Access to accurate, easily shared data is an essential resource that helps local and state workforce development leaders and practitioners better understand local demographic trends, business and talent development needs, and their choices for investing limited government resources in workforce development initiatives and programs. With support from JPMorgan Chase & Co., Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) has developed “Understanding Your Community: Labor Market and Workforce Development System Data Toolkit” for mayors’ offices and other workforce development stakeholders to better understand what data and related resources are available to answer questions about local and regional labor markets, existing and emerging talent pipelines, and the workforce development system in their cities and help inform and improve access to critical workforce development resources, programs, and services.
As part of JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s $150 million commitment to Detroit’s economic recovery, CSW conducted research and authored two workforce development system mappings reports, “Detroit’s Untapped Talent: Jobs and On-Ramps Needed” and “Detroit’s Untapped Talent: Partnerships and Pathways to Success,” along with a working paper. These reports are intended to help identify and align different workforce development efforts and investments across the public, philanthropic, and private-sector. They also provide a snapshot of the mix of funding in the system, the range of organizations providing workforce development programs and services, and industry sector and other partnerships in the region.
To develop this toolkit, CSW built upon the research previously conducted in Detroit, reviewed data collection and reporting efforts across the country, and interviewed stakeholders from other cities for their input on indicators and data relevant to their local workforce development systems. CSW combined the feedback collected with our expertise in collecting these data over our 27-year history to develop a comprehensive guide. The toolkit provides guidance on how to answer key questions facing communities about their local workforce development system, including parsing analysis across relevant demographics to better identify disparities.
This toolkit also provides a snapshot of the innovative ways other cities and regions around the country are increasing local capacity to access, apply, and share new sources of data and information to inform and support workforce development decision-making. This toolkit is meant to provide a foundation for regions and cities interested in conducting similar workforce development system research and analyses.
To access the toolkit and its strategies for tailoring data collection and related products to your local workforce development system, please click here.
And, to learn more about similar research and analyses conducted by CSW, including the Detroit Workforce Mapping reports or about the National Workforce Benchmarking Network, the country’s largest national dataset of community-based workforce outcomes, housed at CSW, please click here.
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