At Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, our mission is to catalyze change in educational and labor market systems and to increase economic mobility, particularly for people of color and others historically excluded from opportunities for success. Over the course of 2022, CSW had the privilege to work on more than fifty unique projects, many which continued to advance our mission, values, and focus on racial equity and inclusion. CSW believes that reducing disparities in educational and labor market outcomes for people of color is an economic and social imperative. We are committed to challenging systemic racial inequities in our organization, the field of workforce development, and the labor market more broadly.

In an effort to integrate racial equity and inclusion as a core tenant of our organizational culture, we adopted a revised mission and set of values in 2019 that centers racial equity and inclusion. Operating out of this racial equity lens, CSW has been able to deepen our commitment to creating a society in which every person can thrive. Our work reflects this shift, and we are honored to collaborate with partners and funders who also support racial equity and inclusion. CSW is grateful for the projects we had the opportunity to work on in 2022, and are proud to showcase some of these examples of important work from the last year:

Racial Equity & Inclusion (REI) at CSW

Developed an REI-focused Portfolio

CSW created better project alignment by creating a tool to evaluate RFPs and concepts to ensure the work we create or partner into has REI as a central component. This allows us to be more intentional about engaging with work which advances our REI mission. Additionally, we explicitly incorporated community voice and feedback from the workers and learners most impacted by our work into our projects, to ensure that our recommendations are aligned with the needs of each community. Learn more >>

Improved CSW Organizational Culture

In 2019, CSW created an REI team that meets monthly to further REI learning and tool application for all CSW staff. Members of the REI team rotate, so that all staff may participate. The REI team has worked to facilitate regular staff discussion about how we are embedding REI in our work and identified REI competencies we can continue to develop individually for personal development.

Restructured & Refined the CSW Hiring Process

In 2021, CSW revamped our hiring process to be more racially inclusive and equitable. We continue to refine this work in 2022 with changes including using competency-based job descriptions, removing required education as a hiring parameter, applying broader job announcement placement to reach a wider potential candidate pool, implementing REI focused interview questions to gauge alignment with CSW’s REI-focus and mission, listing salary ranges on job postings, establishing wage ranges by functional levels, using ongoing analysis of national benchmarks for wage ranges, and using a blinded application review and scoring process to reduce candidate bias.

Competencies & Credentials

ACE-UP Community of Practice – Lumina Foundation – Annie E. Casey Foundation (2022-2024)

CSW launched the Advancing Community Equity and Upward Mobility community of practice, aimed at developing strategies community colleges can employ to help their industry partners create more inclusive workplace environments leading to worker retention, advancement, and economic success. Over the upcoming year, CSW will convene the seventeen selected institutions in a series of virtual learning sessions which focus on the five themes of ACE-UP: advancing and institutionalizing equity, aligning policies and practices, enhancing student services, increasing employer engagement, and using data to drive decision-making.  Learn more >>

Alabama’s Occupational Ontology – State of Alabama (2021-2022)

CSW worked with state workforce development and education leaders in Alabama to build a comprehensive dataset of employment and educational-based competencies including profiles for all in-demand occupations. CSW will utilize the analysis to make recommendations which strengthen alignment of educational programs and occupational requirements with the potential to articulate education/employment pathways.

BASIC/Southern Utah University – U.S. Department of Labor (2020-2022)

With a $5.8 million grant and match funding from the U.S. Department of Labor, the Building Apprenticeship Systems in Cybersecurity (BASIC) project was designed to support the development of industry-defined cybersecurity education, training and apprenticeship programs. BASIC addresses the shortage of highly trained and capable cybersecurity talent in the energy sector. BASIC is guided by a consortium of partners working to build a system pathway for current and future cybersecurity workers to begin and enhance their careers. Consortium members include Southern Utah University, Washington State University’s Energy Program, EnergySec, the Regional Education and Training Center, Everett Community College, and Corporation for a Skilled Workforce whose role it was to build a competency model to undergird the new apprenticeship programs.

