By Jenny Vickers. businessfacilities.com
From the March/April 2019 Issue
Today’s big-ticket economic development projects have similar prerequisites when it comes to an available workforce. They want a vibrant, tech-savvy and diverse talent pool, preferably homegrown, who have been prepared by top-rated institutions of higher education and who have developed industry-specific tech skills while studying a curricula that was jointly specified by that industry in coordination with the location’s universities and community colleges. Got it?
Today’s new workers, the recent graduates who have been meticulously groomed academically with the precise skills (usually STEM-oriented) to fill critical tech slots in emerging growth sectors—they’ve got their own prerequisites (usually attributed to millennials although the generation that followed them is on the cusp of joining the workforce as well). According to the cognoscenti of the economic development scene, today’s new workers aren’t going wherever the jobs are; they’re taking the jobs in places they really want to live. Quality of life is now a benchmark to which attention must be paid.
So today’s most successful workforce development programs are much more than government-subsidized training initiatives. The top programs take an all-encompassing approach to workforce training and talent acquisition, reaching into universities and even high schools to begin the process, and making sure that the skilled workers who emerge will want to put down roots in the locations that need them. Here’s our annual look at who’s ahead of the curve.
BUILDING TOMORROW’S WORKFORCE IN THE BLUEGRASS STATE
Kentucky is working to establish a pipeline of talent for businesses across the state, and it starts with Kentucky Work Ready Communities. The certification program, one of several overseen by the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (KWIB) and the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, assures employers that a local workforce has the talent and skills necessary to staff existing jobs and to master the innovative technologies new jobs will require.
Each county that earns certification meets criteria that includes high school graduation rates, career readiness certificates, demonstrated community commitment, educational attainment, life-skills development, broadband availability and matching workforce supply and demand. Nearly three-fourths of Kentucky’s 120 counties are already either certified Work Ready or Work Ready in Progress, and every county has begun the certification process.
“The Kentucky Work Ready Communities initiative has become an essential component for communities to improve workforce and education quality,” said Hugh Haydon, chair of KWIB. “Work Ready is an excellent framework to bring community partners together to help them achieve higher levels of economic competitiveness and increasing opportunities for both individuals and employers.”
The commonwealth also has taken steps to ensure it has the resources necessary to train the workforce of the future. In 2018, $100 million in legislatively approved bond funding was earmarked for the Work Ready Skills Initiative (WRSI) to expand and upgrade equipment at 40 education and technical training facilities statewide. The program brings together private employers; higher-education institutions; high schools; technical schools; and community, regional and state development organizations on projects that will train and enhance their region’s workforce in five core sectors: advanced manufacturing, healthcare, IT/business services, construction trades and transportation/logistics. The state’s $100 million leveraged another $111.7 million in matching funds from local communities, determined to provide top notch training for their citizens.
Also in 2018, the Work Ready Kentucky Scholarship was launched. The program covers tuition for Kentucky students and adults enrolling in more than 350 programs in the five aforementioned high-demand sectors. The scholarship is open to high school or GED graduates who have not earned an associate degree or higher.
Another leg of the Bluegrass State’s workforce development table is a commitment to supporting apprenticeship programs and to expanding their application into new industry sectors. In June 2018, Kentucky received a $1.09 million Apprenticeship USA Expansion Grant to establish and grow “intermediaries,“ or third-party organizations to better connect apprentices with employers; engage employers new to the state or new to registered apprenticeships; compensate businesses for expenses related to required training instruction; and to diversify the pool of apprentices in Kentucky. Program sponsors pay most of the training costs while also progressively increasing wages to their apprentices as they gain skills. For each year, the apprentice receives about 2,000 hours of on-the-job training and a required minimum of 144 hours of classroom instruction. Upon completion, participants receive nationally recognized and portable certificates of completion.
Workforce development efforts are already well under way in 2019. During the first week of January, in fact, Gov. Matt Bevin, in partnership with the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet (EWDC) and the KWIB, had signed an executive order establishing the KentuckyWorks Collaborative to guide the commonwealth’s workforce efforts through statewide implementation of KWIB’s strategic plan, Kentucky Work Ready: An Urgent Call to Action.
