In response to the Great Recession, leaders looked for protective measures against widespread losses within the national economy while also creating opportunities for resilient recovery. Lawmakers enacted the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act to address this need. The law improved the workforce development system overall, including new responsive services, upskilling support (education which corresponds to modern careers), emphasizing public access to information that would allow potential workers to make informed career decisions, and finally data-driven approaches.
That last part turns out to be critical. Moving beyond prior methods of employment support, there is now a focus on predictive analysis to get ahead of supply and demand issues in the job market with data informed workforce development. This approach for instance could be used to identify which industries will be more adversely impacted by aging populations of workers and then help design and model incentives and training paths towards those career paths. As another example, we saw that during the Great Recession and the COVID-19 Pandemic that retirement age professionals take the slowed business activity as a sign to finally retire, leaving gaps in industry. While a system may not be able to predict an infectious disease epidemic, it could give us warning signs as to what our pressing needs will likely be leading up to a downturn. These sort of data-driven workforce analyses are moving further into the mainstream but how will cities embrace this change?
The push to create a data-driven, innovative workforce development program utilizing predictive analytics, macroeconomic indicators, and even data points like availability of public and private transportation is fast becoming the standard for workforce planning, monitoring, and talent tracing. From our traditional K-12 education systems to colleges to alternative programs like coding schools we will grow and trace talent through the pipelines into careers and then analyze career paths and draw predictions and conclusions on how to support economic outcomes beneficial to our citizens and the community. And that is just the beginning; through new smart software tools regions are now adopting innovative layoff aversion systems. At the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, they are working with Dun & Bradstreet’s AI-driven data analytics system to aid in workforce development (How to Create Data-Driven Workforce Programs for WIOA Initiatives). This predictive system has made waves nationwide by identifying at-risk businesses before they get to critical workforce moments. The program has improved these businesses in need by 25% and saved nearly $2.3 billion in economic activity just in Los Angeles County according to Dun & Bradstreet. The program supported the retention of about 12,000 jobs and associated wages in 2014 alone while garnering tax revenues of $209 million for Federal, State, and Local governments. This is how data driven approaches contribute to the well-being of a region with a clear advantage over prior methods.
Maintaining wages and ideally using data to grow employment and wages boosts quality of life, well being, and education, while maintaining safety, health, and environmental standards. Luckily leaders at the City of Memphis, Downtown Memphis Commission, University of Memphis, and The Walk on Union came together with our team at Start Co. in 2018 to begin a strategic assessment and ambitious plan to build the technology infrastructure that would support shared data and predictive system to create a more equitable and sustainable community for all Memphians. Our Catalyst30 plan released in 2020 paves a path for investment in fiber, data, and technology solutions. With this smart infrastructure we can use data to support meaningful job creation, a more inclusive and collaborative society with the right and dedicated workforce contributing to an innovative future.
Sources:
Editors. “How to Create Data-Driven WORKFORCE Programs For WIOA INITIATIVES.” How to
Create Data-Driven Workforce Programs for WIOA Initiatives, Dun & Bradstreet,
5 July 2017, https://www.dnb.com/perspectives/government/creating-job-driven-workforce-programs-for-21st-century-whitepaper.html.
Eyster, Lauren, and Demetra Smith Nightingale. “Workforce Development – Full Report.” Urban
Institute, 25 Sept. 2017,
“LA City Workforce Investment Board Layoff Aversion Program FY2014.” Laedc.org, July 2014,
“Operating Budget Information – City of Memphis – Memphis, TN.” City of Memphis, 10 Sept.