Credential As You Go – U.S. Department of Education – Walmart (2021-2024)

Since 2021 CSW has co-led Credential As You Go, a national initiative funded by the Institute of Educational Sciences at the U.S. Department of Education, and Walmart. Credential As You Go works to develop systems of incremental credentials within postsecondary education, in which traditional degrees are complemented with a mix of smaller credentials that both communicate what the holder has learned through that module and can be stacked towards a degree or other credential. CSW is partnering with SUNY-Empire State College and the Program on Skills, Credentials, and Workforce Policy at George Washington University to manage this large systems change initiative. Learn more >>

Future Colleges to Enable Youth and Adults for Mobility-Credentials of Value – Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation – University of Pittsburgh (2021-2023)

CSW joined the University of Pittsburgh in implementing it’s Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation supported project: Training Future Colleges to Enable Youth and Adults for Mobility. CSW is helping to determine the capacity of community colleges to partner with dual customer training programs (DCTPs) and bolster industry‐recognized credentials of value for underserved Black, Indigenous, and Latinx youth and adult learners. Specifically, CSW is contributing to the project framework design, assisting with the site selection, advising on the college planning and design, and providing implementation support.

Michigan CTE – Business Leaders for Michigan (2021-2022)

Business Leaders for Michigan engaged CSW to take a comprehensive look at Michigan’s secondary and postsecondary career and technical education (CTE) assets and best in class CTE policies and practices nationally and internationally, all with a lens of understanding how to best leverage a sizeable strategic and equitable investment into Michigan’s CTE policies, programming, and infrastructure. The resulting study assessed how Michigan compares to identified best practices, the challenges within the state, and the opportunities for the future. The findings and recommendations centered on a need for greater equity across Michigan’s CTE systems including improved student outcomes, increasing the upward mobility for students historically excluded from economic advancement, and enabling them to compete for the jobs of the future.

Federal, State, & Local Systems Change

Ability to Benefit (A2B4Equity: Advancing Adults’ Ability to Benefit Through Equitable College Promise Programs) – ECMC Foundation (2022-2024)

In this pilot program, CSW and the ECMC Foundation are using existing or proxy college promise funding to support students without a high school degree/high school equivalency in earning their first 6 credit hours of college. ATB career pathways are designed as “Integrated Education and Training” or IET models, in which adult education is integrated with career and technical education, taught simultaneously rather than sequentially. This model accelerates students’ time to earning a postsecondary CTE credential. This ATB pilot will serve students currently not only under-served in postsecondary CTE, but who are currently not served because they lack a high school degree/high school equivalency. CSW is providing technical assistance to colleges, documenting project activities and learnings, co-authoring the final report, writing blogs, writing a “how-to” guide, and presenting learnings at conferences. Learn more >>

California Workforce Development Board Evaluations – California Workforce Development Board (2017-2025)

CSW has conducted several evaluations and provided technical support to the California Workforce Development Board. CSW was the evaluator for the three previous Regional Planning Implementation initiatives, the America’s Job Center of California system, and the Removing Barriers to Employment initiative. CSW’s support in the CWDB’s Breaking Barriers to Employment Initiative, supported partnerships between community-based organizations and local workforce boards to better serve specific priority populations. In addition, CSW also recently completed the 2022 Evaluation of America’s Job Centers of California, which included extensive interviews with front-line staff from job centers and partner agencies, highlighting the critical importance of comprehensive, ongoing training for such staff. Currently, CSW is the evaluator for the Regional Plan Implementation 4.0 evaluation and the Regional Equity and Recovery Partnership initiative. Learn more >>

Career Pathways Learning Network – United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (2021-2022)

CSW and World Education assisted adult education/literacy providers with incorporating employment and career focus into their programming including career navigation, and contextualized adult education, integrated education and training; providing group and individual organization technical assistance to participating organizations to advance a key employment/career focused project training, and other career-focused strategies; assisting adult education/literacy providers in identifying and strengthening their roles as CBO providers in adult education and training pipelines to public workforce programs, other CBO workforce programs, and community colleges in Metro Dallas; and helping position adult education/literacy providers to strengthen ability to deliver workforce-related outcomes.

