-directed initiatives.

14. What Is Economic Development? Investment in resources for business prosperity Creation of wealth for community benefit Leveraging public & private sector capital Creation & retention of businesses & jobs Inducing actions that improve business activity, increasing: Employment Wages Quality of life

15. Policy Framework:Economic Development • Business Retention & Expansion • Invest in the existing business base, maintaining jobs & market share, growing existing companies • Growth by Start-ups & Entrepreneurship • Improve the conditions conducive to business development by networking resources, education • Business Attraction • Market to, incentivize & draw new employers to our region to increase the base number of businesses & jobs

16. Policy Framework:Workforce Development • Income Policies • Increase wage rates, hours of work, decrease tax liabilities & other expenses (e.g., EITC, child care) • Labor Supply Policies • Enhance the attributes, assets & productivity of workers, job training & education, worker suitability, increase supply of workers • Labor Demand Policies • Wage subsidies, job creation via industry expansion & attraction, addressing conditions of the workplace to attract & retain workers

17. Policy Choices Tailored to Source of Problem Labor shortage Insufficient employee skills (skills gap) Shortage of quality jobs Regional sectoral imbalance Loss of existing jobs

18. What Can the Workforce System Do for Economic Development? Focus on industry demand Invest in employer-based training as well as new hires Industry sector concentration E.g., health care skills shortages, manufacturing, focus on industries which have high volume, high value, quality pay & benefits Heading off layoffs by pre-employment & incumbent worker skills enhancements, adapting to technology, networking subcontractors Skills concentration Build a pipeline connecting education, workforce training, employer demand Identify & invest in skills that cross industries & occupations Industry development/job creation Help identify & promote Ventura County’s economic assets Help identify industries & businesses adding jobs Offset losses in downsizing industries by developing new businesses & facilitating the workforce transition

19. 21st Century Solutions • Provide All Californians Access to High Quality Postsecondary Education & Skills Training • Provide Working Adults with Opportunities: • to learn new skills & remain competitive • to move up the career ladder • Improve Pathways from Education & Training to High Wage Jobs • A New Compact for Sustained Joint Investment: • Workers committed to lifelong learning • Businesses committed to investing in skills

20. Contact Bruce Stenslie, President/CEO Economic Development Collaborative – Ventura County 1601 Carmen Drive Suite #215 Camarillo, CA 93010 bruce.stenslie@edc-vc.com 805-384-1800, ext 24 www.edc-vc.com