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issue 16 - November 2007 |
kathy.sweeney@state.mn.us |
In this Issue:
- 12th Annual Minnesota Development Conference: McElroy Speaks about SEED Initiative
- WIB Members Honored as Visionaries in Workforce Development
- Wrap-up of Competitiveness Forums
- Conference Summary: Jolly, Bancroft, Veeck, Inspire Participants to Move Forward
- Clusters and Sectors: What’s the Buzz About?
- Pilot Program Equips Dislocated Workers with Tools to Land New Job
- DEED Appoints Burke Murphy as Regional Administrator for the Twin Cities Metro Area
- Minnesota Manufacturers Look For High-Performing Workers
- U.S. DOL Approves Minnesota’s WIA Unified Plan
12th Annual Minnesota Development Conference: McElroy Speaks about SEED Initiative
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Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development Commissioner Dan McElroy spoke about two initiatives at the 12th Annual Minnesota Development Conference: Harnessing Minnesota’s Ingenuity (September 25-27, 2007) in Brooklyn Park. The first initiative is dubbed SEED – Strategic Entrepreneurial Economic Development, focusing on cultivating business growth especially in rural Minnesota. The initiative was unveiled by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on September 25. Gov. Pawlenty is proposing an infusion of $20 million, and an additional $50 million in one-time bonding to support enduring growth for Minnesota’s rural communities.
Growing Rural Minnesota with SEED
Commissioner McElroy said the SEED initiative would, if passed by the legislature in 2008:
- Develop and grow entrepreneurs through a new office of entrepreneurship, increased international trade opportunities and business counseling and advice.
- Bring new capital for rural businesses by adding a new tax credit for investors, starting up a Rural Enterprise Micro Loan fund and a small Business Product Development Grant Program.
- Sustain competitive advantage for rural Minnesota. Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) would be updated and enhanced, Main Street Minnesota Grant would help revitalize downtowns in “targeted rural opportunity communities,” and a new Infrastructure Financing Program would help more small cities with critical infrastructure needs.
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View a brochure about SEED at www.positivelyminnesota.com/PDFs/SEED-Brochure.pdf.
Furthermore, Commissioner McElroy and Gov. Pawlenty will be holding briefings across the state about the SEED initiative. The first two were held in Cloquet and Little Falls in early October. More meetings will be added statewide throughout the fall. A schedule will be posted in November at www.positivelyminnesota.com (click on the SEED icon). No pre-registration is required to attend these briefings. You are encouraged to attend a meeting about SEED and tell your legislators to support the initiative.
Framework for Integrated Regional Strategies (FIRST)
Commissioner McElroy also said that DEED will offer FIRST planning grants to help develop regional strategic collaborations. DEED will award up to eight FIRST grants of up to $50,000. Collaborative groups that apply should include K-12 and higher education, adult basic education, workforce and economic development, private industry, and other interested partners. For more details about the FIRST Regional Planning Grants go to the Request for Proposal at www.positivelyminnesota.com/workforce/first/index.htm.
WIB Members Honored as Visionaries in Workforce Development
Three members of local Workforce Investment Boards were recognized in the award of seven Minnesota Vision Awards at an evening banquet during the 12th Annual Minnesota Development Conference in Brooklyn Park on September 26. They are: Sharon Bredeson, Trish Taylor and Mike Valentine.
Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) Commissioner Dan McElroy said the winners serve as positive role models and champions in their respective fields.
"Each of them embodies the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship in economic development, workforce development, and education," said Commissioner McElroy.
This is the fourth year that development conference sponsors have presented the Minnesota Vision Awards, which recognize Minnesotans who constantly seek new ways to innovate and who bring an entrepreneurial spirit to their development activities.