Improving Practices & Outcomes

Detroit & Dallas Workforce Benchmarking Network – W.K. Kellogg Foundation – United Way of Greater Dallas (2022-2024)

The Workforce Benchmarking Network Cohort is a peer learning community that allows organizations to dive deep into program data to advance equity, improve outcomes, elevate job seeker voice, & articulate impact to funders. The Workforce Benchmarking Network Cohort provides coaching, peer learning forums and technical assistance over the course of 20 months. Community-based cohorts of providers strengthen their internal data culture and program results through a focus on racial equity, continuous improvement tools and self-assessments, sharing of promising strategies, and individualized technical assistance. CSW is launching two cohorts in Detroit and Dallas in 2023, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the United Way of Greater Dallas, respectively.

Detroit Workforce Leadership Academy – The Ballmer Group – Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation (2022-2023)

CSW, together with the Aspen Institute and funded by Ballmer Group and Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, launched a Workforce Leadership Academy (WLA) in Detroit that builds on key components of previous local academies and other sector and organizational capacity building work CSW has delivered nationally. This program will address the leadership and organizational development needs in the local ecosystem, all in the context of learning more about innovative models for systems change as well as sector and career pathway strategies and practices. Learn more >>

Equity Learning Lab – Siemens (2022)

In partnership with Leung Consulting LLC, CSW convened the Equity Learning Lab (ELL) for six grantees of the Siemens Foundation. It was structured to provide the Siemens Foundation’s 2022 workforce grantees a space to explore the application of a racial equity lens in workforce policy and program design. The 2022 Lab cohort specifically focused on the challenges and opportunities of centering learner voice and lived experiences and the relationship between centering learner voices and advancing equity. Over the course of the Lab, participating organizations grappled with questions like how to ensure diverse representation in learner voices, beyond the high achievers, and how to build and institutionalize practices of centering learner voice both at the intermediary level and at the network/program level.

Early Childhood Education Career Pathways Mapping – Hope Starts Here (2022)

CSW conducted research to support the efforts of Hope Starts Here through the design and development of an Early Childhood Education Career Pathway map, an accompanying wage scale, and best practices to blend and braid funding. Key deliverables for this project included a comprehensive early childhood education career pathway map including job profiles for 12 occupations; off‐ramps into up to 10 aligned occupations; identification of gaps in training/education opportunities and recommendations for type of models to pursue; best practices and recommendations for implementing braiding and blending funds at the state level; and recommended livable wage scale and strategies for shifting industry wages.

Examining Use of Systemic Change Metrics for Improved Program Outcomes – Greater Twin Cities United Way (2022-2023)

CSW is conducting national research on the quantitative and qualitative measures used by workforce service providers that are used to measure systemic change related to racial equity, job quality, and economic mobility. This information will be shared with Greater Twin Cities United Way and its 2022-2025 Economic Opportunity Employment & Training grantee cohort to help them better understand how their outcome metrics align. CSW will also facilitate an in-person grantee discussion of challenges, progress, and lessons for possible local adaptation. Additionally, CSW will provide recommendations and insight as to how others have been able to influence, leverage and change systems by using transformative metrics.

Michigan Landscape Analysis & Assessment – Michigan Justice Fund (2022-2023)

CSW is leading the Michigan Justice Fund’s effort to fill gaps in Michigan’s workforce system that prevent residents with justice-involvement from achieving economic mobility. CSW centers the voice of workers/learners throughout all aspects of project, including through surveys and interviews to identify preferred services and employment programs and occupation interests. Interviews and survey analysis will be supported by a Michigan Justice Fund Fellow, a college student with an interest in policy who was formerly incarcerated. Our findings will directly inform recommendations on the types of workforce services and programs that merit adoption, scaling, or replication in Michigan to help residents with justice-involvement achieve economic mobility. Learn more >>

National Workforce Benchmarking Network (WBN) (ongoing)

CSW works with community-based organizations and other workforce agencies to strengthen their capacity to use data and feedback for evaluation and strategic improvement. Since 2008, the national WBN survey has collected confidential aggregate data from more than 200 organizations about 500+ direct service workforce programs, resulting in the largest dataset of its kind in the country. The WBN data provides field-wide performance benchmarks that are useful reference points for providers, funders, and other stakeholders to assess performance, guide program improvements, and inform local system-level strategies. Learn more >>

Regional Workforce Development Strategy – Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation (2022-2023)

CSW is providing research, analysis, facilitation and strategic advising to support the Regional CEO Group in developing and implementing a structure and strategy for tackling workforce development at a regional level in Southeastern Michigan. 

