The document argues for the integration of workforce development and economic development efforts to enhance regional success, emphasizing teamwork over isolated services. It highlights the essential role of a skilled workforce in attracting businesses and creating jobs, suggesting that workforce professionals need to evolve into leaders who actively contribute to job creation. Additionally, it calls for collaboration among various stakeholders to foster entrepreneurship and adapt strategies to meet the changing economic landscape.

1. Why is it Essential
for Workforce Development
& Economic Development
to Join Forces in Each Region?
Presented by: Colleen LaRose
North East Regional Employment and Training Association
All Rights Reserved

2. Blueprint for community and
regional success
Teamwork..not silos of service…
"Collaboration is the stuff of growth"
Anonymous

3. Definitions
Workforce Development:
Coordination of skills
development initiatives that
prepare individuals for
Economic Development:
current and future
Implementation of business
occupations, giving
businesses the human capital development and quality of
necessary to meet demand. life policies that influence the
growth and restructuring of a
region to improve its overall
economic well-being.

4. Comparison
Workforce Development Economic Development
1. Job Development (who has jobs) 1. Job Creation (make jobs)
2. Collaborative 2. Compete locally/regionally
3. Federally funded 3. Locally and state funded
4. Attempts to be a system 4. Not a system
5. Employer services related to 5. Business recruitment/retention
acquiring employees (job postings, services such as Tax Incentives,
screening, OJT, etc) Location Hunting
6. Jobseeker services 6. Infrastructure/transportation
(Eligibility/Resumes) support
7. Coordination of education providers 7. Business development support
8. Youth Support 8. Community Development support
9. Coordination of social services 9. Bottom-Line $$$
supports 10. Quality of Life (eg. Parks)
10. Holistic support system

5. Economic Developers say,
“Workforce Development is #1”
Workforce development is the number one
reason that businesses now choose their
location…surpassing tax incentives, low cost of
business, transportation, and even quality of life!

6. What’s the workforce worth…
GDP is a measure of income, not wealth.
(values flow of goods/services, not assets).
Gauging economy by GDP: like judging a company by quarterly profits, without peeking at balance-sheet.
UN/Cambridge University published balance-sheets for 20 nations .
3 Kinds of Assets:
1) natural capital (land, forests, fossil fuels, minerals)
2) manufactured, physical capital (machinery, buildings)
3) human capital (education and skills)
The real wealth of nations, The Economist, June 30, 2012

7. What’s the workforce worth?
Can we assess the workforce in terms of cold hard cash?
$ Total cash in the world is about 45 T
$ Total assets in the world about 500T(not including human capital)
$ US wealth – + = 58T
+ + = 118T
US-4.5 % of world’s population, 12% of the hard assets wealth
By the way, US debt is 16T…one fourth of all physical assets.
About $50,000 per every man, woman and child in the US)

8. 75% of the US total wealth is its human capital!
The real wealth of nations, The Economist, June 30, 2012

9. Workforce Investment System—
In what are we investing?
SUPPLY
Human capital
 average years of schooling (education)
 the wage workers can command (skills)
 Number of years of expected work before they retire/die
Jobseekers taxpayers….(human capital)
DEMAND
Entrepreneurs, small business, medium business, large business
(Is business a resource?…or an investment? )
Need a diversified “portfolio” –
(risky and not so risky investments)
Anticipated returns?

10. Employment and Training?
Workforce Investment System
includes business owners….
Entrepreneurship is employment
Must rethink traditional
models of employment
Need more than training
to grow out of this economic crisis

11. Reality Check:
There are not enough jobs!!!
146 million in total US labor market (includes 13 million on ui) -
so that is 133 million wage earners supporting total US
population of 315 million (world pop 7 billion)
Only 3.5 million jobs now available in US
13 million people actively on unemployment (and another
ten million (conservatively) who have exhausted ui claims
That’s seven people
for every job currently available!

12. So, even if we spend all
workforce dollars to train
everyone perfectly for every
job currently available….
There would still be six people
in line waiting for a job for every
job that was filled…
Or conservatively over 18
million people still out of work!
SIMPLY PUT…
WE NEED MORE JOBS!

