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Pima
County Workforce Development Comprehensive Plan
Executive Summary
Pima County's Workforce Development Comprehensive Plan will
incorporate the entire local workforce development system, including
the federal and state legislative requirements. The workforce
development system is designed to serve the entire community,
including youth, individuals looking for work, incumbent workers,
individuals with disabilities and barriers, and employers.
Planning Strategies.
Five comprehensive, strategic approaches guided the planning
and implementation process. The strategies are:
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Create an executable, implementation document.
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Integrate with other economic, community, education, and workforce
plans. Do not duplicate services or systems.
- Embed
continuous assessment and process improvement methods.
- Decision-making
is a community driven process.
- The
approach focuses on meeting employer and industry needs.
Implementation Tools. The
tools of choice to be used for plan implementation and delivery
are:
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The Pima County One-Stop system
- Resource
mapping and inventorying
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Forecasting mechanisms
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360 degree feedback mechanisms, such as surveys, labor market
information, process improvement strategies, and evaluation
criteria
-
Technology
- Accessible
training
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Leveraged public and private funds
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In every possible situation consider State of Arizona strategies,
requirements, and resources
- Common
processes for ease of use by the customers, both employers
and individuals.
Ongoing Critical Issues for the Plan
and Plan Implementation. Three issues were identified:
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Plan Management
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Gap Analysis and Resource Inventorying
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Forecasting supply and demand for workforce skills.
Key System Areas for Planning.
Five workforce development issues were identified and work groups
were established for each area. The areas are:
1. One-Stop and Clearinghouse Activities.
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Technology based information and knowledge management system
for all of our community's customers-employers, workers, training
providers, and service delivery staff.
- Provides
multiple points of access to a variety of information and
services that include easily accessed self-service opportunities
as well as one on one service for our customers.
-
Activities such as labor market information, job or service
referral, case management and account information are immediate,
with the latest and most current information relevant to the
local community.
- Includes
integrated and searchable databases, answers to questions
on line as well as in person, and significant employer services.
2. Resource Identification, Gap Analysis
and Forecasting.
Strategic Areas:
-
Provide resource identification, mapping and gap analysis
methods.
- Resource
identification includes all resources for all customers-products
such as a survey system, a labor market forecasting system,
and social service agency information and referral systems.
- Gap
analysis based on resource information provides information
about services design and funding priorities.
-
Forecasting model that provide the system with the ability
to forecast near future needs and eliminate the lag time between
product development and delivery.
Outcomes based on Strategic Areas:
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A user friendly and accessible system that provides real time
information useful to employers, workers, and service providers.
-
Analysis allows for decisions about resource allocation, program
services to be developed, and forecasting predicts near term
(6 months out) requirements.
3.
Youth Transition System.
Strategic Areas:
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Help youth develop skills that meet business market needs
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Incorporate a Kindergarten through first full time job approach,
include all youth and connect learning to work.
-
Include activities and services in youth development and basic
skills, citizenship, leadership, community service, adult
mentoring, support services and follow up.
-
Optimize opportunities for all youth, including alternative
pathways to success for the gifted and talented as well as
for the disadvantaged.
Outcomes
based on Strategic Areas:
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All children will have age-appropriate basic cognitive, social
and developmental skills and will be connected to the world
of work. Before entering kindergarten, children will have
age-appropriate skills that will lead to enhanced future career
opportunities.
- All
children will be exposed to a variety of experiences relevant
to the world of work and careers in order to enhance self-awareness
and the ability to make later career choices.
- All
children will be exposed to a variety of experiences relevant
to the world of work and careers in order to enhance self-awareness
and the ability to make later career choices.
-
All children will be involved in community activities in order
to develop productive relationships with society as well as
a sense of work ethic.
-
Adult mentors will have the skills, tools and desire necessary
to help children, parents, teachers, and childcare providers
optimally develop children's potential.
-
Individual, family and community physical and emotional needs
will be met in order to ensure that the conditions for enhanced
career opportunities exist. Barriers to youth development
will be addressed through community-wide support systems.
