Transcript The Road to WIRED

WIRED to the
Innovation
Economy
Third Annual Southeastern WorkKeys Conference
North Charleston, South Carolina
February 2, 2007
Helen N. Parker
Regional Administrator
Overview:
Workforce system and its evolution.
Defining today’s innovation economy.
WIRED Initiative and talent
development – a driver of regional
economic growth.
1930s – The Birth of the
Workforce System
U.S. Employment Service & Unemployment
Insurance Program were created to assist
unemployed workers.
The economy of the day was industrial with:
– Interchangeable labor
– Cyclical layoff and hiring patterns
– Work that required just a High School diploma.
70 years later, the Employment Service
remains virtually unchanged.
1960s to 1990s – Expansion
into Job Training
An ever-growing job training system
was built:
– The Manpower Development and Training Act
(MDTA) - 1962.
– The Comprehensive Employment and Training Act
(CETA) – 1973
– The Job Training Partnership Act
(JTPA) - 1982
Had little private sector involvement.
Separate from Employment Service.
1998 Workforce Investment
Act
The Workforce Investment Act (WIA):
– Streamline service delivery through One-Stop
Career Centers;
– Strengthen performance accountability;
– Promote universal access to services;
– Create business-led state and local boards;
– Promote individual choice.
Strong bi-partisan support.
Workforce Investment
System Spending
Department
FY06 Appropriation
Labor
$9.89 billion
Education
$4.40 billion
HHS
$701 million
HUD
$49.5 million
Total
$15.04 billion
Evolution of the Economy
When the workforce system was first
created:
– U.S. was an industrial economy
– Labor was virtually interchangeable
Now in a knowledge economy – specialized
skills are needed.
– 90% of the fastest growing jobs require education
and training past high school.
– 63% of high wage, high growth jobs in the next
decade will require a bachelor’s degree; only 28% of
the population has a bachelor’s degree.
Evolution of the Economy
Less than
High
School
High
School
Grad
Some
College
Assoc.
Degree
4-Year
Degree
and
Higher
Employment
Growth
(thousands)
-129
87
177
380
723
Average
Weekly
Earnings
$479
$660
$767
$812 $1243
Unemployment
Rate
8.5%
5.0%
4.5%
3.7%
2.7%
Source: BLS Current Population Survey 2004
Innovation Economy
Economic development must establish the
conditions for innovation.
CoC’s report Innovate America identified three
requirements for innovation:
– Infrastructure (transportation, technology)
– Investment (availability of capital)
– Talent
Conditions should be maximized at the regional
level – forces of the economy combine to spur
growth.
Innovation Defined
Innovation resides at the
intersection of invention
and insight, leading to the
creation of social and
economic value.
National Innovation Initiative
Creating an Innovation Environment
What is the Innovation
Economy?
The Rise of the Entrepreneurial Class
Jobs! 5-15% of U.S. firms create 2/3 of net
new jobs.
Innovation. Entrepreneurs account for more
than half of all technological innovation.
Prosperity. 1/3 of difference in national growth
rates is due to entrepreneurship.
Presence. 11% of US adult population is trying
to start a business.
U.S. Entrepreneurial Activity
600-700,000 new companies each
year
– “GAZELLES”
• 5% of new companies
• 2/3 all new innovations
• 2/3 all new jobs
The ability to garner the required resources and
overcome all impediments by seizing new business
opportunities defines entrepreneurship.
Why Talent Matters
Factors Rated “Very Important” in
Site Selection*
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Availability of Skilled Labor
Highway Accessibility
State & Local Incentives
Tax Incentives
Corporate Tax Rate
Availability of High-Speed Internet
* 2005 Area Development Corporate Survey
58.5%
57.0%
54.8%
54.3%
49.5%
49.4%
Economic Development
Workforce development is more than training
effectively for current jobs. Successful
workforce investment leads to the creation of
new jobs. Talent is an asset, bringing new
businesses and industries into communities.
Economic development is also experiencing a
transformation. Tax breaks and incentive
packages are no longer enough.
Workforce Innovation in
Regional Economic Development
WIRED is focusing on the talent
development part of building a regional
economy.
The Goal:
– Expand employment and advancement
opportunities for workers while simultaneously
catalyzing the creation of high-skill, high-wage
jobs.
WIRED Initiative Selected and Second Generation Regions

