Welcome to the Sector Strategies Blog!

Below, you'll find reports, news items and original articles that we think are of particular interest to sector strategy leaders. We encourage you to check in regularly for the latest updates. When you register for the site, you can subscribe to get notifications of updates sent directly to your email inbox. Submissions are encouraged! Just email us with your links, reports, articles, questions, and suggestions for making sectorstrategies.org the best resource for State sector strategy leaders. Lastly, we encourage you to comment on the posts you see here, adding your opinions, insight and experiences.

Blog archive

Involving Employers in Promoting Postsecondary Credentials

Submitted by tcoxen on Mon, 11/02/2009 - 2:01pm

A new report from Workforce Strategy Center (WSC) and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation titled “Employers, Low-Income Young Adults and Postsecondary Credentials,” highlights programs in 14 communities that are successfully addressing the challenge of providing disadvantaged young adults with the technical and postsecondary education that may qualify them for skilled positions.

The Geography of Innovation

Submitted by tcoxen on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 2:22pm

industry clusters

This report from Science Progress (a project of the Center for American Progress) is relevant to states as they think about connecting cluster and sector strategies.

In this paper, we focus on the importance of President Barack Obama’s call for a new federal effort to support regional innovation clusters. We know now—from a solid record of state and local achievements and academic research—that regional innovation clusters are a critical component of national competitiveness. Geographic regions that are bound together by a network of shared advantages create virtuous cycles of innovation that succeed by emphasizing the key strengths of the local businesses, universities and other research and development institutions, and non-profit organizations. Think information technology in Silicon Valley, music in Nashville, manufacturing in the Pacific Northwest, or life sciences in Massachusetts.

Virtual Policy Academy: Webinar Series

Submitted by tcoxen on Wed, 09/23/2009 - 11:03am

Over the nearly-four years of the project, 11 states have participated in in-person policy academies designed to help them grow their capacity to support secctor strategies in their states. Over the past few months, we took this policy academy concept "virtual" with a series of webinars. That series is now complete, and links to the material from all five sessions are below.

Virtual Policy Academy: State Sector Strategies for a Skilled Workforce and a Strong Economy (6/9/09)

Recording: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/State Sector Strategies.wmv

Slideshow: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/State Sector Strategies.pps

Links to resources mentioned in the presentation:

Virtual Policy Academy: Foundations of State Sector Strategies (7/16/09)

Recording: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Foundations of State Sector Strategies.wmv

Slideshow: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Foundations of State Sector Strategies.pps

Virtual Policy Academy: Promoting Regional Economies (8/6/09)

Recording: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Promoting Regional Economies.wmv

Slideshow: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Promoting Regional Economies.pps

Virtual Policy Academy: Sustainability and Impact (8/27/09)

Recording: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Sustainability and Impact.wmv
Please excuse technical difficulties in the recording of this session.

Slideshow: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Sustainability and Impact.pps

Virtual Policy Academy: Selected Topics in State Sector Strategies (9/17/09)

Recording: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Selected Topics.wmv

Slideshow: http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Selected Topics.pps

Job Training that Works: Webinar materials

Submitted by tcoxen on Tue, 08/11/2009 - 3:34pm

NNSP recently held a webinar regarding the recently released Sectoral Employment Impacct Study report from Public/Private Ventures. The study clearly shows that well-implemented sector-focused training programs significantly improve the earnings of low-income, disadvantaged workers and job seekers.

In the webinar, attendees learned about the profiled initiatives, heard from the study’s authors, and discussed how organizations are already using the study to promote their sector initiatives.

Webinar Recording

Slideshow

Report: Job Training That Works: Findings from the Sectoral Employment Impact Study

Virtual Policy Academy Updates

Submitted by tcoxen on Tue, 07/28/2009 - 3:47pm

Materials from the Foundations of Sector Strategies webinar - the first of a series of Virtual Policy Academy webinars - are now available.

Recording:
http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Foundations%20of%20State%20Secto...

Slideshow:
http://www.insightcced.org/uploads/nnsp/Job%20Training%20That%20Works.pps

The next webinar in the series will be held August 6th. Titled "Promoting Regional Economies," it will discuss issues related to adopting and supporting a regional framework for workforce development. Topics will include:

- Promoting Regional Economies – looking beyond geo-political boundaries
- Funding Strategies and Sustainability – funding regions and building capacity
- Data-Driven Decision-Making – using regional labor market and economic data
- Aligning Resources and Strategies – identifying and overcoming barriers

You can register to participate by visiting https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/342244096

tcoxen's blog

Notes from the Sector Strategies Evaluation Discussion Group

Submitted by tcoxen on Mon, 07/27/2009 - 12:24pm

Notes are attached from the fourth call of this ongoing discussion group. The most recent conversation addressed how state evaluation work fits into the national context of better aligned performance measurement across federal agencies, as well as lessons learned and appropriate ways to capture impact on specific industries.

Applying Consistent Performance Measures Across Sector Partnerships

Submitted by tcoxen on Mon, 07/13/2009 - 4:26pm

Using consistent performance measures to evaluate sector partnerships is challenging, when the strength of the sector model is that each partnership is customized to meet employer and worker needs. However, some consistent measure must be applied in order for a state to be able to evaluate the success of its sector strategy as a whole. A group of five states discussed these topics on their call last week, and the notes are attached below.

Measuring Impact on Employers

Submitted by tcoxen on Thu, 06/25/2009 - 11:17am

A focused conversation about measuring the impact of sector partnerships on participating employers was held last week among 5 states (MA, PA, WA, IL and MI). Massachusetts started the conversation with a PowerPoint presentation describing the various data points Commonwealth Corporation captures across their two major sector programs: the Workforce Competitiveness Trust Fund which is multi-sector, and the Extended Care Career Ladder Initiative which focuses on the long-term care industry. Discussion and Q&A about lessons learned and promising approaches across other states followed.

The PowerPoint presentation and a 2-page summary of the call are attached below.