New Ideas for Tomorrow

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New Ideas for Tomorrows Workforce Making
Skilled Labor a Major Element in Your Business
Recruitment and Retention Strategies
Ed Andrews SMART Conference May 3, 2007
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What Topics will be Covered?

• Why is skilled labor availability important?
• How can available skilled labor be measured?
• How is skilled labor information being used?
• How can skilled labor availability be a major
  element in your recruitment and retention
  programs?

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Why is the availability of skilled labor
important?
Surveys of executives and site selection
consultants indicate that the availability of
skilled labor is one of the most important
factors in site selection
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• 660M Capital Investment
• 350 - 550 Jobs
• 60,000/yr. Avg. Pay
• Sites considered
• MA
• NC
• NY
• RI
• Finalists
• Clay, NY
• Devers, MA

Example BioPharma Project
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Where did company decide to locate?
The winner is
The Company perceived that the NY site did not
have the skilled labor supply.
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Why are skills important?
Higher Skills
Higher Wages
Stronger Economy
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How can skilled labor be measured?

• Government Data
• Local Surveys
• New Approach

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How can Skilled Labor Availability be Measured?

• Government Data
• Example Davenport Moline Rock Island MSA
• Civilian Labor Force 211,500
• Employment 203,000
• Unemployment 8,500
• Unemployment Rate 4.0
• National Unemployment Rate 4.6
• High School Graduation Rate 88.7
• College Graduation Rate 24.6

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How can Labor Availability be measured?

• Community Laborshed Survey

• Size of the Laborshed
• Demographics
• willing to change employment
• Underemployment
• Unemployment

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How can Skilled Labor be Measured?

• Foundational Skills
• Reading for Info
• Applied Math
• Locating Info
• Applied Tech
• Business Writing
• Teamwork
• Observation
• Writing
• Listening

• Personal Skills
• Talent
• Fit
• Performance

WorkKeys System
Job Analysis/ Profiling
Training
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Who Uses WorkKeys?

• Over 2,500 businesses from small businesses to
  Fortune 500
• Over 13,000 job profiles
• Over 10 millions assessments
• High School Students
• Adult Workers
• 16 States and 7 Regions have developed Career
  Readiness Certificates based on WorkKeys skills
• ACT launched the National Career Readiness
  Certificate in Sept. 2006

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How is skilled labor Information being used?

• Local Expansions Retentions
• Business Attraction
• Plant Closings

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How is WorkKeys used for Local Expansions?

• Recruitment of new workers
• Advancement of employees
• Certificate program

Hiring Testing Costs
O-T-J Training Costs
Turnover
- 35
- 50
- 64
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How is WorkKeys used for Local Expansions?
This facility beat out several U.S. and
international locations for a 130 million
expansion.
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How is WorkKeys used for Local Expansions?
Base Closure

• Three bases were under review including Ft.
  Benjamin Harrison in the Indianapolis area
• Primarily finance, accounting, clerical,
  administrative positions
• From the WorkKeys database it was shown that the
  Indianapolis area has a large percentage workers
  that have the needed skills

Decision Ft. Benjamin Harrison was kept open,
the two other bases were closed, and jobs
were transferred to Ft. Harrison.
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Indiana _at_ Work

• Largest state certificate program based on
  WorkKeys
• Over 1,000 job profiles
• Over 30,000 readiness certificates awarded
• Uses
• Hiring for existing and new facilities
• Attraction of businesses

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How is Indiana using WorkKeys for Business
Attraction?

• Methodology

• Profile
• Key Jobs
• Skills
• Skill levels

• Qualified
• Labor
• Statistics
• Pool

Regional WorkKeys Certificate Database
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What are Indianas success stories in Business
Attraction?

• Successful Business Attractions
• Osborne, Inc.
• Sikorsky
• Marten Transportation
• TG Missouri
• Magna Power Train
• Titan Management Services

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How can WorkKeys be used for Plant Closings?

• Displaced Individuals

• Administer WorkKeys assessments
• Identify training programs
• Identify potential local employers

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How can WorkKeys be used for Plant Closings?

• Attraction of new business

• Administer WorkKeys assessments
• Develop a composite of the displaced workforce
• Determine industry company targets from
  Occupational Profiles
• Market to target companies

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How can skilled labor availability be part of
recruitment and retention?

• National Standard
• Combine with Current Information Sources
• Local Implementation

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Is there a need for a national standard?

