Promising Practice #3

Employing Sector Strategies

Overview

The Workforce Boards of Metropolitan Chicago (WMBC) is a collaboration of nine workforce boards in 11 northern counties of Illinois. As part of the Workforce Boards of Metropolitan Chicago's (WBMC) regional agenda, the group adopted a sector-based approach to workforce development with a strong focus on career pathways that lead to economic self-sufficiency. The WBMC conducted a comprehensive region-wide community audit to identify target sectors and where skill building was most needed. The audit identified six sectors. They are:

Healthcare
Manufacturing
Warehousing Transportation and Logistics
Finance and Insurance
Technology
Hospitality and Tourism

This guide highlights the WBMC’s focus on the manufacturing sector. WBMC launched the initiative with a Manufacturing Summit bringing together over 200 stakeholders to explore career pathways from entry level positions to those with significantly greater responsibility. The WBMC sector work is carried out under the State sponsored Critical Skills Shortage Initiative, a program funded with the Governor's portion of WIA funds. Through this initiative, funding was made available to support workforce leadership and execution of activities.

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History

The Workforce Boards of Metropolitan Chicago began their manufacturing sector initiative by convening an industry summit. The Manufacturing Summit brought together over 200 individuals representing manufacturing, education and training, organized labor, and policy agencies. The summit provided an opportunity to establish working relationships with industry associations and economic development groups. It also provided a forum for regional representatives from the private sector, education and public policy agencies to discuss and recommend practical solutions to workforce challenges in specific sectors.

As part of their work through the Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI), the Workforce Boards:

Assessed the occupational and skill needs of firms in the Chicago metropolitan region’s key industries;
Identified current and emerging critical needs and challenges among firms in these industries that threaten to undermine their competitiveness;
Identified the root causes of these unmet needs and short- and long-term challenges; and
Engaged a wide range of stakeholders, led by employers and key industry associations, in developing and implementing solutions to these critical challenges.

The Workforce Boards articulated their reliance on building career paths in their Manufacturing report as follows:

"Career pathways are important because they define a realistic route from an entry-level position to a position requiring greater responsibility and training. Without career pathways in place, many workers may fail to see opportunities for upward career momentum, increased earnings potential, better quality of life, and a greater sense of career satisfaction. Increased earnings, in turn, drive the economy, leading to even better quality of life for residents of a community."

The Workforce Boards' use of the Self-Sufficiency Standard in their career counseling services (see Promising Practice #2), coupled with a focus on career ladders leading to self-sufficiency were key elements in the success of the sector initiative. The self-sufficiency threshold varied within the nine board area based on the county-specific Self-Sufficiency Standard.

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Partners and Funding

CSSI represents part of an overall plan to distribute training funds throughout the state to create jobs and spur economic growth in Illinois. CSSI was launched by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) in its ten Economic Development Regions. The state dedicated $18 million for this initiative ($3.0 million for planning, $15 million for training and other solutions).

Challenges

Inherent in the adoption of a regional workforce development approach is the challenge of coordinating and balancing all of the potentially competing priorities and interests of local communities. They overcame this by:

Having a regional coordinator that is the point person for the region and organized everyone to move their work forward.
Working on projects and taking positions that everyone can agree on, and
Each community contributing funding to the collective regional effort.

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Keys to Successful Implementation

The Governor's Critical Skills Shortage Initiative has been a major catalyst for sector work throughout the state. CSSI provides funds, and requires a sector approach coupled with collaboration with economic development entities.
Critical to the success of this practice was maintaining a focus on the regional economy and labor market. The presence of regional employers on the member WIBs helped as did solid labor market information that makes clear the regional nature of most industries.

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