The three WIB members who were honored are:
Sharon Bredeson (pictured) is a member of the Governor's Workforce Development Council and has served on the Minneapolis Workforce Investment Board for twenty years, spending most of this time on its Dislocated Workers committee. In 1979 she founded Staff-Plus, a temporary and permanent placement agency in the Twin Cities area, and has placed more than 30,000 Minnesotans in jobs. Additionally, she has committed more than 35 years to building workforce, economic and individual prosperity for Minnesotans through her volunteer service, serving on regional and international better business bureaus and the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce. Bredeson has been recognized with numerous honors for her leadership and service. She was inducted into the American Staffing Association Hall of Fame as an Industry Leader and into the University of Minnesota Athletic Association's Hall of Fame for scholarship fundraising. She is immediate past chair of the Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Bureau and a former Trustee of the College of St. Scholastica. She is a member of the Women's Economic Roundtable as one of Minnesota's top 100 leaders.
Bredeson was nominated by the Governor's Workforce Development Council.
Trish Taylor is chair of the Central Minnesota Workforce Investment Board and represents private industry. Taylor is the co-owner of Taylor Land Surveyors, a small business of 10 employees located in Monticello, Minnesota. Taylor recently concluded a two-year term as the chair of the Minnesota Workforce Council Association, which represents the interests of local elected officials, board chairs, and staff of the local workforce service areas. Taylor, an appointed member of several committees of the Governor's Workforce Development Council, also serves as a member of the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Board; National Association of Workforce Boards; and National Workforce Association. She has been involved in several national projects recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor. The Wright County Economic Development partnership also has honored her as Wright County Citizen of the Year. In addition, Taylor has volunteered with other community organizations including the Monticello Hospital Board, the Community Action Board, the Youth Hockey Board; the Children's Program of Northern Ireland, and Trinity Lutheran Church.
Taylor was nominated by the Minnesota Workforce Council Association.
Mike Valentine (pictured), executive director of the Two Harbors Development Commission, has been active in economic development in Northeast Minnesota for many years, advocating regional partnerships. Valentine is a visionary and mentor on economic development strategies and was instrumental in the start-up of one of the area's first business incubators as well as a business retention and expansion program used as a model throughout the region. Valentine is a former chair and founding member of the Iron Range Economic Alliance, a graduate of the Blandin Community Leadership program, and former chair of the Two Harbors Development Commission. He currently serves on the Northeast Minnesota Workforce Investment Board, the Northland Connection Advisory Board, the Do I.T. Advisory Board, and the Northeast HOME Consortium. He is the chair of the Two Harbors Star City Commission, and the marketing committee of the Iron Range Economic Alliance. Valentine is also active in the Lion's Club and received the 2005 state Helen Keller Award for his outstanding work and dedication.
Valentine was nominated by the Economic Development Association of Minnesota.
The other winners are Catherine Jordan, John Ostrem, Yvonne Cheung Ho and Judy Mortrude. For information about them view a press release at www.positivelyminnesota.com/news/release/2007/bus27Sep07dcv.htm.
Congratulations to Sharon, Trish and Mike on their outstanding achievements!
Wrap-up of Competitiveness Forums
The SEED and FIRST initiatives couldn’t have been made without hearing from those who attended the Competitiveness Forums this past summer. Commissioner Dan McElroy reported that 900 people attended one of the sessions, while 6,000 invitations were sent. Commissioner McElroy shared overall opinions from participants who attended the forums during the 12th Annual Minnesota Development Conference. These include:
- Partnerships are key to Minnesota’s competitiveness. Participants strongly emphasized the value of working together to support a better economy.
- Minnesota’s regions are interconnected and complex economies. Attendees have great pride in their local communities and a commitment to make them better.
- Regions see themselves as having distinct competitive advantages, ranging from outdoor attractions and clean air to low crime, short commutes or urban amenities.
- DEED should focus on outcomes rather than methods.
- Wealth creation and the long-term sustainability of employment may be more important than the number of new jobs created.
- Attendees are concerned about the assumption by young people (and their parents) that they will need to move away from rural Minnesota to have opportunities in life.
