Super Issue Sessions
Super Issue SessionsA full conference program will be released before The Forum. Stay tuned for further updates!
These sessions explore major social and economic issues that present challenges to the workforce development system. The Super Sessions are designed to be innovative and interactive and delve into how best to achieve a vision for the future related to the issue being presented. Stay tuned for more details!
Monday, June 29
3:30pm – 5:00 pm
The Future of Learning
Learning is a lifelong endeavor, it never ends. Learning is owned by the individual who must commit to continuously be willing to take on new challenges and search out new learning opportunities. Learning to deal with ambiguity, creating, simplifying, and adapting are essential skills for success in the constantly changing workforce. Workforce boards and their education/training partners need to leverage their expertise to rethink the way that skills for the future of work are developed. Learning opportunities must be modular, available through multiple modes, offer on and off ramps, and be able to adapt quickly to meet the needs of employers. This session explores the shifting landscape and how workforce development boards can leverage partnerships and technology to create more connected and relevant opportunities for learning and upskilling.
Moderator:
Hope Cotner, President and CEO, CORD
Speakers:
Jake Hirsch-Allen, North America Workforce Development and Higher Ed System Lead, LinkedIn
Bryan Albrecht, President, Gateway Technical College
Jane Oates, President, Working Nation
Data Analytics: Mearing Success and Adjusting for Change
Market disruptions are making career pathways less linear and predictable. It is no longer enough to collect data for compliance and accountability purposes. It’s about applying new data insights to help us understand the context and implications of the decisions that we make. What does success look like for your organization; for your community; for the customers you serve? How do you measure that? How do we act on new insights and fresh perspectives? In this session, we’ll explore why data is collected and how data can be used to improve outcomes and inform strategy. We’ll focus on how deeper insights derived from data are allowing us to think differently about learning, economic development, and workforce preparedness.
Moderator:
Eshwar Eswaran, Director, JFF
Speakers:
Laura Faulkner, Program Director, Strategic Initiatives, BrightHive
Steve Lynch, Vice President, Workforce and Economic Development Solutions, Burning Glass Technologies
Jacob Maas, CEO, West Michigan Works!
Beth Doyle, Vice President for Partner Success, CAEL
Platform Technologies to Align Services and Partnerships
Individuals are connected 24/7 online. As workforce boards and companies consider entering into new collaborations and building on existing ones with other companies and whole industries, workforce boards need to determine, with greater focus, how and with whom workforce development boards partner. These shifting dynamics require a different way of thinking including how technology can be leveraged to drive new conversations, partnerships and economic development. This session will push attendees to look at how they decide which tools to use and how to leverage these tools to connect partners.
Moderator:
Lori Strumpf, CEO, Strumpf Associates
Speakers:
Alex Kosmides, Assistant Director, Northwest Workforce Council, Bellingham, WA
Rachel Adams, Staff Assistant, Compliance Assistance Branch, KY Dept. of Workforce Investment
Harpreet Singh, PhD, Founder & Co-CEO, Experfy
Ken Eisner, Director, Worldwide Education Programs, Amazon Web Services
Workforce Boards: Re-envisioning the workforce system in the era of COVID-19
COVID-19 exposed the weaknesses of the Global Trend of moving manufacturing and services offshore. The resulting pandemic exposed the consequences of this approach to Nations across the globe. This is especially true in the United States of America. The inability to source materials to make viral tests; inadequate supplies of ventilators and personal protective equipment are having deleterious effects to our healthcare systems and the US economy with significant consequences to lives. Additional consequences include major disruption to many sectors of the economy resulting in mass layoffs and furloughs of workers. According to a recent McKinsey report: “State workforce agencies may also choose to design new education and training programs with the specific goal of helping unemployed workers without college degrees increase their employability when the economy reopens—and for the longer term as well.” This session will provide a shared understanding of issues and opportunities that exist and may arise in the future, and how workforce boards should lead the transformations in their communities to get the US back to work in good jobs.
Moderator:
Lee Lambert, Chancellor, Pima Community College
Speakers:
George Hammond, Arizona Economist
Jason Scales, Lincoln Electric
Pam Nabors, President and CEO, CareerSource Central Florida
Carolyn Lee, Executive Director, The Manufacturing Institute
Regional Economic Development
How do we build a collaborative regional community to improve the well-being of its economic base and benefit all its citizens? Generational differences, preferences, and expectations in learning, self-expression and economic security pose challenges to employers and the work of workforce boards. How each generation, in general and keeping in mind each person has individual needs and characteristics, expresses themselves, engages in civic activities, and is motivated in the workplace is shifting dramatically. As a partner in economic development, workforce boards must deal with these issues and build successful career pathways that will draw employers to the region, and to the table, and build pipelines to employment. This session will explore what community partnerships look like, potential challenges, and how workforce development boards can take a leadership role to address cross-collaboration issues to build healthy regional economic development.
