The Emergence of Workforce Development: Fizzle or Sizzle

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The Emergence of Workforce Development Fizzle or
Sizzle?

• Ronald L. Jacobs
• The Ohio State University
• Professional Development Speaker Series
• National Dissemination Center for Career and
  Technical Education
• December 3, 2001

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Discussion Points

• Need for change
• What is Workforce Development?
• Implications
• Discussion/comments

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Globalization
Technology
Need for Change
Political Change
New Economy
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Need for Change

• Global events have immediate, systemic impacts
• Societal consequences brutal, long lasting
• Competence has shorter life cycle
• Partial educational solutions no longer effective
• Social partners not adequately linked

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1957 Bethlehem Steel employment peak
165,000 20,000 steel workers in Cambria County
area 1965 10 million tons steel
imported 1977 Bethlehem Steel begins lay-offs
in Johnstown 1978 21 million tons steel
imported 1982 Bethlehem Steel closes
Johnstown plant 1990 Cambria County census
shows 11 decrease 1980 1994 Cambria County
Area CC established No courses on coal or steel
production listed 2001 Cambria Country
unemployment at 10 Local hospitals largest
employer 5,000 Local steel employment
2,500 Bethlehem Steel world wide -13,000
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Definition

• Workforce Development is the collective of
  work-related programs offered through schools,
  organizations, and agencies to promote social and
  economic progress, consistent with the goals,
  cultures, and resources of those involved.

(Jacobs Hawley, 2001)
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Workforce Development Issues

• 1. How to prepare to enter or re-enter the
• workforce.
• 2. How to provide learning opportunities to
• improve workforce performance.
• 3. How to respond to change that affect
• workforce effectiveness.
• 4. How to understand life transitions related
  to
• workforce participation.

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Examples

• Schools delivering adult literacy programs, basic
  skills training, or high school equivalency
  programs.
• Schools delivering vo-tech education programs for
  youth.
• Labor unions conducting dislocated worker
  training and apprenticeship programs.
• Organizations offering training and career
  development programs to address specific
  performance problems.

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• State-government sponsored one-stop centers
  connecting individuals with job search and skills
  training
• Intermediary organizations, such as the Chamber
  of Commerce becoming involved in school-to-work
  partnerships.
• Organizations engaging in planned change to
  improve business processes.
• Community college outreach providing consulting
  services to local organizations.

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Cambia County Area CC Johnstown, PA Center for
Excellence in Workforce Development   The
mission of the CEWD is to provide comprehensive
assessment of employer/employee needs for
training and to develop and offer customized
programs, according to the assessed needs, for
private business and industry and public
institutions and agencies in the Southern
Alleghenies region of Pennsylvania.   http//www.
ccacc.cc.pa.us/cewd/cewd/index.htm
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In general, workforce development concerns our
changing relationship with the workforce.
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Workforce Development

• Those emerging into being employed.
• Those currently employed full or part time.
• Those undergoing employment transitions.
• Those employed at one time but not currently.
• Those recruited for employment from other
• locations.

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Implications

• WD is not a field of study in itself. It is more
  likely an area of combined professional practice.
• WD provides a perspective to use existing fields
  CTE, HRD, and adult education to address
  increasingly interconnected social problems.
• Perhaps the best WD analogy is that of an
  umbrella.
• WD is both a process and a product. It is what
  we do in practice and what outcomes we seek to
  achieve.

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Implications

• WD programs should benefit individuals,
  organizations, and society in ways that each
  values.
• WD programs should not benefit one group at the
  expense of another.
• WD planning requires approaches that have
  win-win-win possibilities. Greater connectivity
  has social consequences.
• CTE professionals (and HRD) need to recognize
  their contributions and limitations in the
  context of WD.

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Key Questions

• How does workforce development differ from career
  and technical education?
• Is the term workforce development used in your
  community?
• Are the differences between workforce development
  and career and technical education meaningful in
  your situation?
• What are the current and forecasted economic
  issues in your community?
• Can you relate an instance when you saw the need
  for greater connectivity across systems?
• How might workforce development be used to
  improve student outcomes? Professional
  development outcomes?
• Who would be responsible for articulating a
  change toward a workforce development
  perspective?
• Given the current economic situation, does this
  encourage or discourage a change toward workforce
  development?