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Working together to find solutions for looming workforce shortage
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak speaks about workforce
development issues at the forum, as speakers from the
Greater Metropolitan Workforce Council and St. Paul Mayor
Chris Coleman (fourth from left), listen. |
At the Workforce Development Policy forum, hosted by Goodwill/Easter Seals Minnesota on May 15, 2007, the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Council presented findings from the recent “2006/2007 Greater Metropolitan Workforce Regional Assessment for a Competitive Economy Report,” which includes recommendations to be attentive to key high-growth industry sectors such as manufacturing, health care, transportation and retail trade.
Related to this crisis, they suggested leaders and those with a stake in the economic health of the region focus on the following issues:
- The Twin Cities region will soon face a workforce shortage due to the impending mass retirement of the Baby Boom generation beginning in 2011. The growing immigrant population and relatively higher unemployment in the Twin Cities represent a valuable labor pool for future economic growth.
- Poor transportation weakens our regional economy.
- Disparities by race, ethnicity and gender further threaten our “supply chain.” Academic disparities along socioeconomic divisions threaten the success of many of our students and ill-prepare them for post-secondary study and higher paying jobs.
- There is a growing need to better prepare people with barriers for employment, including Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs. Among the ABE concerns is a need for more English Language Learning (ELL) classes.
More than 200 people attended the Workforce Development
Forum on May 15 at Goodwill/Easter Seals. | According to Community Affairs Director Deanna Smiley Gulliford, Goodwill/Easter Seals is playing a “key role to address these and other issues presented at the forum.” Due to the long-term mission of Goodwill/Easter Seals to provide full-service employment services for people with barriers to work, we are uniquely positioned to be a part of the solution to strengthen the regional economy:
- Our core employment services are a proven solution that helps better prepare people of all backgrounds with any type of barrier to work. We’ve successfully prepared people with language, socio-economic, disability and cultural barriers. Our success is proven by our placement retention rates of more than 60 percent after one year.
- Goodwill/Easter Seals is involved in finding transportation solutions for people with barriers to employment, one of which is getting to and from work. We actively support and advocate on behalf of efforts to expand and improve the Central Corridor Light Rail project. Learn more about our public policy initiatives.
- Goodwill/Easter Seals’ currently serves a diverse audience from all ethnic, racial, gender and socio-economic backgrounds. Programs are specifically targeted to reach people with socio-economic and cultural barriers to employment. For example, we’ve trained and placed many women and economically disadvantaged individuals in higher-paying careers after training in our construction, banking and automotive industries. Learn about who we served in the past year.
- Although new immigrants are a potential solution to the looming workforce shortage, they must have access to ELL and ABE classes. They need basic job search and job preparation training. Goodwill/Easter Seals provides employment services to qualified new immigrants and connects them with community resources, such as ELL. Learn more about our services.
- Goodwill/Easter Seals’ industry-specific skills training programs prepare individuals for entry-level jobs in the automotive, call center, construction, finance and banking and retail fields. These industry-specific training programs were designed in concert with industry employers and arose from a need for job-ready, entry-level workers.
In summary, the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Council's recommendations for better workforce preparation include:
- Strengthen and broaden the education and employment preparation “pipeline.”
- Provide high quality, timely career information on high-growth, high-demand industries and occupations.
- Continue to build an effective, long-term “advocacy voice” for regional economic stability and growth.
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