- Interviews with business leaders and regional stakeholders
- Talent assessment survey
- Benchmarking
Knoxville’s regional growth hinges on the ability to create and maintain a qualified, available workforce. The development of a qualified talent pipeline needs to begin earlier and last longer and will require an innovative mindset, a deeper engagement of business and industry and committed partnerships with education providers.
The industry disruptions created by the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in urgency around helping workers find new jobs and develop additional skills. A coordinated, multifaceted regional strategy is required to ensure cohesion with partners. This Workforce Redefined strategy is one of the six Path to Prosperity priorities.
Phase 1: Research
Phase 2: Development
- Working sessions with interest groups
- Coordination with regional stakeholders
- Complete regional workforce development
strategy white paper
Phase 3: Implementation
- Public release of strategy and
recommendations for regional action - Identify component “champions”
- Track and measure results
Regional Workforce Development Strategy Components
Adopt a holistic view of workforce development, one that is more responsive and flexible, with better coordination and sharing of information among service providers
- Push for a highly productive regional workforce investment board (i.e., American Job Center)
- Support better information sharing and collaboration among workforce service providers
- Pivot focus on needs and outcomes; not money and goals
- Expand labor pool by supporting populations with barriers
Empower employers to participate in regional workforce development efforts to better meet the long-term needs of the regional business community
- Assist education providers in the creation of industry-specific employer advisory roles
- Create employer-informed programs within post-secondary institutions
- Encourage a regional increase of average wages for skilled trades employment
- Participate in conversations with employers to hire minority populations and populations with barriers
- Encourage employers to create internal pathways and onboarding plans to encourage employee growth and retention
- Identify data and other mechanisms to quantify the need for skills and training
Prepare workforce-ready graduates by supporting more career awareness, exploration and training opportunities
- Create a continuum of activities and career pathways for high-demand occupational clusters as well as entrepreneurial skill and soft skill development
- Increase awareness of opportunity and growth within skilled trades careers
- Engage employers in the creation of practicums that can be delivered in COVID-19 and post-pandemic environment
- Support educators’ learning in local workplaces
- Advocate for continued and expanded use of YouScience
- Support creation of more internship, pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programs
Create more targeted accelerated training opportunities that are responsive to economic conditions
- Work with employers to identify common, frequently acceptable certifications
- Create rapid response teams to upskill and reskill displaced employees (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic)
- Provide opportunities to upskill and reskill employees when business processes change
- Support efforts to increase funding for the completion of certifications
Support more equitable and accessible education, training and employment opportunities
- Expand career awareness and exploration opportunities in underserved schools, including Austin-East, Fulton and Carter High Schools, as well as the Career Magnet Academy
- Encourage participation of women and minorities in STEM
- Actively seek to remove barriers to education, training, and workplaces including transportation, broadband access and lack of access to information
- Support equitable educational opportunities for all students, including adult learners who did not complete a secondary education credential, to acquire a level of basic skills needed to enter the workforce
- Support efforts for more minority representation in education, training, and workforce services
Champion top-tier reading and math skills for public education students as measured by nationally recognized standards
- Support expansion of high-quality early education programs
- Promote the continued implementation of state standards and assessments
- Support efforts intended to enhance the preparation, recruitment and retention of high-quality teachers
- Advocate for increased funding of Knox County Schools, particularly to address learning loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the lack of Internet access and eliminate disparities among socioeconomic groups