- Age-
appropriate academic skills be developed and will lead to
enhanced future career options
- Developing
age-appropriate behavioral skills will lead to enhanced future
career opportunities.
-
The development of age-appropriate citizenship skills will
lead to enhanced future career options.
- Age-appropriate
workplace skills that are relevant to community and industry
will be integrated in school curriculums through business
involvement in learning.
- Age-appropriate
mentoring programs will lead to enhanced career opportunities.
- Youth
will understand the relevancy and value of what they learn
in relation to their immediate and near future work goals.
They have developmentally and age appropriate basic skills
including use of technology, analytical and problem solving,
being a part of a team, and workplace interpersonal skills.
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Youth will have age-appropriate understanding of the world
of work and can imagine themselves contributing to society.
Youth will make connections between their desired employment
and related educational experiences.
-
All youth will have the opportunity to actively participate
in meaningful acts of citizenship/leadership/Service Learning
that are positive and which develop skills that will help
them in the world of work. All youth will feel they have a
voice and a place.
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Youth will have age-appropriate academic skills that will
lead to enhanced career options. Youth will develop the pre-requisite
skills needed to enter selected career paths.
- All
youth will have a sense of belonging: a voice and a place.
Mentoring activities will value inclusivity and diversity.
-
All necessary support services will be provided as appropriate
to ensure access to youth opportunity services
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By the time they reach age 22, youth will be proficient in
basic skills. They will know how to learn and have an appreciation
of lifelong learning. They will receive preparation in classrooms
and other learning environments and will achieve competency
according to existing employer standards.
- Upon
entering the workforce, young adults will demonstrate skills
that enable them to attain livable wage employment.
- In
support of youth entering the workforce, individuals who serve
as role models will mentor students concerning their social
and academic and employment readiness activities.
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Youth-friendly linkages (marketing efforts likely to appeal
to youth) and outreach to One-Stop support services systems
which include access to employment and training. Adults are
continuously trained to work effectively to broker services
and help youth to access services.
- Youth
will have access to, and will be aware of, a full range of
pre-employment support services
4. Adult System.
Barriers to Employment Strategic Areas:
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Universal access to all workers, includes rather than excludes,
and matches services to the worker, and to the employer.
- Help
workers identify barriers to success in gaining and retaining
employment and to provide support and partner in the solutions.
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Provide employers with ready access to information and referral
for potential and incumbent workers with barriers.
- Besides
skill specific training, barriers may include housing, childcare,
drug and alcohol treatment, remedial and basic skills, technology
literacy, language, transportation, medical care, workplace
protocol skills, clothing, tools, and support during the trial
service employment period.
Outcomes based on Barriers to Employment Strategic Areas:
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Disabilities will no longer be a barrier to employment
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Connect employers and employees to existing Information and
Referral and other resources to help employees obtain and
maintain jobs
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Transportation, housing, and childcare issues are eliminated
as barriers to employment.
- Legal,
domestic violence, mental illness and substance abuse issues
are resolved and eliminated as barriers to employment.
- Under-employed
and unemployed Pima County workers have the basic skills necessary
to become employed and stay successful in the workplace. For
workers this means increased job stability, job performance,
and job satisfaction. Implementation incorporates a public-private
alliance with employers, employment and training agencies,
and other community partners. The alliances work to identify,
assess, and provide services. Products are customer driven,
placing the employer at the center of defining essential skills.
Education and Training Services Strategic Areas.
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Provide education and training programs that are directly
tied to the skills needed in the labor market.
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Deliver training and education in ways that are accessible,
cost effective, and timely.
- Provide
the framework for advanced academics tied to employer created
career pathways and training is industry skill standard specific.
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Provide programs that are flexible and meet customer (employer
and worker) needs in terms of curriculum offering, schedule,
and access (physically or on-line).
Outcomes
based on Education and Training Strategic Areas:
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Skills needed in the community, and the standards required
for those skills, will be assessed, with results widely published.