RespectAbility Disability Employment Services – Network of Jewish Human Services Agencies (NJHSA) (2021 – 2022)

CSW co-developed a Disability Employment Best Practice Guide with NJHSA and RespectAbility for practitioners and funders of employment services for persons with disabilities. CSW surveyed 33 organizations to identify the elements and/or designs of different disability employment program models that could be considered “best practice.” In the guide, CSW provided an analysis and summary of the surveys and follow-up conversations, including participant demographics, funding and partnerships, services provided (e.g., coaching, skills training, work-based learning), and program results including participant employment, starting wages, and retention at 6 and 12 months. Learn more >>

Southeast Michigan Opportunity Youth Regional Partnership – The Ballmer Group (2022-2023)

With funding from the Ballmer Group, CSW is serving as the project manager to support and guide the planning process for a regional, cross-sector partnership to strengthen pathways into education and career opportunities for youth and young adults in SE Michigan, including Opportunity Youth.

Worker/Learner Focused Workforce Benchmarking – Annie E. Casey Foundation (2022-2024)

CSW is advancing the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s workforce system modernization efforts by synthesizing more than two decades of workforce benchmarking experience with key elements of its centering worker/learner voice portfolio. Working closely with an advisory council comprised of participants and alumni of workforce development programs, CSW will convene listening sessions and administer surveys to workers/learners from across the national workforce development ecosystem. Through co-analysis and evaluation of findings, CSW and the advisory council will develop qualitative and quantitative metrics that reflect how workers/leaners define workforce program success and disseminate key learnings through webinars, blog posts, and a final report. Learn more >>

Research & Evaluation

AAR Aviation Maintenance Technician Project – Lumina Foundation (2020-2022)

With funding from the Lumina Foundation, CSW, in partnership with AAR Corporation, supported an initiative to develop and demonstrate how to reduce severe labor shortages faced by companies employing aviation maintenance technicians, using stackable credentials, sharable curriculum and engaging non-traditional candidates to this field. CSW-AAR worked with partner colleges, technical schools, community-based organizations, military transition programs and others to develop a comprehensive program to grow the aviation maintenance technician pipeline and workforce. This work focused on women, veterans, and underserved students. The project also engaged the Office of Community College Research and Leadership to assess the landscape in aviation maintenance and technician programs and better understand efforts that advance diversity in the field. CSW helped to develop aviation maintenance curricula and an instructor’s toolkit with the goal of providing learners stackable credentials that lead to FAA certification plus AAS degree, vetted through an equity lens and based on best practices.

Detroit Workforce Systems Innovation – Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation – JPMorgan Chase Foundation (2021-2022)

For nearly a decade, CSW has been a partner in helping reshape Detroit’s workforce system to better serve Detroit residents and employers needing talent. From research and strategic planning to implementation support, CSW has partnered with the Mayor’s Workforce Development Board, Office of Workforce Development, and Detroit Employment Solutions Corporation. CSW has worked closely with Mayor Duggan’s team on the Detroit workforce system redesign as well as doing substantial research on the Detroit labor market and the workforce development system, both secondary and primary, for the City of Detroit. Our labor market information data collection and reporting for the City of Detroit have included an extensive workforce system mapping project, regular monthly reporting of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the development of employer-validated career pathways that are accessible to Detroiters and pay a living wage, demand research on top industries and occupations, supply research around workers’ skills, among many other projects. We are providing monthly LMI data reporting, detailed research on local and regional talent supply and demand to inform strategy development, as well as best practice research.

