Mapping Regional Assets for Future Jobs

1. Asset mapping training Jobs for the Future | Pathways to Prosperity NetworkMay 11, 2016

2. agenda • Introduction to asset mapping • What we hope to learn • How we go about learning it • Questions and conversation

3. Introduction to asset mapping

4. What is asset mapping? • Asset mapping is the general process of identifying and providing information about a region’s assets. It generally includes: • Tapping the expertise of key stakeholders • Research on relevant policies and programs • Analysis of labor market data • Synthesizing data and information gathered through the process • Sharing results with stakeholders

5. Needs vs. Assets

6. Why do asset mapping? • To understand and leverage existing work and programs • To reduce or eliminate duplication of efforts • To introduce regional stakeholders to the work, build engagement and buy-in, and set the stage for the launch of PtoP work in a region • To assess gaps, strengths, challenges, and opportunities that may affect program implementation/operation Asset mapping is NOT about being prescriptive or providing a step-by-step guide to regional implementation. It is about reflecting back information and the voices of regional stakeholders in way that sets the stage for regional ownership of the PtoP work and leads to the creation of a plan for implementation that is aligned with regional strengths and needs.

7. What we hope to learn

8. Report outline • Intro and PtoP overview • Demographic information • Economic and labor market overview • Existing work organized by lever • State policy and leadership • 9-14 pathways • Career information and advising • Employer engagement and WBL • Intermediaries • Planning questions/recommendations

9. Demographic information • Gathered primarily from Census and BLS websites • Racial and ethnic composition • Median family income • Poverty rate • Child poverty rate • Unemployment rate • Educational attainment • Compare with state-level data • Note equity challenges

10. Economic and Labor market information • Provide an overview of major economic development initiatives already underway • Identify large and growing industries and occupations • Consider career ladders and pathways • Education/training requirements • Credentials • Wages and salaries • Look for cross-cutting skills and occupations • Look up living wages for the region and industries and identify occupations that offer wages sufficient to support a family

11. State policy and leadership • Cross-agency coordination and collaboration • Financial incentives and sustainable funding for districts and community colleges to provide 9-14 programs of study in career and technical education that lead to diplomas, certificates, or associate’s degrees • Accountability systems weight dual enrollment courses as they weight AP and IB • State dual enrollment policies and funding • State policies related to remediation and deved • Major state-led workforce and economic development initiatives • State-led employer engagement and sector strategies

12. 9-14 pathways • Structures of existing career pathways, high school CTE programs, and postsecondary career and technical programs of study • Integration of core academics and career-focused learning • Alignment between secondary and postsecondary programs • Alignment of pathways with labor market needs • Dual enrollment programs and partnerships/MOUs across secondary and postsecondary • Remediation and secondary-postsecondary bridging programs and strategies

13. Career information and advising systems • Trends in students’ postsecondary and career interests • Availability of college and career advising and exploration opportunites starting in the middle grades • Formal programs, positions, and/or approaches for providing career advising/information at the secondary and postsecondary levels • Externship programs and other professional development opportunities for school staff • Role of CBOs and other partners

14. Employer engagement and wbl • Current state of play for employer engagement in education • Availability of work-based learning opportunities, especially internships, and capacity of employers to create additional opportunities • Potential in the employer community for collaborating in developing and engaging in pathways, including curriculum development • Role of workforce system or employer associations in engaging employers in the development of a talent pipeline

15. intermediaries • Organizations currently playing an intermediary role, and in what capacity • Capacity of intermediaries to convene a regional pathways steering committee • Capacity of intermediaries to monitor labor-market trends and to broker and aggregate work-based learning opportunities • Capacity of intermediaries to effectively champion and build public support for Pathways • Capacity of intermediaries to establish metrics and evaluate the work

16. How we go about learning it

17. Three main stages

18. Role of state and regional leads • Leads identify stakeholders to be interviewed and handle logistics of scheduling, etc. • Leads sit in on all interviews • Situate the work in state and regional contexts • Promote regional ownership of the work and avoid positioning JFF as the keeper of knowledge • Questions state and regional leads want answered are incorporated into the process • Pre-briefing for site visit to learn more about stakeholders to be interviewed and relationships • As external observers, we can provide political cover and initiate difficult conversations

19. Defining a region • Geographic boundaries • Census designations • Governance/service areas • Workforce areas • State, local, and county governments • K-12 or community college districts • Areas based on regional labor market • Labor shed • Commuter shed

20. Doing the initial research • Desk-based research • Workforce and economic development reports and studies • Relevant federal, state, and local policies and programs • Education/training and community-based organizations and programs • Trade associations • Major employers • Labor market information • Identify gaps in information • Identify key stakeholders to be interviewed

21. Key sources of information

22. Engaging key stakeholders • Site visit to conduct in-person interviews (and phone interviews if necessary) • Stakeholders identified by state and regional leads • Create focused interview groups • Address gaps in available information • Test understanding developed based on desk-based research • Ask open-ended questions and make it a conversation, not an interrogation • Creating connections among people who aren’t necessarily talking to each other

23. Stakeholders to be interviewed • K-12 education (superintendent, district CTE director, high school principals) • Postsecondary education • Business/industry • Workforce and economic development • Intermediaries • CBOs • Local government

24. Sharing results • Report • Organized around PtoP implementation levers • Usually about 40 pages • Tool for state and regional leads • Presentation to regional stakeholders • Slides and executive summary • Building buy-in • Starting conversation about regional work plan • Opportunity for regional stakeholders to connect can be just as (or more!) important as anything we say in the report or presentation

25. Content considerations • Be constructive (but not so positive that it’s unhelpful!) • Get input from regional leads • Fact checking • Regional relationships • Framing next steps • Recommendations • Questions for future planning

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27. Questions for employers • Demand: In your industry, what sectors are creating the most demand for workers, or are experiencing shortages of qualified workers? • Current employer engagement: How are you and other employers engaged in workforce initiatives? • Education partners: How are the K-12 and community college systems doing as partners or suppliers of skilled workers?

28. Questions for educators • Employer engagement: How are employers engaged in educational programs and how are those relationships managed? • Career information and advising: What career information and advising do students get? • Program growth and alignment with area initiatives: How are you identifying opportunities for program growth? What are the college/district’s processes for adapting existing or creating new programs?

29. Questions for intermediary organizations • Intermediary roles: What organizations are assisting and supporting educators and employers in working together? • Education partners: What are the K-12 and community college systems doing to prepare people for career opportunities in your local area? • Employer groups and champions: What employers have played, or could play, important roles in career education and workforce development? • Environmental and policy factors: What other factors affect the region’s capacity to build career-oriented education and workforce development programs?

30. Questions for economic developers • Strategies: What are your economic development strategies overall? What are the greatest needs for workforce development from the perspective of economic development and job creation? • Intermediary roles: What organizations are assisting and supporting educators and employers in working together? • Employer groups and champions: What employers have played, or could play, important roles in building work-based learning and career education? • Education partners: What are the K-12 and Community college systems doing to prepare people for career opportunities aligned with labor-market demand?

31. Questions for all stakeholders • Are there examples of successful collaborations across stakeholder groups in the area? If so, what are they? • What systems-level or institutional changes are needed to support greater collaboration in our area?