13. JOB CREATION
What does job creation mean?
(Entrepreneurship? Innovation? Start-ups? Collateral growth? Growing
companies? Importing companies? )
Who is responsible?
(Economic development? Politicians? Business leaders? Educational
institutions?)
Is there a role for workforce development in JOB CREATION?
New paradigm of “work?” – Seeding/training entrepreneurs?
Helping companies recognize expansion opportunities?
Providing HR support/onboarding?
Providing workforce management?
(change management, org. development, team training, etc.)
Liaison to economic development and funders?

14. Understanding the Potential….
75% of businesses in the US have no employees….
52% of all small businesses are home based
Small business employs half of all private sector
employees
Stage 2 businesses (10-99 employees) are the major
employers! Creating 90% of all new jobs in America
Workforce development professionals must
become more than training providers!
They must begin contributing to Job Creation!

15. Top ten states with greatest percent of self-employed
Bottom of the rank

16. Problem….
Workforce Investment Boards are not
treated as leaders in their communities
because they are seen, (and often act)
as program managers.

17. Effect….
WIB’s are usually not invited to be part of community
planning. Because they are not part of the decision-
making for the community. they have little say in the
direction their region is going.
Because WIB’s have little/no authority, they have difficulty
making significant impacts.
WIB’s are not seen as “job creators” or “huge impact
makers”

18. Solution….
Integrate WIB’s with their regional planning
bodies (politicians and economic
development) so that they become part of the
ONGOING planning and strategizing process.
Give WIB directors leadership and economic
development planning training so that they
can “hold their own” in these discussions.

19. Benefits….
1) Not managers strategic planning leaders
2) Elevates the standing of workforce development, (more program $$$?)
3) Supports new business start-ups, (may force change on some bad rules that thwart
business start-ups)
4) Communities seen as engines of growth – Asset-based planning (not business
recruitment). Not apathy, but looking within the community for hope and possibilities!
5) Team environment (ed, wd politicians, business) in each region... All planning and
strategizing together. Equally responsible for decisions and outcomes.
6) Assures business owners get all services they need because all are now responsible
to provide every possible business benefit consideration
Can you imagine the power of hundreds of teams like this across the US?

20. Stepping into Leadership
Mind shift for everyone –
Not service providers strategic planners!
Not social service oriented $$$ oriented!
Not jobseeker and employer services
BUSINESS and workforce services
WIB Directors will need training in leadership
and economic development planning basics

21. Steps to aligning economic and
workforce development
1) Evaluate local economic/workforce strengths and weaknesses.
2) Evaluate community’s place in the broader regional economy.
3) Evaluate community’s economic development and workforce development
vision and goals.
4) Evaluate community’s strategy to attain its goals.
5) Evaluate connections between economic development, workforce development
and other local policies.
6) Evaluate the regulatory environment.
7) Evaluate local economic development and workforce stakeholders and partners.
8) Evaluate the needs of your local business community.
9) Help create an environment that supports the start-up, growth and expansion of
local businesses.
10) Evaluate community’s economic development and
workforce development message.
Inspired by a report from National League of Cities and IEDC:
The Role of Local Elected Officials in Economic Development. 10 things you should know.

22. Coordinating …
no one said this was going to be easy!
3033 counties nationally, and 285 cities with more than
100,000 people
380 EDD Regions, 568 WIB regions
Multiple economic development partners (county, city,
state, regional, private, public etc.) who are competing
with one another
Some regions have no active economic development
planning
Workforce development seen as service provider,
(job seeker focused)
Workforce development - “new kid on the block”

23. Goal Setting Challenges
Dynamic Environment business cycles impact amount of capital companies can invest in
expansion/growth (ie tax revenue to fund eco dev), the public workforce system can be limited
in investments it can make (Incumbent worker training in good economic times/OJT in bad
economic times).
Forecasting is an inexact science
Conflicting priorities (Globalization/Buy American)
Economic Gardening vs. Recruitment
Infrastructure support/growth vs. tax base (new schools, new
neighborhoods, more traffic, etc)
Business vs. environmental/quality of life
Business vs. sustainable wages
25% of jobs in the US pay below the poverty line,(less than $23,000 yr for family of 4)
50% of the jobs in the US pay less than $34,000 a year
From Economic Policy Institute

24. Come to the table bearing gifts
Money (grant opportunities, etc)
Connections (other collaborative partners who
bring value)
Ideas
Training
Leadership succession planning
Other resources (talent, technology, staff, etc)