Moderator:
Nick Schultz, Pacific Gateway Workforce Innovation Network
Speakers:
Mike Temple, Director Gulf Coast Workforce Board-Workforce Solutions
Todd Gustafson, President and CEO, Kinexus Group
Clyde McQueen, President and CEO, Full Employment Council
Tuesday, June 30
3:30pm – 5:00pm
Tapping the Re-Entry Population
Employers are searching for skilled employees. Often overlooked areas are individuals who have been incarcerated and are looking for a new chance to succeed in society. The correctional system provides excellent training in many of its facilities. As these individuals re-enter society, keeping them from returning to the correctional system can be dependent on how they assimilate back into society, including obtaining jobs with adequate incomes. But with this work come challenges that must be overcome. Some employers may be reluctant to hire a person who has been incarcerated, some will jump on the opportunity for a grateful well-trained individual. The reason for incarceration may affect the employer’s sense of taking a “chance”. The success rates of good jobs on reducing recidivism have been well researched. But what issues will workforce boards face with employers, co-workers, the community, and possibly conditions of parole? This session will address issues and strategies that have worked when serving re-entry individuals.
Moderator:
Jason Green, Co-Founder, SkillSmart
Speakers:
Betsy Fox Tolentino, Executive Director of Pre-Adjudication Services and Reform, Maryland Department of Juvenile Services
Tadar Muhammad, Senior Vice President Workforce Development, HBI
Getting Work Based Experience on The Resume
It’s always easier to get a job if you have relevant experience. But in an ever-changing economy where the old jobs may not exist and new jobs continue to emerge, it may be hard to show relevant experience. Providing work-based learning opportunities can help. Involvement of business is essential, and the experience must be tied to education and/or training. What is the best strategy for an individual? What is the role and value of credentials when deciding on work-based learning? The needs may vary from person to person and there may be special regulations for certain ages. Internships, pre-apprenticeship, and apprenticeships are some of the more traditional forms. Technology and mobility have opened the doors to new work-based learning opportunities. Workforce boards need to have the resources to understand the options and effectively navigate the landscape to provide the best experience for the individual. This session will focus on identifying the issues related to referrals to different programs, create questions for USDOL to respond to for both WIOA and the Apprenticeship offices, and generate ideas to address these issues.
Moderator:
Jacob Maas, CEO, West Michigan Works!
Speakers:
Jeff Henriksen, Executive Director, Communications & Marketing, SMACNA Jen Schottke, Vice President of Operations, Associated Builders and Contractors of Western Michigan
Dr. Bill Pink, President, Grand Rapids Community College
Amy Kardel, Vice President, Strategic Workforce Relationships, CompTIA
Equity and Access: Expanding Economic Opportunity in an Increasingly Competitive Age
Access to quality employment and a living wage for all continues to be a key issue in workforce conversations. This is especially true and relevant when focusing on rural communities, ethnicity, lifestyles, women and re-entry populations. This session will provide an overview of economic opportunity in America followed by a robust discussion of the challenges and opportunities moving forward, including the impact technology and automation has on individuals and families already struggling in today’s economy. Join the discussion of challenging questions such as: What do we need to do to provide opportunity to all clients and current potential? How do we ensure that there is equity in the workforce system, so all clients have access to the full range of opportunities? How do we address the trends we are seeing, and to mitigate concerns of location and access? How should our current education, human services, workforce and economic development systems interact to promote and contribute to access to opportunities for all?
Moderator:
Mary Alice McCarthy, Director, Center on Education and Skills, New America
Speakers:
Livia Lam, Senior Fellow and Director of Workforce Development, Center for American Progress
Re-envisioning Services for Opportunity Youth
More than 6.5 million opportunity youth do not participate and lack the skills to compete in the labor market. At the same time, there is a shortage of qualified talent for skilled jobs, elevating the visibility of workforce training and increasing interest from employers for in-demand credentials. Out-of-school youth can be a difficult population to serve due to multiple barriers and disillusionment. Workforce boards need to envision and transform their programs to serve dropout and disengaged youth. How can we nurture this willingness among employers to advance opportunities for lower-skilled younger workers? How can we increase the visibility of these opportunities among youth to create a viable labor pool with the required skills? A panel of experts explores strategies including cross-agency collaboration, integration and blending funding to reach the youth population. Members of the panel understand that bringing workforce development, critical skills training, and business into an aligned partnership can shape the landscape of talent and open doors of opportunity for the next generation.
Moderator:
Jasen Jones, Senior Program Manager, ACT
Speakers:
Lisa Salazar, Mayor’s Workforce Policy Director, City of Los Angeles
Dr. I. Angelov Farooq, Chairman, California Workforce Development Boar
Rashaun Bennett, Senior Program Associate, NYEC
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