Strategic Objective #1: Focus - Increase WIB focus on workforce and economic trends through use of data and measurement of results Topic
Description Date
Team Lead
1/1/2012 Eric Stenner
Background
Committee Members Rich Martinez, Kelly Peters
The background of this strategy includes the following: In 2010, the WIB shifted roles to become more strategic in terms of understanding upcoming employment needs for the community. During this transition, the WIB was perceived to have had limited data upon which to provide guidance and direction. As a result, WIB outcomes were unclear and the number actively engaged WIB members decreased. During the August 2011 strategy session, the WIB identified increasing focus as a strategic objective.
SubObjectives
Sub-objectives for this strategy include: Improve the WIB focus to provide value to the community Identify skill gaps / training needs of the workforce including incumbent workers Improve business awareness and involvement (to collect primary data)
Scope
The scope of this strategy includes: Identifying and analyzing already existing data that may be useful to the WIB in determining upcoming employment trends for both the economy and workforce needs in the five county region including Adams, Boulder, Broomfield, Larimer and Weld Counties (and beyond as appropriate). This includes trend and geographic employer and employee comparative data for skill needs (forecast needs and anticipated skill supply) and gaps Industries to be included in the study are those that: 1) are growing, 2) are competitive in wages, 3) increasing in size, 4) provide competitive advantage. In recent years, this has been energy, healthcare and information technology. This base may have changed over the last few years. Professions included in the scope of the analysis include all types of occupations. Not included in scope are: Conduct of primary research to collect data Other related activities already in progress include: Data collection by Gary Horvath, an independent consultant performing research for the WIB in preparation for the upcoming summit Data that has been collected by the City of Ft. Collins and other entities in recent
months (e.g., ____). Approach
The short-term activities for this strategy include: Dec. 14th WIB meeting – The goal is that Gary’s preliminary data is presented to the ‘Focus Team” at this time. February 8th WIB Meeting – Overview of the economic analysis is available for review and nearly finalized. WIB Summit on Feb. 22nd – Present Gary’s findings and engage businesses to identify a few areas for WIB focus. Spring 2012 – Design data collection approach of impact analysis of WIB efforts Ongoing annual cycle Spring – update strategies– Finalize top areas, update strategies and develop budgets for the upcoming fiscal year that starts on July 1st. Commission further economic analysis if warranted. Otherwise, defer further economic analysis until the next annual cycle. July 1 – New Fiscal Year – Start WIB fiscal year and implementation of updated annual strategic plans Late summer and fall of each year – Conduct/update economic analysis in preparation for the annual WIB summit. Late Autumn or Winter – Conduct annual WIB summit
Assumptions
The following assumptions have been made: Annual WIB Summit - There will be an annual WIB summit involving the community. The timing of the summit will be sometime in the autumn or winter to support preparation of strategies for the upcoming fiscal years. Annual Economic Analysis - Anticipate annual updates to the economic analysis in preparation for an annual summit held late winter each year. The annual cycle will be continued for a few years until the granularity of data is sufficient. After that, the research cycle may move to a bi-annual basis. WIB Summit is Key Listening Event - Utilize WIB Summit as a source event for listening / input for data collection from participants (actual data collection may occur before the summit in future years).
Milestones Measures of Progress
See the approach section for the milestones in this strategy. Measures of progress for this strategy include: Annual economic analysis/update completed (yes/no) Annual Summit conducted with secondary data reported and primary data collected and analyzed, and focus areas determined (yes/no) Number of businesses participating in the Summit
Not for this strategy From Partnership Strategy – number of people trained/skilled as a result of identifying the focus areas Deliverables
Deliverables from this strategy include: Identification of major trends and skill set matches and upcoming needs (i.e., gaps) in northern Colorado and more specifically in Larimer County. This would be used to identify skills that need to be cultivated in the future. This information would be used to recommend / propose partnerships that need to be established to fill skill gaps. Marketing, funding and advocacy strategies would then support this direction.
Staffing
Staffing for this strategy includes: This team to provide leadership for data collection, analysis and focus area selection. This team would meet at least on a quarterly basis and more frequently as work load / events / due dates dictate. Consultant to perform secondary research on an annual basis Resource to perform primary research in preparation for and conduct of the annual WIB Summit.
Benefits and Costs Summary
Overall, this strategy has the following benefits and costs: Benefits Data-based and focused approach to workforce development Incremental Costs Consultant and tools to conduct annual economic analysis Summit cost to collect data, report results and pick focus areas
Key Success Factors
Key success factors for this strategy include: Participation of Workforce staff and WIB team members Marketing of the WIB Summit and resulting participation of the community as a whole Useful and relevant economic analysis Follow-through of the partnership, marketing, funding and advocacy teams after focus areas are identified