25. Both Workforce Development and
Economic Development
Work with same employers
Assure employers have trained workforce
Use labor market information (career cluster studies)
Entrepreneurship support

26. Work with same employers???
Customer Resource Management (CRM)
Shared database to coordinate contact with
businesses
Examples: Zoho, Salesforce , Sage, ACT!,
Goldmine, Microsoft Dynamics,

27. Mobilize Eastern Maine
How many jobs created
How many jobs retained

28. Oh - Penn
Regional labor market planning
Use labor market information
(career cluster studies)

29. Durham, North Carolina
Structural change (WIB Director also
Director of Economic Development)

30. Virginia -CEDS
38 WIBs have participated in CEDS.
WIB Director should be in the CEDS
planning
 WIB Director is a professional planner
 Chairs come and go
 Chairs do not have the depth in workforce system
that the Director has
 Chair is private sector (may have their own agenda)

31. Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
Under EDA - The CEDS should:
1) analyze the regional economy
2) serve as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives
3) develop and implement a regional plan of action by identifying
investment priorities and funding sources.
CEDS integrates a region's human and physical capital planning in
the service of economic development.
CEDS planning committee:
Majority private sector
Public officials
Community leaders
Representatives of workforce development boards
Higher education reps
Minority and labor groups
and Private individuals

32. CEDS Plan of Action
Plan of action:
Promotes economic development and opportunity; including:
Transportation access;
Environmental protection;
Workforce development (consistent with State or local
workforce strategy);
Technology (such as access to high-speed telecommunications);
Balancing of resources through sound management of physical
development;
and obtains and utilizes adequate funds and other resources

33. Entrepreneurial Support
Introducing entrepreneurship
Investing in scalable companies
Access to funding:
o Micro loans
o Venture Capitalists/Angel Investors
o Non-traditional funding opportunities
 New markets tax credits
 Crowd funding
 DPO’s (BALLE – Business Alliance for Local Living Economies)

34. Growth of Gigging….
The new workforce paradigm …
Women now own 29% of businesses in US but
generate 4% of all business revenues… will
own 50% of all business by 2020. How do we
improve their revenue generation?
How do we turn these small start-up businesses
into employers?

35. Preparing for the future
Creative Molecular Economy -
Molecular captures that the future system mirrors biological/organic principles (opposed to
physics principles, the dominate science in the industrial economy).
Molecular encompasses networks, ecosystems, where rigid structure is less effective than
adaptable open structures where more persons can be involved and engaged.
Transformational vs.reforming
What if:
There was a public work system?
There were no more employers…and everyone worked for
themselves?
Training was entirely self-directed?
All types of intelligence were $ equal?
All levels of jobs were equal?

36. Social Media
Use modern strategies of online media
to:
Make conversations more inclusive
(more people involved)
Allow for more robust conversations
(more ideas can be heard/no time
constraints)
Allow for greater collaboration

37. How do we prepare people for
jobs that don’t exist yet?
Adaptable
Technology savvy
Problem solving skills/Critical thinking
Team simulations (experiential learning)
Imagination/Creative thinking
Curiosity
Trust
Transferable skills
Collaborative
Entrepreneurial
ID strengths
In charge of destiny
New thinking for safety nets (health ins, ui)

38. Summary
Workforce development must see themselves
as leaders
Need training/awareness of economic
development (asset-based approach)
Employ collaborative strategies that help
workforce development be seen as planning
leadership (ceds, social media, crm’s, $,
connections, ideas)
Potential systemic or structural changes
Focus on entrepreneurship/business –
JOB CREATION
Future focus

39. NERETA
Currently Linked In groups:
 Linkd.in/nereta.org
 Linkd.in/workforcesurvival
Envisioned to be an online social media site
Increase collaboration, share info on issues and legislation,
promote public image of public workforce system and
support entrepreneurship
Conference for economic and workforce
development professionals in the north east?

42. Contact
Colleen LaRose
Founder
North East Regional Employment and Training Association
Email: Colleen@nereta.org
Phone (908) 995-7718
Cell (908) 239 6030
Website: www.nereta.org
Twitter: @neretaorg
Linked In group: http://linkd.in/neretaorg