Successful workforce development programs (WDPs[1]) typically have a strong network of ties in a community, and are equipped to respond to changes in their environments.
[citation needed] The responsibility for work-force development in the United States has rested on the government's shoulders for at least a century, since the advent of public schools.
Economic development practitioners evaluated neighborhoods, cities, or states on the basis of perceived weaknesses in human-resource capacity.
Inner-city residents may not have access to equal education opportunities, and work-force development programs can increase their skill levels so they can compete with suburbanites for high-paying jobs.
Workforce development as of 2016[update] often takes a more holistic approach, addressing issues such as spatial mismatch or poor transportation to jobs.
Sector-based programs may have higher entrance requirements than place-based strategies because their ultimate aim is to aid the sector at which they are targeted, not to increase the general hirability of the most disadvantaged residents.
Sector-based strategies are designed to fit the needs of both industry employers and workers who want to improve their skills and advance their career development.
These partnerships are designed to connect low-income or disadvantaged individuals with employment in jobs that offer the promise of financial stability and significant growth in the industry in the near future.
Employers will be encouraged to participate in activities such as developing curriculum, creating evaluation and assessment tools, and committing to job shadow programs.
In some regions, work force development programs will have to teach basic skills like reading as well as giving instruction in more specialized tasks.
Place-based approaches, which consider the supply side of the workplace (workers), are primarily focused on the characteristics of people in the region or community where the training program will be located.
[4] Place-based strategies often help participants gain initial access to the labor market while addressing other essential concerns to the region, such as housing development or English skills.
In general, place-based approaches aim at training the unemployed workers and enhancing their skills for entering the labor market.
A strong place-based effort will focus on the most pressing needs of local residents, such as physical or substance abuse or financial difficulties, along with providing employment training.
Skills, networks, careers, and collaboration play a key part in the concept and implementation of workforce development programs.
Theories on networks have emphasized the importance of who you know, rather than what you know which is an attributing factor for some labor market inequalities regarding gender, racial minorities, and the poor.
Connecting disadvantaged workers to good jobs is not impossible however, and the Center of Employment Training (CET) in San Jose has found a successful way of operating it.
This guidance on paths and barriers to advancement is especially relevant today, where the practice of internal labor markets is uncommon, particularly among women and minorities.
In the past, advancement often took place in internal labor markets (ILMs) so promotions and upward mobility occurred within the same firm workers were hired in.
City Year fulfills its mission of promoting "civic engagement, not just by its youth corps members but also by corporations and other elements of society".
The jump from transactional to integrative may be hard to measure, but Chief Operating officer of Timberland Jeff Schwartz clarifies the difference.
Under the transactional stage, a board member's work on City Year's financial plans and business policies could count as paid-time community service.
[15] The workforce development system has recently been experiencing increased competition as new actors enter, resources dwindle, performance measures arise, and federal funding decreases.
Though required partnerships sound positive or at least non-competitive, it is important to remember that workforce development agencies prioritize themselves first, as any organization would.
The competition for scarce resources is fierce when trying to accomplish and even surpass new performance measures to secure more funding and stay in business.
[14] Considering there are no short term incentives to reward this front load effort required from companies engaging in collaboration, the motivation to do so is weak.
With a common goal driving the group, there is noticeably increased efficiency in providing services which is why there is a faster return on investments working like this.
This expression of agreement does not do enough to address large governance issues, ensure participation among the collaboration, define leadership, and add more specified accountability measures.