Flint Smarter Manufacturing Educational Pathways Mapping – LIFT (2021-2022)

CSW partnered with LIFT, a National Manufacturing Innovation Institute, to facilitate the convening of regional stakeholders to map educational pathways related to careers in three emerging smarter manufacturing technologies most critical to the region – Digital Twin, Advanced Analytics, and Robotics. To support this effort, CSW was asked to develop youth, parent, and learner supportive tools and outreach materials related to the three occupational areas to better prepare students for careers in advanced manufacturing, with a particular emphasis on ensuring underrepresented groups have greater opportunities. CSW also profiled the competencies associated with the smarter manufacturing occupations and conducted an asset mapping exercise to identify smarter manufacturing curricula in the Flint region to support local learners and workers in developing these competencies.

Give Merit Alumni Success Program Evaluation – FATE (2022)

CSW assessed the efficacy of internal evaluation processes utilized by the FATE Give Merit Alumni Success Program by providing third-party evaluation support, data analyses, and reporting. In addition, CSW utilized qualitative methods to assess program outcomes for postsecondary enrollment and workforce participation; alumni growth in key domains identified in the program’s theory of change; and measure the overall impact of FATE participation on participants’ development as young adults.

Labor Force Study – Business Leaders for Michigan (2022-2023)

Business Leaders for Michigan engaged CSW to analyze the composition of who is not in Michigan’s labor force and to develop recommendations for actions that could increase labor force participation in the state. CSW broke down the mix of those not in the labor force by demography, compared Michigan’s labor force participation factors to those found in other states, and provided a set of potential actions to take. Those options included relevant promising practices and an estimation of the scale of impact for each action.

LISC SNAP E&T Partnership Grant Evaluation – USDA (2021- 2023)

CSW is conducting a formative evaluation of LISC’s USDA-funded SNAP E&T Partnership Grant using a culturally responsive and racial equity and inclusion lens. CSW is assessing the impact of LISC’s strategy for engaging, building capacity, and measuring the success of affiliates in becoming SNAP E&T third-party providers. Evaluation activities include detailed evaluation planning, surveys, key informant interviews, and data collection and analyses of the affiliate engagement and participation. CSW provides regular reporting of findings in partner meetings as well as through detailed evaluation reports.

Michigan Agriculture and Food Systems Workforce Advancement Initiative – USDA (2021–2025)

CSW, in partnership with the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Michigan State University Center for Regional Food Systems are leading a USDA-funded initiative to develop the agricultural career pathways and supports needed by Michigan Agricultural Employers and Farmworkers to fill critical jobs by providing more job-based, experiential learning opportunities and credentials for migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs). This initiative will help to develop innovative educational programs in agriculture systems and technology, meet Michigan food business needs to remain viable with a more reliable supply of skilled workers, and support MSFWs who want more work stability and economic opportunity by developing the skills needed to advance. CSW’s role on this project includes serving as the overall program coordinator of the project as well as leading the evaluation of the initiative. Learn more >>

Oakland80 Initiative (2021-2023)

CSW is assisting Oakland County with strategy consultation to support implementing its Oakland80 initiative to increase postsecondary attainment to 80% by 2030, including through supporting the selection of project measures and developing a network of career navigators. Oakland80 also contracted with CSW to collect detailed data on the characteristics of Oakland residents without postsecondary education to support the data-informed development of postsecondary attainment strategies to be implemented by the initiative. This project has included in depth American Community Survey Public Use Microdata data collection and analyses, other local educational data collection, best practice research, and stakeholder engagement to validate research and inform recommendations, including community focus groups. The project will result in a public-facing report that outlines the data collection and the prioritized strategies that will support the initiative’s 80% goal.

Optimization of the Utilization of Financial Aid in the Pennsylvania Workforce System – State of Pennsylvania (2021-2022)

In 2021 and 2022, CSW and the Pennsylvania Workforce Development Association (PWDA) partnered on Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry Bureau of Workforce Development Administration funded project to assess the usage of student financial aid in the public workforce development system in 4 regions and explore recommendations to improve utilization throughout the state. The assessment used a culturally responsive and racial equity and inclusion lens to inform evaluation activities, including a workforce participant survey, key informant interviews with workforce participants, key informant interviews with workforce development staff, and key informant interviews with financial aid staff. The project culminated in a white paper that outlined findings as well as recommendations of benefit to policymakers, educators, and workforce development professionals on how higher education’s financial aid system is and can be more utilized within workforce development.