- To meet the needs of business for skilled workers, there will need to be more options for older workers, perhaps in new and different ways, such as filling roles as mentors, job coaches, teachers or part-time workers.
- Communities want and need more support for entrepreneurship and small business development.
- Communities want more state, regional and local investment in infrastructure of all types in support of a strong quality of life.
- Communities want to preserve and enhance key programs including JOBZ, and the Job Skills Partnership.
- Education and workforce policy should be better aligned from K-12 through higher education. The link between school and work needs to be stronger.
- DEED should help communities develop strong and comprehensive regional strategies for economic and workforce development. (DEED’s own strategy should be clearly articulated.) Most regions of Minnesota do not have an integrated strategy for workforce development, economic development and education.
Thank you to all of you who attended and provided important input!
Conference Summary: Jolly, Bancroft, Veeck, Inspire Participants to Move Forward
“…The conference was inspiring. Each keynote speaker had a personal story to tell which inspired me to give more of myself. The speakers spoke from their heart … and what comes from the heart reaches the heart.” --- Peggie Hicks, Employment and Training Coordinator, DEED.
More than 400 participants gathered for the 12th Annual Minnesota Development Conference: Harnessing Minnesota’s Ingenuity at the Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park (September 25 – 27). The sessions about the SEED and FIRST initiatives, as well as results from the Competitiveness Forums were featured highlights, but the conference offered attendees much more. The event featured a day and a half of workshops, presentations and break-out sessions. It also included an optional reception/networking event that included the world renowned exhibit of Pompeii.
Presentations by Dr. Eric Jolly, president of the Science Museum of Minnesota, Polar Explorer Ann Bancroft, and Mike Veeck, owner of the St. Paul Saints were high points.
Jolly says everyone can make a difference by helping a student
Jolly focused on ways we can strengthen education foundations of Minnesotans to continue to produce a quality workforce. He noted that the challenge to Minnesota and our nation is great. click here to read more…
Polar explorer says when you don't succeed, there's often a silver lining
Bancroft, a former elementary school teacher, said that in order for her to gain real fulfillment from her Arctic exploration, she needed to combine her love of the outdoors and adventure with her passion for teaching students. She described how she brought educating youth into her Arctic exploration experience. During her presentation, she illustrated the many challenges – physical and emotional – she had to overcome in order to meet her goal of leading the first all-female team from one coast of Antarctica to the other. click here to read more…
St. Paul Saints owner says failure is OK: What counts is one's reaction to it
Mike Veeck, a part-owner of the Saint Paul Saints, shared his story of successes and failures and how he continued to handle difficult times in his career, finally coming out on top with his Saint Paul Saints baseball team in the Northern league (1993-2005). (In 2006, the team was a founding member of the American Association.)
“Most everyone said we wouldn’t succeed with a minor league team because the Twins were based here. Well I didn’t listen. Instead I moved forward.” click here to read to the end of the story…
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Pictured: Dr. Jolly speaks to attendees about ways we can strengthen education foundations of Minnesotans to continue to produce a quality workforce. |
Pictured: Ann Bancroft addresses the attendees about her explorations and overcoming challenges. |
Clusters and Sectors: What’s the Buzz About?
There seems to be confusion among many of us about definitions of clusters, sectors, sector approaches, and cluster approaches. So I interviewed an expert: Regional Analysis and Outreach Unit Supervisor Kyle Uphoff to try to make the concepts more understandable.
Q: What is an industry?
A: An industry is the foundation or building block of both sectors and clusters. It is a collection of firms that create a single product line or line of services. The North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) is used to define industries. It can compare very generalized groupings such as the manufacturing sector (designated by 2-digit NAICS codes “31-33”) or very detailed groupings such as NAICS 336111 for Automobile Manufacturing. Automobile manufacturing is comprised of establishments primarily engaged in manufacturing complete automobiles or manufacturing automobile chassis only. For more information about NAICS go to www.census.gov/epcd/www/naics.html.