“As Kentucky’s economy continues its record growth, we must ensure that our workforce programs do not operate in silos,” Gov. Bevin said. “Today’s businesses demand highly skilled, highly trained workers, and this new collaborative will help to develop a comprehensive workforce system that aligns federal, state and local resources to provide exciting new job opportunities for Kentuckians.”
The collaborative will include 18 members representing state and federal agencies, local workforce boards and employers. Each member represents an agency that provides job training, counseling, career development and technical assistance services to Kentucky employers or job seekers.
“The KentuckyWorks Collaborative allows Kentucky to guide workforce initiatives by eliminating challenges to improving workforce participation and retention through the alignment of resources among workforce development partners,” said Derrick K. Ramsey, secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. “This alignment affords us with the opportunity to more accurately tailor career pathways, education and training to specifically meet employer demand and place Kentuckians on a path of self-sufficiency and competitive wages.”
TEXAS: BIG AND GETTING BIGGER
Texas is investing in education and workforce development to continue meeting employers’ needs for a highly skilled workforce to fill higher paying, in-demand jobs. The state leads the nation in jobs created by foreign and domestic investment and—for the seventh year in a row—leads the nation in the highest number of new and expanded corporate facility projects.
“Today, Texas is home to nearly 50 Fortune 500 company headquarters, hundreds of publicly traded firms and some of the biggest brands in the world, as well as more than 2.6 million small businesses,” said Gov. Greg Abbott. “CEOs who relocate or expand operations in Texas cite our job-ready workforce as the top Texas advantage.”
Digital retail giant Amazon and McKesson Corporation, the largest healthcare company in the nation, are just two examples of major projects attracted to Texas’ growing, job-ready workforce, now 14 million strong.
Amazon has targeted the Dallas-Fort Worth area for one of its largest concentrations of distribution facilities in the nation. In September 2018, Amazon announced it was expanding its warehouse operations with two huge fulfillment centers—one in West Dallas and another on Interstate 45 in southern Dallas County.
In November 2018, McKesson announced it was relocating its corporate headquarters from San Francisco to Las Colinas. The Las Colinas campus already is a key hub for the company, a global leader in health care supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information technology.
Key programs helping to drive workforce development include the Texas Skills Development Fund and High Demand Job Training program, both facilitated by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC), the state agency charged with overseeing and providing workforce development services.
Texas’ Skills Development Fund, the state’s customized job training program, has helped 4,446 employers create 116,065 jobs and upgrade the skills of 256,885 incumbent workers, for a total of 372,950 workers trained since it was established in 1996.
The Skills Development Fund provides direct funding to a Texas public community college, technical college or the Texas Engineering Extension Service as a grant in partnership with a business, business consortium or trade union.
Participating workers have received career and/or advancement opportunities at the completion of training, which includes wages equal to or greater than the prevailing wage in the local area. Statewide, the average wage paid to workers trained with skills grants has increased from $10.33 an hour in FY 1996 to $28.54 an hour in FY 2018.
In September 2018, TWC awarded a $455,400 Skills Development Fund grant to Brookhaven College, in partnership with Thomson Reuters Applications, Inc., to provide training in Amazon Web Services and Java for Object Oriented platform using SPRING framework required by 245 new incumbent workers.
“This partnership focuses on specialized IT skills training needed to support this high-demand industry in the Greater Dallas area,” said Ruth R. Hughs, TWC Chair and Commissioner Representing Employers.
In May 2018, TWC awarded a $157,608 Skills Development Fund grant to Brazosport College in partnership with the BASF Corporation to provide job training to 70 new employees. The training is for engineer technicians and operators, on industry-related topics, with focused instruction on chemical plant operations to include troubleshooting, pipefitting and hazardous materials management.
Also part of the Skills Development Fund, the Recruit Texas program allows public community or technical colleges an opportunity to provide intensive and rapid response and support services for employers expanding in or relocating operations in Texas.