Pathways for Black Healthcare Workers Project – University of Michigan (2022-2023)

CSW is supporting a University of Michigan research project focused on studying the advancement of Black healthcare workers. Black individuals are overrepresented in the nursing and/or medical assistant field and underrepresented in the higher wage clinical position of registered nursing. This study aims to explore the advancement experiences of Black healthcare workers across the country as well as needed supports for workers to make advancement into higher paid clinical positions a reality. CSW is assisting the project with workforce development context is included through our understanding of healthcare pathways, workforce development supports, and barriers.

Strategy Support and Workforce Study – Michigan Office of Labor and Economic Opportunity (2021 – 2023)

CSW is providing the Michigan Office of Labor and Economic Opportunity with strategic counsel and support as they operationalize their strategies to support Michiganders in building the skills needed for sustained employment, meaningful career pathways, and economic mobility. Most of this work includes supporting the goals of the Michigan Workforce Development Board and its committees. Recently, the Michigan Office of Labor and Economic Opportunity also contracted with CSW to conduct a workforce study that reviews Michigan’s current workforce challenges, past workforce development strategy, potential future strategies to addresses today’s challenges, readiness to implement needed changes, and recommendations for moving forward.

The Tulalip Tribes/Everett Community College, IT Program – NACTEP (2018-2022)

In 2022, CSW completed a 4-year U.S. Department of Education’s Native American Career and Technical Education Program – funded evaluation of The Tulalip Tribes and Everett Community College IT Program. CSW used a culturally responsive and racial equity and inclusion lens to inform the design of the formative and summative evaluation activities. Through the evaluation, CSW collected qualitative and quantitative data to provide feedback and analysis on implementation for continuous quality improvement and reporting to the Department of Education.

Territory Analysis – Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont (2022-2023)

CSW has launched a project with Goodwill Industries of the Southern Piedmont to conduct a territory analysis assessing population growth, changes in demographics, industry and job trends, and partnership opportunities. The purpose of the study is to help inform the territory strategy—where and how to expand workforce development services. CSW is gathering community feedback on needs and opportunities in high growth counties. The information will be used to inform a long-range strategic plan which will guide the organization’s work through 2029.

Trauma & Resilience at Work

Healing Centered Restorative Engagement – Growth Partners – New Hampshire Technical Assistance Center (2022-2023)

CSW has partnered with Growth Partners, contractor for the New Hampshire Technical Assistance Center on substance use disorders, to pilot the Healing Centered and Restorative Engagement model with two substance use disorder treatment centers in the state. Each center will engage in training, workshops, and coaching for a year to cultivate an organizational culture of being trauma-informed, resilience-building, and healing-centered.

Integrating Resilience-Building Strategies – AARP Foundation (2022-2023)

CSW is working with the AARP Foundation to conduct a needs assessment and providing technical assistance on strengthening resilience-building strategies into the organization’s workforce development programs for older workers.

Trauma-Informed Training and Resilience-Building Strategies – Detroit Workforce Development Board (2021-2023)

CSW has been providing training on trauma and resilience to the 300 staff in the Detroit at Work public adult workforce development system, as well as coaching to the nine adult career centers to help cultivate organizational cultures of being trauma-informed and resilience-building. Additionally, we started working with the eight youth career centers in the city. A key component of this initiative is the Trauma and Resilience Ambassadors—a handful of staff and managers from each adult career center who help keep a focus on trauma and resilience between trainings and coaching sessions. Ambassadors  facilitate discussions about trauma and resilience in staff meetings, lead mindfulness and other resilience-building practices, help orient new staff to trauma-informed and resilience-building practices, and have created “oasis spaces” in some career centers to provide staff with a calming space. 

Workforce Development Trauma Training – United Way of Metropolitan Dallas (2022)

CSW provided the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas with trainings on trauma and resilience for Dallas-area adult education and workforce development organizations. The first session on “Trauma and Resilience 101,” provided an overview of these topics. The second training on “Resilience-Building Strategies” was a deeper dive into a variety of resilience-building strategies staff could adopt for themselves, their customers, and their colleagues. These training sessions were followed optional “office hours,” in which training participants could ask additional questions and further process the training information.