1. Renewing Growth, Renewing Opportunity
An Integrated Approach to Infrastructure Investment, Workforce Development, and Re- Employment
March 9, 2017
Presented by
Brent Orrell
Vice President
Family Self-Sufficiency

2. The Basic Facts
Analysts hypothesize that a decisive factor in President Trump’s victory was the wave of dissatisfaction in states affected by de-industrialization, off-shoring, automation, and displacement of domestic workers by immigrant workers
Trump has called for a variety of policies (trade and immigration restrictions) to slow or reverse some of these trends
He has also called for significant new spending on infrastructure-related projects to restore heavy industry jobs
Electrical Grid Modernization
Transportation
Clean Water
Cyber-Security
Tax Expenditures, Direct Spending, Infrastructure Bank
Presentation Title
11/11/2018

3. The Challenge: Labor Market Constraints on Infrastructure-Led Growth
Proposed investments occur in the context of “full-employment” – 4.3% in January
Virginia rate 3.8%, Fairfax County rate 3%
Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR) at 62%, lowest since 1977
Male LFPR has fallen almost 20 percent since 1950, from 87% to 69%
Equals rates seen during Great Depression (Eberstadt, 2016)
Virginia rate below national average, almost 65%
2 - 7 million prime-age (25-54) men neither working nor looking for work
Demographics, disability, dependency, addiction, criminal records
Industry competing for available, skilled workers
Housing construction unemployment: 5.2%; an additional 500,000 to 600,000 workers needed just to meet anticipated housing demand (Washington Post, 6/07/16)
Utilities: applicants can’t pass drug screen
Industry will chase skills with wages; labor shortages will impede economic growth
Presentation Title
11/11/2018

4. The Infrastructure Conundrum
Reduced immigration + Skilled labor shortage + Infrastructure spending = Inefficiency, Bottlenecks, and Inflation
Presentation Title
11/11/2018

5. Expand the EITC to childless individuals
Policy Solutions
Tailored solutions for skill building aligned to regional economic development patterns
Expand the EITC to childless individuals
Reform child support enforcement to increase access to workforce development services
Expand training and placement for targeted populations (e.g. felony records, limited education and work histories
Leverage infrastructure investments to increase employment opportunities in male-dominated fields
Presentation Title
11/11/2018

6. Port Covington, Baltimore
September 2016 – City of Baltimore approved $535 million in “tax increment financing” for redevelopment of Port Covington 2016
Effort led by Under Armour CEO, Kevin Plank and Sagamore Associates (real estate developer)
Authorizing legislation requires 30% of all new jobs go to Baltimore City residents
“Who benefits?” key question for all major redevelopment projects
ICF contract to develop “workforce intermediary” to recruit, train, place and retain Baltimore residents in Port Covington jobs
Construction and go-forward manufacturing, hospitality and operations/support
Building partnerships with Baltimore faith-based and community organizations for recruitment of job seekers, linking to training resources, referring to employers
Presentation Title
11/11/2018

7. Port Covington Employment Impacts
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8. Types of Projected Port Covington Jobs
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9. Problem Solution ICF Expertise
Infrastructure investments will drive higher rates of economic growth expanding opportunity for workers at all levels of the economy
Insufficient supply of skilled labor currently and in the long-term
Solution
Expand supply of domestic skilled labor and improve workforce participation
Increase labor market participation by workers currently at the margins
ICF Expertise
Effective design and implementation of infrastructure projects
In-depth local/regional labor market and skills-gap analysis
Recruitment, assessment, and referral to training and supportive services
Alignment of workforce development and training resources with identified, employer-driven skills needs
Community outreach and engagement (e.g. fatherhood, FBCO expertise)
Performance measurement and evaluation
Presentation Title
11/11/2018