3. Outline
• Skills shortage: fact or fiction and what does it
mean for #econdev and #workdev?
• Why coordinating #econdev and #workdev is
so difficult and what we can do about it
• Promising models—federal and state trends
shaping environment for collaboration and
how regions are responding
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
9. Manufacturing: Highest Priority?
Annual Median
Rank Occupation Openings Wage
1 Sales and related 920,329 $13.26
2 Office and administrative support 747,477 $14.81
5 Business and financial operations 410,511 $23.12
8 Healthcare practitioners and technical 332,311 $32.16
9 Transportation and material moving 328,948 $14.64
10 Production 266,598 $14.99
13 Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media 213,697 $14.03
16 Computer and mathematical science 139,654 $32.55
18 Community and social services 100,676 $16.40
Source: EMSI. Annual openings are 2006-2011. Median wage is 2011.
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
10. Projected Openings (No Degree)
Annual Median Training
Occupation Openings Wage Requirement
Customer service representatives 111,781 $14.53 Moderate
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer 65,317 $17.95 Short
Bookkeeping, accounting, audit clerks 52,532 $15.47 Moderate
Licensed practical, vocational nurses 38,912 $18.96 Postsec award
Maintenance and repair workers 37,908 $15.95 Moderate
Insurance sales agents 35,206 $16.25 Postsec award
Construction laborers 28,259 $14.57 Moderate
Industrial truck and tractor operators 21,249 $14.20 Short
Medical assistants 21,249 $14.20 Moderate
Automotive service techs & mechanics 20,728 $18.14 Postsec award
Source: EMSI. Annual openings are 2006-2011. Median wage is 2011.
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
11. Skilled Trades Shortage? (Texas)
• 2,500 job postings out of 367,000 total jobs in
skilled trades (0.7% posting/job ratio compare
to 0.9% for all occupations)
• Job Printers (9.2%), Stationary engineers and
boiler operators (5.5%), Numerical tool and
process control programmers (4.8%)
• Machinists (0.5%), Welders (0.4%)
Source: EMSI, Indeed. Definitions of skilled trades by SOC from Virginia Manufacturers Association.
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
12. More Urgent Shortages? (10x avg)
Computer specialists 33%
Physician assistants 29%
Occupational therapist assistants 23%
Agricultural & food science techs 14%
Chemical engineers 14%
Sales engineers 14%
Speech-language pathologists 13%
Sales managers 12%
Occupational therapists 12%
Physical therapist assistants 10%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40%
Source: EMSI, Indeed. Data is for Texas, selected occupations with at least 300 job postings.
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
15. Why does this matter?
• Not just an academic
argument—important
implications for policy
• Employer-driven or
people-driven?
• Need better insight to
drive investments and
regional partnerships
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
18. Why is this so difficult?
• #econdev is usually reactive, secretive, and
negotiated under unforgiving timelines
• Most companies and #econdev practitioners
have poor understanding of #workdev
• Performance measures are usually not aligned
in a way that motivates collaboration
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
19. #Econdev Pearls of Wisdom
• #Workdev is where
unemployed people
go to get benefits
• What does #workdev
know about industry?
• We can always go to
#workdev later for
training money
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
20. How I Learned to
Stop Worrying and
Love Economic
Developers
Image by: fivetwelvestudios.com
21. Partnership Opportunities
• Economic developers love data. They just
don’t want to have to do it themselves.
• Economic developers love grants. They just
don’t want to have to write them or master
the nuances of federal agencies.
• Economic developers love winning. Help them
see workforce as a competitive advantage.
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
23. Look for opportunities to align programs, such as
using the WIB board as CEDS committee or using
the same data analysis for environmental
scans, target occupations, and CEDS annual
update.
41. With direct and deliberate consideration and a new collaborative learning process, effective bridges can be built
between areas that are experiencing innovation-driven growth and those that are economically distressed.
http://www.spurinitiative.org/
43. Wordle™ of remarks prepared for delivery by Matt Erskine, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic
Development, at National Association of Development Organizations 2012 Washington Policy Conference in Arlington, VA, on
March 20, 2012.
49. Summary: #Workdev Call To Action
• Challenge conventional wisdom and help us
improve our understanding of #workdev
• Be aggressive about pursuing new federal
inter-agency funding opportunities
• Think broadly about opportunities for
partnerships and take risks
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference
50. Brian Kelsey, Principal
Civic Analytics LLC
brian@civicanalytics.com
512-731-7851
http://civicanalytics.com
@brianjkelsey
facebook.com/economicdevelopment
linkedin.com/in/brianjkelsey
May 7, 2012 | NAWDP 2012 Annual Conference