MAWB believes workforce development is the key economic development issue in our economy.
A dynamic economy requires a highly trained and flexible workforce.
There is a critical and pressing need for the system to address service needs of students who do not have career goals or postsecondary aspirations. These students are often overlooked and move in and out of the workforce. Even youth who enter post-secondary education often lack good career guidance and realistic career goals.
MAWB’s Role: Minnesota’s workforce boards, which include representation from both educational partners and the business community, are ideally situated to be a key collaborator with educational institutions to enhance career services to students at high school and post high school levels.
Close coordination between the education and employment and training services will ensure lifelong use of career services for individuals. Furthermore, local workforce boards are in touch with the evolving needs of their regional economies and can provide leadership in exposing individuals to specific careers.
Investing in youth employment and training programs is critical to arming youth with the skills they need to be successful in the workplace.
MAWB’s Role: Work skills and the development of a work ethic are not just learned in classrooms; they are acquired through hands-on experience. Workforce boards deliver short-term employment and training opportunities to disadvantaged and at-risk youth in all 87 counties.
It is critical that employers have convenient access to information and services which are designed to meet their workforce needs.
Sector or industry partnerships are a key strategic element within some of the most successful state and local workforce development efforts in the country.
MAWB’s Role: Board members, through their direct ties to business and/or as employers themselves, work as intermediaries to create effective solutions by brokering collaborative partnerships, providing incumbent worker training, and assessing industry needs prior to directing jobseekers toward specific employment opportunities.
Local boards and service providers have effectively worked across geographic boundaries to address the needs of regional economies in an efficient, effective and timely manner.
Increasingly, today’s jobs—including those at the entry-level—require far more technical and basic skills than similar positions did just a few decades ago.
Current opportunities, however, are not affordable or realistic options for many Minnesotans, particularly for those who are already working.
MAWB’s Role: Workforce boards and workforce service providers serve as neutral brokers in identifying and connecting workers and employers to potential resources and educational institutions that can meet their needs.
Minnesota’s workforce strategies are market-driven; boards strive to ensure that training resources are targeted to meet the needs of local and regional economies. Furthermore, MAWB strongly encourages the development of short-term and part time entry level vocational programs which lead to entry level jobs and attainment of credentials.