Regional Economies

Second Generation Regions

Combined
Employment and Training Administration
United States Department of Labor
WIRED in Action
Resources to the First Generation Regions:
– $15 million over 3 years
– Technical assistance provided by 3
organizations.
• Council on Competitiveness
• New Economy Strategies
• Council for Adult and Experiential Learning
– Data tool that incorporates economic, research
& development, investment, and real-time job
information.
• Picture of regional economy and economic assets.
WIRED in Action
Activities in support of WIRED Regions:
– Senior ETA Managers and Emerging ETA Leaders
assigned to each region to guide and assist.
– WIRED Academies focusing on issues with nationally
recognized speakers.
– Connections to USDA, Commerce, and other Federal
agencies to identify, understand, access, and leverage
additional resources.
– ETA Issue Area Teams to gather information and
identify resources on issues common to WIRED
regions (e.g., small business development,
investment capital, etc.)
WIRED in Action
Regional Activities:
– Formation of a broad-based regional leadership
team
– Assessment of region-wide assets and
strengths, risks and weaknesses.
– Development of a comprehensive
implementation plan for the region identifying
how WIRED and other resources support
regional economic goals and strategies.
The Second Generation Region
Strategy for the Second Generation
Regions:
– Assign ETA Emerging Leaders to each region.
– Provide WIRED materials and products.
– Participate in the WIRED Academies.
– Identify existing and potential resources.
– Support a regional assessment and development
of a regional implementation plan.
– $5 million over 3 years (announced in January)
The Goals
Create and implement a regional
strategy that will:
1.
Establish and build a regional identity across
political jurisdictions.
2.
Leverage and align public and private
investments.
3.
Transform the regional economy through
innovative and effective talent development.
Workforce System
Transformation Principles
The workforce system must operate as a talent
development system; it can no longer be
defined as a job training system. Its goal is an
educated workforce on a U.S or global
standard.
Workforce system formula funds must be
transformed, providing the opportunity for
post-secondary education for lifelong learning
opportunities aligned with the region’s talent
development strategy.
Workforce System
Transformation Principles
The workforce system can no longer operate as
an array of siloed programs and services.
Workforce investment boards must be
structured and operate on a regional basis and
be composed of regional strategic partners who
drive investments, aligning spending with a
regional economic vision for talent
development.
Workforce System
Transformation Principles
Economic and workforce development
regions must be aligned, and these
regions should adopt common and
innovative policies across the workforce,
education, and economic development
systems and structures that can support
talent development and the regional
economy.
Notice of Proposed
Rule Making (NPRM)
60 Day Comment Period
Due: February 20, 2007
Streamlined Governance
NPRM makes it easier for local workforce
investment areas to engage in regional
planning activities.
Eliminates the requirement for separate
local plans for those areas engaged in
regional planning.`
Streamlined Governance
There are currently 3,256 One-Stop Career
Centers.
The NPRM strengthens the state board’s role
in developing and reviewing statewide
policies for the One-Stop system.
This includes the authority to develop
criteria and certifications for One-Stop
Career Centers.
Streamlined Governance
Parallel WIA and WP
system result in
duplication of
physical structures as
well as services.
NPRM gives states
and local areas the
flexibility to dedicate
WIA funding to
training.
WIA Core
Services
Job Search
Assessment
Labor
Market
Information
Placement
WP
Services
Job Search
Assessment
Labor
Market
Information
Placement
Increased Access to Training
Many local areas have instituted mandatory
time periods for participation in core and
intensive services.
The NPRM clarifies that an individual does not
need to go through layers of services in order
to access training.
The provision of training and other services can
be provided sequentially, concurrently or in
whatever order makes sense for the individual.
Increased Access to Training
The NPRM allows Governors maximum
flexibility within the law to establish methods
of applying for and maintaining the eligibility of
providers on a state-approved list of eligible
training providers.
86 waiver requests have been received on the
eligible training provider issue.
For example, Minnesota indicated that without
a waiver, training providers would have likely
opted out of the system.
Increased Access to Training
NPRM allows 16 and 17 year olds to receive
Individual Training Accounts.
23 states have received waivers allowing
them to issue ITAs for youth. This allows
them to enhance delivery of occupational
skills training and increase customer choice
for youth.
Increased State Flexibility
Provides all governors with the option of using
non-merit-staff employees to provide WagnerPeyser funded employment services.
Three states – Massachusetts, Michigan and
Colorado – currently have authority to use nonmerit-staff employees to perform these
functions.
These three states are performing successfully
based on performance outcomes and the
absence of stakeholder or customer complaints.
Streamlined Governance
Request for Comment
Many state and local boards have become so
large and unwieldy that the boards’ ability to
perform their duties is hampered. This
problem could be ameliorated by eliminating
regulatory language requiring “two or more”
representatives of certain groups on these
boards.
For example, many state boards have over 50
members.
Increased Access to Training
Request for Comment
NPRM seeks comments on the definition of
administrative costs.
There is evidence that program funds are being
used for what would normally be considered
administrative costs. For example:
–
–
–
–
–
Facility and Utility Costs
State and Local Boards Costs
Information Systems
Report Preparation
Removal of Architectural Barriers
Questions?