Investing In America's Workforce

In 2017, the community development departments at each of the 12 Federal Reserve Banks organized regional meetings with nearly 1,000 leaders who work at the intersection of workforce training, recruiting, and finance. They conferred on the status of and challenges that face the nation's workforce development system. Following these meetings, which were held in locations around the country over several months, the community development team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia gathered and analyzed the information shared in those meetings, leading to a Report on Workforce Development Needs and Opportunities. In 2018, the Federal Reserve's community development departments conducted a second series of regional meetings on topics related to broader themes captured in the 2017 report to gain a deeper understanding of workforce development issues. The topics align with community development research interests. The Fed is producing special topic briefs based on the 2018 meetings as well as research and insights collected by community development staff. These briefs will be released and posted below in early 2019. 2019 Special Topic Briefs About Authors Understanding the Disconnect between Economic Development and Workforce Development Systems The economic development field encourages business and job growth, while workforce development ensures individuals have the education, skills, and training needed to obtain jobs. This report provides perspectives on alignment as well as challenges and opportunities for greater alignment between the two systems, using stakeholder input from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Fourth District. Drew Pack Kyle Fee Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland Digital Skills for the 21th-Century Workforce Middle-skills jobs increasingly require workers to cultivate a robust digital skill set to compete in an economic market marked by technological innovation. This report looks at innovative strategies used to prepare workers with digital skills for 21st-century jobs. Ashley Putnam Alvaro Sanchez Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Examining the Role of Job Separations in Black-White Labor Market Disparities Economic trends indicate stark racial disparities in the labor market. Findings from recent studies and data from the Federal Reserve Board’s 2017 Survey of Household Economics and Decisionmaking (SHED) elaborate on the persistent black-white unemployment gap and highlights barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment. Heidi Kaplan Federal Reserve Board of Governors Pay for Success: How Emerging Finance Tools Are Supporting Workforce Development Pay for Success (PFS), a contractual arrangement that ties payment for delivery of services to specific measurable outcomes, has emerged in recent years as a promising tool to finance workforce development. Find out more about PFS and the challenges and opportunities in applying the model to build outcomes-oriented education and training programs. Jeanne Milliken Bonds Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond Strengthening Workforce Development in Rural Areas Rural areas face common workforce challenges such as a declining share of working-age individuals and greater distances to major centers of employment. Explore opportunities for rural investments that seek to address issues around both labor demand and supply. Ashley Bozarth Whitney M. Strifler Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta 2017 Report Investing in America's Workforce: Report on Workforce Development Needs and Opportunities This report provides a snapshot of the workforce development sector and its key challenges. It offers strategies for improving the human capital of America’s labor force, expanding access to jobs, and innovating workforce development funding. Noelle St.Clair Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Investing in America's Workforce is a Federal Reserve System initiative in collaboration with the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, the Ray Marshall Center of the Lyndon B. Johnson School at the University of Texas, and the W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Terms of Use | Privacy | © 2019 Investing in America's Workforce