Developed skill standards will be used to develop curriculum
for skill competency
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Training and education curriculum will be aligned with local
industry skill standards and a comprehensive range of education
and training services related to those skill standards will
be offered.
- Training
will be delivered in a manner that meets the needs of employees
and employers.
- Career
planning will be an integrated, common process that is non
duplicative. It will include secondary and post-secondary
career planning providers as well as One Stop stakeholders.
In so far as possible, career planning will be technology-based
and will provide tools for career planners as well as self
service tools.
- An
Occupation Center (can be virtual within the One-Stop system)
will be created which quickly provides centralized current
occupational information to employers, employment agencies,
schools, community-based organizations and job seekers. The
Center will maintain a countywide Internet database of career
tools, including current labor market statistics, occupational
descriptions and standards, career guidance and selection
tools, salary surveys, hiring pools and lists of job openings.
5. Evaluation and Measures.
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Productivity and quality measures ensure success, provide
information for good decision making, document best practices
for replication else where in the system, and play a huge
role in developing future funding opportunities.
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The plan includes a 360° assessment and feedback process that
examines customer satisfaction, program and service performance,
partner and stakeholder participation and performance, and
other system areas.
- Once
a year the WIB will prepare a State of the Workforce analysis
to be used as a measurement for progress in the community.
Based on the Strategic Areas and intended
Outcomes, the Pima County Workforce Investment Board establishes
the following strategic directions and priorities:
Strategic Directions for Youth
Childcare
Childcare
Initiatives:
Join other groups to improve the quality of childcare, availability
of childcare and revise the subsidy program. Support initiatives
to move the office of child care from the Department of Health
Services to a new Department of Workforce Services.
School to Work Support
Support
continued funding and partnering of School to Work with the
workforce efforts.
Resource Inventory and Gap Analysis
Map
existing resources and analyze gaps on services
Student
Assessments and Skill Standards
Work
with school superintendents to collate local workforce development
needs with Arizona state standards on all grade levels including
development of new (self) assessments for students and benchmarks
for workforce preparation.
Program Collaboration
Develop
ongoing programs with schools, parents and teachers and businesses
to provide "Bring Your Child to Work Day", Career Days, business
sponsors, job shadowing programs, mentoring, internships etc.
Vocational Education
Support
an initiative to create vocational education articulation between
secondary and post secondary institutions and facilitate the
development of the curriculum and partnership with business
and education.
Youth Coordination
Establish
a youth coordinating body to assist with implementation and
development of new programs.
Youth
One Stops
Establish
a youth friendly network of one-stop satellites offering youth
services.
Strategic Directions for the Adult
Workforce System
Consolidation at the Top
Support
the integration of Workforce services into one Department at
the state level. WIA early implementation states such as Utah
and Florida have such models.
One Stop Implementation
Establish
a One Stop System in Pima County that will be accessible either
physically or electronically from all localities including Oro
Valley, Ajo, Marana, and the City of South Tucson. The One Stop
will coordinate services necessary to encourage integration
of workers with disabilities into the workforce and to work
to remove barriers to employment through housing and transportation
coordination.
Virtual One Stop
Install
a Virtual One Stop System on the Internet and develop the website
for workforce activities for Pima County. All services will
be streamlined for one universal intake form and easy self help
devices.
Employer Services and Economic Forecast
Development
of Employer services to include wage surveys and forecasting
data for the local economy. The WIB will develop workforce marketing
data for use in economic development efforts.
Resource Inventory and Gap Analysis
Conduct
a Resource Inventory and Gap Analysis of services including
and incidental to workforce development and provide the data
to the community. Provide Request for Proposal opportunities
for services identified as critical in the analysis.
Skill Standards
Identify
core level competencies for each industry cluster and foundation
to identify essential skills then provide the skill standards
for curriculum design and to map career pathways using Skill
Sets defined by other states and best practices nationwide.
Accountability
Adapt
Malcolm Baldrige and other national standards to local determined
measures to access performance and improvement. Customer surveys
will be conducted as well as federally mandated tracking standards.
An annual State of the Workforce report is proposed to the community.
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