Q: What is a sector?
A: A sector usually designates a grouping of related industries, although the terms, industry and sector can be used interchangeably. A sector is a group of firms and other entities engaged in the same general type of economic activity. Broadly speaking, the manufacturing sector is a very large group of industries engaged in producing goods. It can also be an industry subsector, such as Transportation Equipment Manufacturing (NAICS code 336) that produces equipment for transporting people and goods. That sector might produce automobiles, airplanes, boats or ATVs. While sectors produce goods for a common general purpose they may not share workforce or other resource needs.
Q: What is a cluster?
A: A cluster is the “systematic relationships” of the firms in a particular industry or sector and its supply chain. The supply chain includes everything from production processes, core technologies, natural resource requirements, skill/workforce requirements to distribution channels.
Take for example the automobile manufacturing industry. It produces its products by using goods and services in other sectors and industries of the economy. The automobile industry may purchase goods from a number of other sectors so that it can produce automobiles. It may purchase tires for its cars, glass for its windows, vinyl and leather for its interior, paint for its exterior, steel for its body, and engines for it to run. It might also rely upon service-providing firms in design, legal, information technology or advertising that have come to provide services specific to the needs of the automotive industry.
The cluster is defined to a specific region where relationships between firms and employees have developed. While firms, industries and sectors represent the formal building blocks of the cluster, these building blocks are connected by common markets and common needs around workforce and technology. The common workforce needs of these various firms result in relationships with training institutions or other entities that support the work of the cluster.
These various industries (or sectors) make up the cluster for automobile manufacturing. Click here to view chart.
Q: Why focus on a cluster approach?
A: The cluster approach looks for industries with competitive advantage. These include looking for industries with greater market share, great concentration or faster growth than similar industries for the U.S. as a whole. Once the industries are identified, the cluster approach suggests that supporting the entire supply chain will help that industry achieve even greater competitive advantage.
Q: Why focus on a sector approach to workforce development?
A: Historically, employment and training was supply driven – within reason, training was provided in whatever area the potential worker wanted. The sector approach to workforce development takes a more integrated, forward-thinking approach by first identifying key industries or sectors and identifying their current and future workforce and skill needs. Then training is developed to meet that demand.
Q: What are the key activities for sector strategies?
A: They do the following:
- Identify specific, critical industries and one or more employers within the industry.
- Support regional collaboration across systems for industry analysis, planning, and implementation.
- Encourage regional partnerships among employers (in an industry), post-secondary education, employment and training providers.
- Focus on occupations in which workers can achieve self-sufficiency, and occupations leading to them by creating new pathways to good jobs in the industry.
Q: What is a sector strategy?
A: Sector strategies are regional partnerships that bring together local education and training, businesses, and community infrastructure to respond to the workforce needs of an industry. They target a specific industry, and engage employers within that industry. The purpose is to strengthen that industry’s competitive edge in the global economy, and to leverage and align public and private resources that mutually benefit workers and employers. Sector initiatives are intended to remove bottlenecks that inhibit recruitment, hiring, or training in an industry.
Q: What are cluster approaches?
A: Industry cluster approaches are regional systems of communication and collaboration that support a concentration of companies and industries. These are interconnected by the markets they serve and the products they produce, plus the networks of suppliers and foundations in the region such as universities, capital, physical infrastructure and skilled labor. Industry cluster groups provide access to more suppliers, customized support services, skilled labor, and the transfer of industry-specific knowledge and innovation. Firms benefit from the association.
The State of Oregon is focusing their economic development strategy on clusters. For more details about clusters visit www.oregonclusters.org.
Q: Do we need to choose between sector or cluster approaches for workforce development?
A: No. Understanding the key features of sector strategies and cluster approaches are helping Minnesota to design and implement a combined strategy that best uses the advantages of each.
Q: What are the key features of sector strategies and cluster approaches?