The High Demand Job Training program supports local Workforce Development Boards through partnerships with Economic Development Corporations (EDC). The EDCs use local sales taxes and workforce boards receive a matching grant for allowable high-demand job training activities and related direct costs as defined in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
With the Permian Basin a primary hub of activity for the oil and gas industry, the local Workforce Solutions office is experiencing a high demand for drivers with a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL). To address the need, Workforce Solutions Permian Basin, the Midland Development Corporation (MDC) and Midland College have partnered to expand the area’s CDL training program.
In May 2018, TWC awarded a $100,000 High Demand Job Training grant, which was matched by MDC’s contribution of $381,000. This funding has enhanced the CDL training program by offering expedited certification of truck drivers and providing employers with a highly skilled workforce.
Workforce Solutions South Plains was awarded more than $740,000 in leveraged funds, from the High Demand Job Training grant and Lubbock Economic Development Alliance, to prepare secondary students for success in high-demand occupations. More than 1,400 high school students in 15 school districts across the South Plains region have been trained in high-demand occupations and received industry-recognized certifications and college credits.
Many of these students come from small, rural school districts that did not have the capacity to offer these opportunities. By the end of the 2018–2019 school year, 1,993 students and businesses in 10 industry sectors will be set up for mutual success.
To ensure Texas continues to meet workforce demands, its education agencies are aligning programs of study and career clusters based on employers’ needs to help more students seamlessly transition from high school to college or technical school.
For example, the Jobs and Education for Texans (JET) grant program helps to defray start-up costs associated with the development of career and technical education programs by public community and technical colleges, as well as independent school districts.
In March 2019, TWC awarded Trinity Valley Community College a $279,139 JET grant to help purchase and install equipment to provide 255 students with training for careers in the health care profession.
Equipment funded through JET grants must be used to train students for jobs in high-demand occupations.
“This JET grant helps to expand training for in-demand middle-skilled health care workers,” said Robert Thomas, TWC Commissioner Representing the Public. “With this grant, we are investing in more than pump technology and medication dispensing systems—we are investing in the economic health of students and their families as well as the physical health of all of East Texas.”
The Texas workforce development system also is expanding access to apprenticeships, paid internships, affordable two-year associate degree programs and technical training and certificate programs for high school students, returning adult learners and veterans transitioning into civilian careers.
For example, the TWC’s ApprenticeshipTEXAS program provides grants to apprenticeship programs at local community colleges and independent school districts to support the cost of classroom instruction. Apprenticeship Texas prepares individuals for highly skilled jobs and life-long careers in over 1,200 possible trade or craft occupations with competitive wage opportunities.
NEW YORK STATE’S INNOVATION INFRASTRUCTURE CONNECTS TALENT WITH INDUSTRIES
In the state of New York, aggressive strategic plans and long-ranging goals of economic development have taken center stage. From strategic investments to fostering a highly educated talent pool, the state is aligning its competitive resources to attract and maintain business across the state now and into the future.
MADE IN NY: SKILLED WORKERS
• #1 in the Northeast for STEM graduates
• #2 in U.S. for physical science undergraduate degrees
• #3 in U.S. in number of engineering students
• #3 in the country for high-tech employment
• #2 in the country for college enrollments
The Empire State broke the old “top-down” economic development mold eight years ago, with Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s establishment of 10 Regional Economic Development Councils to empower local communities to develop strategic plans to grow. The results keep accumulating: more than $6.1 billion has been awarded to more than 7,300 job-creation and community development projects across the state.
With its regional development framework in place, New York State—with its unmatched university system—supports diverse industry-specific initiatives.
New York State’s $620 million Life Science Initiative is spurring the growth of the state’s life science research cluster with a goal to attract life science companies and build a thriving life science ecosystem.
This investment is furthering the growth of life science clusters that are already benefitting from unparalleled academic and research talent.
Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) has created a culture of innovation and success around the state, thanks to services and resources that make a dramatic difference in a startup and early-stage company’s next steps.
A network of Innovation Hot Spots and Certified Business Incubators provide companies with entrepreneurial networks, access to capital and mentoring.
Across the state, specialized Centers of Excellence and Centers for Advanced Technology help partners develop new technologies, with access to research labs and experts. Additionally, qualified businesses can operate tax-free for 10 years on or near eligible university campuses.
