Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan A regional, aligned approach to workforce strategies in the corridor to ensure the region’s current and future workforce meets the needs of the employers in Iowa’s Creative Corridor.

Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan CORE TEAM: ICAD – KCC - CRMEA

The Meaning – Regional Workforce Challenges Phase I: –Complete the Strategic Skills Alignment study identifying the region’s targeted industry clusters, occupational details and career ladders supporting these clusters. –Distributed and gained input from the region to formulate themes of emphasis for the Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Strategic Plan Conducted 18 focus groups Reached over 200 regional constituents –Formulated themes, inputs, goals to establish framework for the Regional Workforce Development Strategic Plan

Regional Workforce Critical Themes Areas of critical shortages (1.1;1.2) –Entry level positions across industry sectors –Middle skill jobs particularly in manufacturing and transportation –High skill jobs in Information Technology, Engineering, and Electronics Manufacturing

Regional Workforce Critical Themes A need for greater flexibility and innovation (2.3;3.1;3.2) –Hiring models and practices need updating –Entry level positions offer wages that require work supports to make the job financially viable for the low-income populations represented in the available workforce –Culture of the organization

Regional Workforce Critical Themes A need to increase interaction and collaboration (1.1;1.2) –More emphasis on career services and career exploration for K-12 students and post-secondary students –Process is time consuming to acquire interns from post- secondary institutions and quality of graduates in some degree areas is lacking –Expanded career services and more investment in placement services with regional employers

Regional Workforce Critical Themes A need to market the region and the opportunities it has to offer (2.2;2.3) –Lack of available labor –Challenge with retention –Increase diversity

Regional Workforce Critical Themes A need to enhance the basic foundational skills of the region’s workforce (1.1;3.2) –Quality of applicants is a challenge –Lack of basic skills, work readiness, ability to pass drug screening and background checks are more prevalent in applicant pools –Entry level positions today require more advanced skills sets than they did two years ago

Regional Workforce Critical Themes A need to better prepare students for success in their careers and in the workforce (1.1;1.2) –Employers need to get in front of students at a younger age –Linkages to assist faculty, advisors, counselors, and education staff understand the region’s industry, job opportunities, skills needed, and wage rates –The recession is accelerating the shift to jobs that require post- secondary education

Building the Plan - Regional Workforce Development Coalition Phase II: –Workforce development coalition formed of 30 members from industry cluster groups, education, economic development, community based organizations, and chambers of commerce –Draft plan developed based on Skills Alignment data and regional workforce critical themes –Formulated the goals and objectives of the Regional Workforce Development Strategic Plan –Determined the lead and support organizations as implementing organizations –Determined draft timelines and progress indicators for the plan

The Plan Goal 1: Invest in the region’s current and future workforce to grow capacity and align capabilities to meet key corridor needs. –Objective 1.1: Increase communication and collaboration between education, employers and economic development officials to focus on increasing the alignment between education and workforce needs. –Lead Organization: Kirkwood Community College, Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, Economic Alliance Education Task Force, Metro Superintendents Group, Regional Superintendents Group –Objective 1.2: Increase the number of K-12 and post-secondary students and employers participating in internships, job shadowing and other career exploration opportunities. –Lead Organization: Higher Education Connection, Workplace Learning Connection, University of Iowa

The Plan Goal 2: Promote and enhance the region’s image as a place to live, work, and thrive. –Objective 2.1: Expand coordinated marketing efforts to internal and external audiences promoting the Creative Corridor as a place to work and live. –Lead Organization: Corridor Business Alliance –Objective 2.2: Continue to develop appropriate informational materials and tools for employers to utilize in their employee recruitment efforts. –Lead Organization: Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and Iowa City Area Development Group –Objective 2.3: Expand the resources available to regional employers to share best practices, products, processes and tools to enhance their workforce, recruitment and retention strategies. –Lead Organization: Iowa City Area Development Group

The Plan Goal 3: Reduce barriers to workforce participation and engagement. –Objective 3.1: Create an initiative that fosters diversity and inclusion in the Creative Corridor region and recognizes employers for their efforts. –Lead Organization: Iowa City Area Development Group, Diversity Focus –Objective 3.2: Increase availability of training and resources focused on fundamentals of personal finance: financial literacy, credit repair and debt management. –Lead Organization: United Way of East Central Iowa and United Way of Johnson and Washington Counties

Adoption and Endorsement- Regional Workforce Development Plan Phase III: –Formation of governance structure Supports lead organizations, meeting quarterly for plan updates, communicates results and metrics –Present to Lead and Support organizations requesting feedback regarding the plan and to formally adopt and endorse the plan –Lead organizations agree to be a key implementer and primary coordinator for the Plan Objective. –Lead organizations work with support organizations to identify and implement strategies that will ‘move the dial’ producing measurable results.

Thank you Online resources:Online resources: –iowascreativecorridor.com/skillsreport/ –Pickyourpace.com –iowascreativecorridor.com/workforce/ Please call ICAD Group or the CR Metro Economic Alliance for more informationPlease call ICAD Group or the CR Metro Economic Alliance for more information