• Yes
• Common language
• Ability to objectively measure changes in skill
  levels over time
• Ability to easily compare workforce skills
  between various locations
• Solution

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National Career Readiness Certificate

• WorkKeys Skills
• Reading for Information
• Applied Mathematics
• Locating Information
• Three levels of performance
• Bronze (Level 3 or higher)
• Silver (Level 4 or higher)
• Gold (Level 5 or higher)
• Approximately 400,000 individuals in our current
  WorkKeys database would qualify for a NCRC

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National Career Readiness Certificate
Bronze Silver Gold
Automotive Body Repairers Butchers Meat
Cutters Cooks, Cafeteria Furniture
Finishers Home Health Aides Housekeeping
Supervisors Janitorial Supervisors Machine
Set-up Operators Painting Coating
Workers Refuse Material Collectors
Accounting Clerks Auto Master Mechanics Billing
Clerks Licensed Practical Nurses Machine
Operators Machinists Medical Laboratory
Technicians Payroll Clerks Pipe
Fitters Production Inspectors
Computer Programmers Electricians Environmental
Engineering Technicians Executives Instrumentat
ion Technicians Librarians Semiconductor
Processors Training Development
Specialists Vocational Education
Teachers Wholesale Retail Buyers
Median 26,000 34,000 49,000 Maximum 37,000 74
,000 141,000
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National Career Readiness System
National Career Readiness Certificates
Registry Database
National Career Readiness System
Talent Bank
Job Bank
Skills Training
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How can the Database be used?

• Combine with the Laborshed Study to provide an
  estimate of the availability of skilled workers
  in the laborshed
• Compare against National and other communities

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How can information sources be combined to show
the availability of skilled labor?
Laborshed Survey Labor Force 327,680 Interested
in Changing Employment Employed 20.0 Unemployed
1.9 Homemakers Retirees 5.4 Total 27.3 T
otal Number 89,727
NCRC Skills Database NCRC
Gold 391 33 Silver 595 50 Bronze
143 12 None 58 5 Total 1187 100
Workforce Skills Inventory and Worker
Availability NCRC
Total Available
Gold 108,134 23,681 Silver 163,840 35,881 Bron
ze 39,322 8,612 None 16,384 3,588 Total 327,680
71,762
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How do the skills of the workers in the Region
compare to National?
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How do the skills of the workers compare to the
skills in another Region?
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How can you implement an effective Workforce
Development program?

• National Career Readiness Program
• Workforce Skills Assessment
• Job and Talent Bank
• Training
• Partners for a Skilled Workforce

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How do you obtain a good estimate of the skills
of the workers in a community/region?

• Workforce Skills Assessment
• Analyze current WorkKeys database
• Sample of the workforce based on employment
• Employment Sample
• Under 100,000 300
• 100,000 499,999 500
• 500,000 999,999 750
• 1,000,000 or more 1,000
• Compare results against the Occupational Profiles
  in Target Industries
• Combine with Laborshed Survey
• Use for Strategic Planning and Marketing

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How can the Job Bank be used?

• Post jobs
• All types and levels
• Internships and summer jobs
• Post jobs for prospects
• Post key generic jobs for target industries
• Survey NCRC holders in the Talent Bank
• Employers pay an annual subscription fee after a
  free trail period

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How can the Talent Bank be used?

• Search the Talent Bank
• Local companies that are expanding
• Companies that have been recruited
• Recruit talent as part of a Come Home program
• No fee charged

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How can the Training be used?

• Individuals can take the training to obtain a
  higher NCRC level
• Workbooks and Online Learning Courses are
  available from two Level I publishers
• Classroom training available from community
  colleges
• After completion of training, retake WorkKeys
  tests
• As individuals obtain a higher level NCRC, then
  the regions workforce becomes more skilled

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Who implements the NCRC at the community/regional
level?

• Partners for a Skilled Workforce
• Commitment of the community
• Develop Plan
• Create the Organization
• Customize the Marketing Toolkit
• Marketing Marketing Marketing
• Employers recommend or require applicants to
  have an NCRC

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How can you build a strong workforce for the
future?

• Measure current skilled labor availability
• Build a community-wide commitment to a Workforce
  Development initiative
• Implement an Economic Development plan with
  skilled labor as a critical element
• Provide the tools and resources to improve the
  workforce
• Periodically evaluate the performance of the
  initiative

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Useful Websites

• Major Workforce Development/Economic Development
  Projects DOLs WIRED Program
  http//www.doleta.gov/wired/
• Information on the Presidents High-Growth
  Initiatives 14 Industries http//www.doleta.gov
  /BRG/JobTrainInitiative/
• DOLs Competency Model Useful for structuring
  industry-focused Workforce Development programs
  and may be important in obtain DOL grants
  http//www.careeronestop.org/competencymodel/
• Information on Workforce Development programs
  including upcoming and archived webinars
  http//www.workforce3one.org/
• WorkKeys http//www.act.org/workkeys
• National Career Readiness Certificate
  http//www.act.org/certificate
• The Perfect Storm http//www.ets.org

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Does Massachusetts really have more skilled labor
than Central NY?
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Questions?
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Contact Information
Ed Andrews ACT, Inc. 101 ACT Drive Iowa City, IA
52243-1068 Phone [phone] E-mail
edward.andrews_at_act.org