Perhaps one of New York’s biggest strengths, however, is its diverse, highly-educated talent pool. In the past eight years, New York State has been committed to strengthening the workforce that is feeding thriving industries, and it’s showing no signs of slowing down.
New York State boasts a workforce that is first in the Northeast for STEM graduates, third in the country for engineering graduates and third in the country for high-tech employment. As the first state in the nation to offer free college tuition to middle class families, more students have access to the nation’s largest public university system.
For rising industries, the state strategically invests in workforce development and training programs to meet the needs of a changing economy. For example, New York State’s ambitious clean energy mandate of 100 percent clean energy by 2040 is creating new jobs across the state. To help prepare the talent pool for the future, the state is investing $27.5 million for workforce development training in the clean energy industry.
New York, through its university-industry collaborations, unique assets and investment innovation, is building a workforce both for today and for the future. Visit esd.ny.gov to learn more.
TAILOR-MADE WORKFORCE IN MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi’s innovative workforce development initiatives and partnerships are helping to bolster private capital investment and job creation across the state.
Since 2012, projects that involved Mississippi Development Authority’s (MDA) assistance with workforce development and other programs are responsible for more than 37,000 new jobs and almost $7.4 billion in private capital investment.
“Mississippi’s workforce development strategies produce employees whose skills are tailor-made for every kind of company to be successful,” said Glenn McCullough, Jr., Mississippi Development Authority Executive Director.
According to McCullough, Mississippi has commitments from 30 companies for 5,500-plus new jobs using $12.3 million in Mississippi Works funds and private capital investment of $1.7 billion. The average yearly salary for these careers is $46,153.
“What sets us apart is our ability to quickly shape programs to specific needs, allowing all our business and industry partners to achieve their goals and our citizens to have a meaningful, long-lasting career,” said McCullough.
In April 2018, Toyota announced a $170 million investment and 400 new jobs with the addition of new production lines at its Corolla manufacturing facility in Blue Springs. The expansion brings Toyota’s total investment in Mississippi to more than $1 billion since 2007.
With production of the 12th generation Corolla underway, Toyota continues to rely on a workforce trained via its partnership with Itawamba Community College. A new on-site training center scheduled to open in November will strengthen this partnership.
“Toyota has created thousands of careers for Mississippians since beginning production in 2011,” said McCullough. “Those careers have been made possible by workforce development strategies implemented through the company’s partnership with Itawamba Community College. The addition of an on-site training center will ensure Toyota’s labor pool remains skilled and sustainable.”
Continental Tire continues to construct its largest and most sophisticated manufacturing facility in Hinds County, a few miles west of the Capitol in Jackson. The facility will employ 2,500 people and represents $1.45 billion in private capital investment.
Continental has partnered with Hinds Community College to develop and implement specific workforce training programs that will be administered at an on-site training center. More than 100 people are already participating, with the facility scheduled to begin production in late 2019.
“Continental’s partnership with Hinds Community college will ensure the company is able to tap a deep and sustainable pool of skilled workers,” said McCullough. “This is yet another example of Mississippi’s community college system proving itself the best in America. The programs offered and the students who complete their development at a Mississippi community college are second to none.”
A new workforce development initiative of Gov. Phil Bryant will further help to expand economic opportunities in the state. The Mississippi Works Fund will bring new investments to all regions of Mississippi while continuing to grow existing businesses and expand them into new markets.
“The program will provide a forum for business leaders to learn about the great work going on throughout the state, giving them tools they can use in spreading success stations around the U.S. and the world,” said McCullough.
The program commits $50 million to enhance workforce training and build a qualified applicant pool in the state. 75 percent will go to job creation among new/existing businesses and up to 25 percent for growing and improving the skilled labor pool. Each business may receive up to $500k annually for workforce training.
The program provides customized training solutions using Mississippi’s network of 15 community and junior colleges, which house a wide spectrum of education and training programs.