A: See the chart below.
| Sector Strategies | Cluster Approaches |
| Have a strong workforce or human resource component. | Have a strong economic development component. |
| Focus intensively on specific industry workforce needs. | Focus on related industries or companies as a group. |
| Identify the skilled labor needs of employers in specific industries as well as the needs of workers to obtain and keep good jobs. | Support the competitive advantage of an industry. |
Pilot Program Equips Dislocated Workers with Tools to Land New Job
A new pilot program to help workers identify and transfer skills to high-demand occupations and industries was launched at the WorkForce Center in Burnsville on October 3. The program targeted dislocated mortgage workers and focused on transferable skill identification, job opportunities in financial services, and practical job seeking advice.
“The program for dislocated mortgage workers can serve as a model for assisting workers dislocated from other industries,” said Jeff Nelson, financial services industry specialist.
“I was asked to speak to a job club about the status of the mortgage industry because the group included several dislocated mortgage workers, but I thought it would be preferable to develop a training program that could help them find a new job,” said Nelson. As a result he developed a practical three-part presentation designed to help dislocated mortgage workers find jobs.
Part of the 90-minute program consisted of a presentation by Jean Abels, a job counselor in the DWP Program at the Burnsville WFC, who showed participants how to identify the skills a job seeker has. She used the occupation “mortgage processor/loan clerk” as an example, using tools available through ISEEK and O*NET. She demonstrated how identified skills are also used in other occupations, such as bank teller. She also demonstrated how a mortgage loan officer has the skills necessary to become a commercial loan officer at a bank.
Nelson spoke about trends in the financial services industry, using labor market information including job vacancy and employment projections data. He said banking employment has risen 24 percent since 2000. ING Bank of St. Cloud is adding 400 workers, and there is job growth in smaller Minnesota banks as well. He covered projections for each of the industry’s sectors -- banking, insurance, and securities -- along with workforce issues and training solutions.
Susan St. James of Staff Inc. covered job search strategy, development of a self marketing plan, resume writing, networking, using recruiters and interviewing.
“We had resounding success,” said Nelson. “Usually 15 to 20 people attend this job club meeting, but the room held about 30 people.”
Nelson said the next step is to arrange a similar program at the WorkForce Center in Bloomington to serve workers who are being impacted by the recent announcements of layoffs at GMAC Residential Capital.
DEED Appoints Burke Murphy as Regional Administrator for the Twin Cities Metro Area
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Burke Murphy (pictured) recently joined the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) as Minnesota’s metro regional administrator for the seven-county twin cities metro area.
Her key responsibilities include:
- Ensure alignment between policy and practice in workforce development for the seven counties of the metro area.
- Build capacity and collaboration amongst and between DEED, our partners in education, business and the non-profit sector.
- Ensure strategies that support a landscape for competitiveness to form talent-rich regional economies.
“One key goal is to contribute to the development of an integrated state-wide strategic cluster-approach to workforce and economic development,” said Murphy.
Prior to her appointment as metro regional administrator, she served as the economic development education specialist with the State and Local Policy Program at the Humphrey Institute, University of Minnesota. Murphy worked with Senior Fellow Lee Munnich in delivering the first professional development cluster training to DEED based on Porter’s Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC): Firms, Clusters and Economic Development graduate course. Murphy, along with a team, is leading a second round of the MOC cluster training to DEED and its Workforce Investment Act (WIA) partners.
She had also been a consultant for the Pew Center on the States contributing to the most recent National Governors Association publication, "Investing in Innovation," a Governor's guide for strategic investment of research and development dollars. View the report at www.pewtrusts.org/pdf/NGA_Report.pdf.
“I am enthusiastic about learning from the WIB members and staff and exchanging knowledge and experiences so we can do our best to build economic vitality and strategic competitiveness,” said Murphy. “"Our aim is to invest in and support the growth of a high wage, highly skilled workforce.”
