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

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Page 1: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

Workforce in Iowa’s Creative CorridorIowa’s Creative Corridor

Regional Workforce

Development Plan

Page 2: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

Iowa’s Creative CorridorRegional 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.

Page 3: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

Iowa’s Creative CorridorRegional Workforce Development Plan

CORE TEAM:

ICAD – KCC - CRMEA

Page 4: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 5: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development 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

Page 6: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 7: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 8: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 9: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 10: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 11: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 12: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development 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

Page 13: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 14: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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

Page 15: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

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.

Page 16: Workforce in Iowa’s Creative Corridor Iowa’s Creative Corridor Regional Workforce Development Plan

Thank you• Online resources:

– iowascreativecorridor.com/skillsreport/

– Pickyourpace.com

– iowascreativecorridor.com/workforce/

• Please call ICAD Group or the CR Metro Economic Alliance for more information