Mississippi also is home to two coding academies which are tuition-free and employ an 11-month program to teach students “full-stack” computer programming. With instruction beginning in October 2017, the academies already have graduated their first classes, with each student either receiving a job offer or pursuing higher education. The next class will graduate in May 2019. The third class will begin in June 2019. Ninety percent of students are employed before they finish the program.
Mississippi has several academies that are industry-driven in cooperation with the community colleges, the State Workforce Investment Board and MDA. Examples include furniture, diesel and shipbuilding (Ingalls Shipbuilding).
Unveiled in January 2017, the Furniture Academy is a partnership between Mississippi State University’s Franklin Furniture Institute, Itawamba Community College, Northeast Mississippi Community College, the Community Development Foundation, Three Rivers Planning and Development District and several industry partners. The Furniture Academy is designed to help further develop and enhance a talented workforce to sustain quality production for the region’s furniture manufacturers.
“Under Governor Phil Bryant’s leadership, we have led with innovation when it comes to building and maintaining a pipeline of skilled workers,” said McCullough. “Our Coding Academies, the Furniture Academy and continuous, reliable funding for workforce development programs under the Mississippi Works Fund are tailor-made solutions that will help businesses achieve their goals here in Mississippi.”
For Mississippi, talent attraction begins with employment opportunities, and Mississippi has almost 40,000 jobs across every sector looking for people. “Combine that with our world-class food, culture and hospitality, and it’s clear Mississippi is the best place in America to live, work and raise a family,“ said McCullough.
VIRGINIA: TECH-SAVVY, DIVERSE TALENT POOL
Virginia is home to a 21st century workforce with tech talent that’s increasingly sought after. Amazon recently selected Arlington County, Virginia for the location of its major new headquarters and the state boasts the third-highest concentration of technology workers in the country.
“Companies considering expanding or locating a facility in Virginia will find top-rated educational institutions and a vibrant, tech-savvy and diverse talent pool,” said Stephen Moret, President and CEO, Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP). “Ensuring a pipeline of talent is a top priority, and Virginia is committed to positioning its workforce to meet the requirements for in-demand jobs today.”
According to Moret, Virginia’s biggest employment growth opportunity in the years ahead will be in tech—from artificial intelligence to cloud computing to cybersecurity, and everything in between.
“The tech-talent pipeline investments that Governor Northam and the General Assembly are launching will position communities across the Commonwealth for healthier, more diversified economic growth,” said Moret.
Winning Amazon’s major new headquarters is a big accomplishment for Virginia’s tech sector. Amazon announced in November 2018 that it had selected Arlington County for the location of its new headquarters, a $2.5 billion investment that will create more than 25,000 high-paying jobs over 12 years.
“We are looking forward to joining the community and are excited to be creating high-paying jobs in Arlington,” said Holly Sullivan, Amazon Director of WW Economic Development. “We believe that northern Virginia is a great place for our teams to keep inventing on behalf of our customers.”
In addition to the 25,000 direct jobs Amazon will create, the Commonwealth estimates the creation of more than 22,000 permanent, direct and indirect jobs in Virginia. Roughly half of the employment is expected to be in tech positions, with a particular focus on software development, engineering, machine learning and artificial intelligence, user experience design and user interface design.
Graduates in computer science and related fields represent a critical source of tech talent for hundreds of existing Virginia employers, such as Alarm.com, Appian, Capital One, CGI and Northrop Grumman. The growing tech-talent needs of existing tech firms in Virginia, in combination with the HQ2 RFP, led Virginia to make a tech-talent pipeline initiative the centerpiece of its proposal for HQ2.
The initiative includes more than doubling Virginia’s tech-talent pipeline through performance-based investments in public higher education institutions statewide to produce 25,000 to 35,000 additional degrees in computer science and related fields over the next two decades.
Virginia’s workforce system also includes long-established programs such as the Virginia Jobs Investment Program (VJIP), which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2015, coupled with new programs like Fast Forward, which launched just two years ago.
VJIP provides consultative services and funding to companies creating new jobs or experiencing technological change to support employee training activities. As a business incentive supporting economic development, VJIP reduces the human resource costs of new and expanding companies.
In the last seven years, VJIP has supported hundreds of projects that, at completion, are associated with the recruitment, training or retraining of more than 72,000 jobs.