Minnesota Manufacturers Look For High-Performing Workers
A “high-performance workforce” is the number one factor for success, say 66 percent of Minnesota manufacturers that responded to a newly released survey of the state’s manufacturing firms, by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED).
“Boundless opportunities exist for manufacturers to build a workforce to sustain their business and the overall industry,” said DEED Commissioner Dan McElroy. “The information gained from this survey will help the State of Minnesota, local governments, the educational system and other service providers align and prioritize services and support to Minnesota manufacturers.”
Among key findings:
- Workforce shortages—now and predicted three years into the future—are most apparent in Northwest and Southwest Minnesota. Specifically, 62 percent of Northwest Minnesota respondents and 63 percent of Southwest Minnesota respondents said they were experiencing a moderate or serious workforce shortage.
- Workforce shortages were highest for skilled production and scientist and engineering positions; lowest in low-skilled production and management and administration.
- Collaboration with education is viewed as important in developing high-performing workers, yet when compared with national manufacturing respondents surveyed by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), Minnesota manufacturers collaborated far less on educational activities. Some manufacturers did not engage the educational community at all. While 55 percent of respondents had collaborated with the education system to respond to manufacturing workforce issues, 46 percent of respondents had not engaged local schools through youth apprenticeships, internships, job fairs or career days. In contrast, the 2005 NAM survey found 21 percent of respondents of similar size did not collaborate with the educational community.
- Regional differences in manufacturing/educational collaborations were apparent. Metro at 55 percent and Northeast at 54 percent had more respondents indicate no collaboration with education than Central, 38 percent; Northwest, 32 percent; Southeast, 31 percent; and Southwest, 32 percent. “Understanding the Worker Needs of Manufacturers,” the survey of manufacturers with 250 employees or less, was supported by several Minnesota partners, including Minnesota Technology, Inc. (MTI), Padilla Spear Beardsley, Minnesota Precision Manufacturing Association (MPMA), Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and Minnesota Manufacturers Coalition.
For the complete report, see: www.positivelyminnesota.com/facts/mfgworkerneeds.htm. It also contains a link to the survey results by Minnesota Planning Region.
U.S. DOL Approves Minnesota’s WIA Unified Plan
Minnesota's Unified Plan has been approved by the U.S. Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) and is available at: www.positivelyminnesota.com/wia/2007/ Responses to comments received during the 30 day public comment period are also posted at this site.
This plan sets the direction for the state's workforce development system and reports progress on Workforce Investment Act programs, including Adults, Dislocated Workers, Youth, Trade Adjustment Assistance, Rehabilitation Services - General, Rehabilitation Services – State Services for the Blind, Senior Community Service Employment Program, Veterans Employment Services, Migrant Seasonal Farm Workers, Minnesota Family Investment Program (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program), Food Support Employment and Training, Adult Basic Education, and Registered Apprenticeship.
DEED extends thanks for the contribution of the content experts, state agency and local workforce development partners, and interested parties in the plan's development.
As a conclusion to this effort, people are asked to share ideas for improving the plan and planning process with Cristine Leavitt at 651-259-7581 or cristine.leavitt@state.mn.us . Individuals who wish to receive the plan in an alternate format may contact Deanne White at 651-259-7587 or deanne.white@state.mn.us.
Key Program Contacts:
Kathy Sweeney Stephen Larson Connie Ireland Burke Murphy |
Rick Roy Jim Wrobleski Joan Danielson |
Key Publication Contacts:
Kathy Sweeney |
Irene Connors |
We Need Your Feedback
We're trying to make this newsletter as timely and useful as we possibly can and, to accomplish that goal, we need to know what you want to know. We need and welcome any feedback you can offer – especially concerning topics of broad statewide or regional interest to the WIBs and all other partners. To register your questions, comments, complaints and suggestions, simply send an e-mail to Kathy.Sweeney@state.mn.us. We'll do our best to address your concerns directly and use your feedback to help us develop articles for future editions of the newsletter.
Thanks.