Navigating Uncertain Career Paths Larry Good Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 2890 Carpenter Road, Suite 1600 Ann Arbor, MI (734)

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 2 Context for this Session  Career Navigation – Missing Link in Public Workforce Services  Ranks as one of great challenges for workers of all ages and incomes  “Me, Inc.”; “Free Agents for Life” – no longer theory; now reality

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 3 Approaching from Public and Private Sector Experiences  Three segments to this session:  I’ll look at the issues involved from a public sector services perspective  Pam will do the same from the private sector vantage point  We’ll put you to work developing actions

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 4 Context for my comments  Observations based on two sources of input:  CSW’s experience in working with hundreds of one-stops during past several years  What we learned in managing national one-stop benchmarking project for 4 Illinois WIBs.

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 5 Career Navigation Assistance Only Provided to Segments  Typically only provided to people in targeted situations:  Students at community colleges & universities  Enrollees in targeted programs

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 6 Where is career navigation help publicly provided today?  Some one-stops – but very limited at most  Community colleges – usually for students only  Universities – placement offices for students, alumni  Niche programs – for participants

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 7 Not readily available for workers in general  Communities lack centers for career navigation  Private marketplace small, mostly unorganized  On-line tools are vastly insufficient; most need some staff assistance

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 8 One-Stops: Not at the core  At nearly all, limited to intensive service customers – those enrolled in WIA services  Despite rhetoric about universal services, career transition management isn’t at the heart of business plan for most one-stops

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 9 Why?  States and local WIBs struggle to fund one- stop services adequately with limited funds and many competing demands  Placement is seen at the core, not career transitions for those already in the workforce  Even dislocated worker programs tend to emphasize fastest route to new job, not career planning

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 10 A model for one-stop provision of career mgt  Market Center as providing support for career planning  Offer Staff-assisted assessment to all who want it – support with modest fee for those not program-eligible  Employ knowledgeable career advisers, rather than case managers

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 11 Is anyone doing this?  Limited number of sites experimenting  Examples include:  Boston  Pittsburgh

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 12 What prevents One-Stops from Being Career Navigation Sites?  Traditional services compete for resources, staff focus: placement, training  Assumption that what’s truly universal is a self service resource room  Old models: one-stops really about job matching, target group help only

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 13 Taking advantage of new tools  New LMI tools can help – O*Net carries great potential  Lots of books, articles, web sites  Most will need a navigator to help make sense of the tools  Issue for one-stop staff skills, knowledge

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 14 Why does career navigation matter?  Amount of turbulence in labor markets is accelerating, not slowing  Crucial element of ensuring low income workers can move from initial jobs to self-sustaining careers  Economic costs – as well as social – of bad or slow transitions is very high

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce 15 Bottom line for public policy  Placement as primary outcome for one-stops makes no sense in modern labor markets  Challenge for states and communities: are workers equipped to shift jobs and careers when change comes – as it inevitably will?  Whether services provided at one-stops, community colleges or libraries: career navigation help is needed by many; cost of not providing it dangerously high