A Playbook for Connecting Economic and Skills Development

Whether the key problem in a local community is a lack of good jobs; a lack of adequate skills; or problems with housing supply; any strategy intended to boost local prosperity should consider both the demand and supply sides of the labor market. In other words, local prosperity is likely to be better promoted by linking skills development and economic development. Place-based strategies, which emphasize the characteristics and meaning of places as a fundamental starting point for planning and development, can yield both private and public gains. Residents will benefit from enhanced human capital, better jobs, and higher incomes. Employers will have access to better-trained workers and other forms of support. As an overarching benefit, communities will enjoy more overall prosperity.

The report covers the following topics:

1. Understanding the data about local economies can show whether communities are best served by creating new jobs, strengthening tech clusters, boosting education or training, or expanding housing supply.
2. Exploring a range of approaches for linking job creation and skills development.
3. Addressing how best to mobilize the right kind of local leadership.
4. Emphasizing the need to understand if place-based strategies are working by integrating data collection, tracking, and evaluation into their community initiatives during the planning stages.

(The report is 31 pages long.)

Chapter 1, Defining Local Needs:

• Data about local economies can show whether communities are best served by creating new jobs, strengthening tech clusters, boosting education or training, or expanding housing supply
• Creating local jobs will be more effective in promoting local projects if an area's residents have the skills to fill these jobs
• Allowing more housing units to be built--even market rate units--can yield more affordable housing for lower income resident as others trade up

Chapter 2, Linking Job Creation and Skills Development:

• Create programs and pathways to employment.
• Catalyze cooperation between education and business.
• Tailor training to employer needs.

Chapter 3, Finding Local Leaders

• Leaders need not only a broad perspective, but also a long-term one, which requires looking beyond what the community currently is and does to what it might be and do in the future with the right allocation of resources and leadership.
• Leaders in the community should include cooperation among businesses, colleges and universities, philanthropies, and residents.

Chapter 4, Evaluating Impact

• Evaluation needs to be built into program design from the very beginning.

• Last Updated:
• Created:
• Resource Publication Date: 2020
• Author(s): T. J. Bartik, B. J. Hershbein, M. Miller-Adams, L. Adams, A. Meyers, B. F. Timmeney
• Funding Source: John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, W.E. Upjohn Institute
• Resource Availability: Publicly available
• Posted by: Wesley Peterson
• Posted in: Workforce System Strategies