In August 2018, NIBCO, Inc., a manufacturer of wrot copper fittings for the flow control industry, announced it is investing $14 million to expand its metal manufacturing operation in Augusta County. The company is utilizing VJIP to train its 30 new and 117 existing employees on new equipment, technology and new products.
“With the large amount of new technology we are adding to our manufacturing and with the new jobs we are creating, we have much need for training,” said Mark Frazier, Plant Manager, NIBCO, Augusta County. “Training is a big expense and many times can be comprised in an effort to keep our costs down and make our budget.”
Arkay Packaging, one of the world’s premiere folding carton manufacturing companies, has expanded in Virginia four times since it began operations in 1996, utilizing the VJIP each time. In 2016, the company spent $11 million to upgrade equipment and expand its operation in Botetourt County creating 50 new jobs.
“Arkay has been working with the VJIP program since 2009,” said Kimberly Bushong Crawford, PHR SHRM-CP, Human Resource Manager, Arkay Packaging, Botetourt County. “This partnership opportunity has allowed us to capitalize on training employees for new and higher skilled positions within our company.”
The FastForward program provides an affordable and innovative pay-for-success approach for students and workers who participate in an eligible, state-funded, short-term training program. Despite launching just two years ago, the FastForward program already is seeing promising results. Currently, 95 percent of the students enrolled have completed their training, 65 percent have earned their related credentials and a majority of FastForward students have seen wage increases of 20 percent to 50 percent or more.
Last year, FastForward program completers in Virginia’s community college system earned more than $81 million, an increase of $15 million over what they earned prior to receiving the training. Since the program’s inception, 98 percent of the 11,000 credentials earned have been aligned with Virginia’s top 12 in-demand occupations.
“This program has been a catalyst to consider ways Virginia can mobilize other workforce training and education resources to address critical workforce shortages across the state,“ said Moret.
Funding has been approved by the Virginia General Assembly to launch a customized, turnkey workforce development program, which will be executed in collaboration with the Virginia Community College System (VCCS).
Modeled after similar programs in Georgia and Louisiana, the program will provide highly-customized employee recruitment and training solutions for high-quality, competitive business expansion and recruitment projects, serving individuals with sub-baccalaureate credentials and baccalaureate degrees alike—at no cost to qualifying companies. The custom workforce development program will help Virginia’s communities secure more competitive, traded-sector business expansion and recruitment projects that result in the creation of high-wage jobs.
Key features of the program will include a dedicated team of highly-experienced, energetic professionals with a singular mission to deliver world-class, custom workforce recruitment and training solutions to qualifying companies and outstanding execution and consistent interaction among the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and Virginia’s higher education and community college partners, especially VCCS.
“Workforce training programs are a top priority in Virginia,” said Sara Dunnigan, Director, Labor Market Research & Strategic Partnerships, Virginia Community College System. “We’re committed to managing our workforce and education system resources in a way that maximizes impact for Virginia businesses and for current and future Virginians.”
Among Virginia’s best-selling features are its rich quality of life and diversified economy. In 2018, Forbes named Virginia first for Quality of Life in its Best States for Business ranking.
“There are some exciting regional initiatives underway across Virginia to engage young people in their communities, retain talent and attract new talent,” said Moret. “Employers have become much more engaged in these efforts, which is important to the success of initiatives like these.”
These initiatives are being spearheaded by GO Virginia, a coalition comprised of business and community leaders, partners in education and government and interested Virginians from across the Commonwealth who support regional cooperation on private-sector growth, job creation and career readiness.
GO Virginia has funded multiple workforce-related projects across the state, including talent attraction, retention and development initiatives. In total, roughly $23 million has been invested in talent attraction and retention initiatives through this program.
One project is Roanoke Regional Partnership’s “Stopping the Brain Drain Strategy Development” to create a talent attraction and retention plan to reduce outmigration of recent graduates from the region’s 25 colleges and universities. Another is the Great Opportunities in Technology and Engineering Careers (Go-TEC) regional program at Danville Community College which focuses on careers in IT and advanced manufacturing.
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