1. Workforce Innovations 2004
San Antonio, TX
July 19th - 3:30 PM
Market-responsive Education & Employment Training System
A ‘MEETS’ Overview
Jeffrey M. Gabriel, Project Manager
The Jacob France Institute
University of Baltimore
Baltimore, MD
SHOULDN’T NEED TO BOTHER, SINCE JONATHAN WILL BE INTRODUCING. PAY ATTENTION TO SEE WHERE HE LEAVES OFF AND WHAT AND WHERE MY TRANSITION INTO THE PRESENTATION SHOULD BE
My background…
Worked in workforce development at the local level for fourteen years
Started with the Phila. PIC
Worked for two local workforce development entities in Massachusetts- most recently as a planner for a workforce investment board…
SO, since this project is designed to serve the folks who do what I used to do, I’m hoping that my perspective will be helpful

2. What is ‘MEETS’?
A pilot project sponsored by the Office of Policy Development, Evaluation and Research (OPDER) and the Business Relations Group (BRG) of USDOL/ETA
Mission:
Support BRG’s charge to meet the workforce development needs of business
‘Demand driven’, through use of market-based data- LED
Support HGJTI by highlighting targeted industries
Mission…
AFTER 1st 2 bullets…This joint sponsorship means that, in this project, data is the primary tool in improving the workforce development system’s ability to serve businesses. IN FACT, the point of the project name was that we wanted a system that “meets” the needs of both businesses and workers.
3rd bullet…by looking at the Department’s High Growth industries initially, we will begin to understand how this project and LED data can be used to identify industry growth and worker opportunities 2

3. Project Goals
Develop enhanced labor market information products that will support local workforce decision-makers
WIBs and Career Centers
Community colleges
Economic development entities
Businesses
Part of the SAME SYSTEM…public and private side…
Workforce Boards and Career Centers
Identify where opportunities lie for job seekers
Guide decisions about investments in industries and training opportunities
Gather information that will help serve targeted groups
Community Colleges- learn where they need to focus energies in terms of program development…
MARKETING to targeted learners…
Economic Development personnel- understand growth/decline of industries which impact local economy
As I heard one Labor Market Information representative comment at a conference last week, we (the public side) need to be able to market our services and information better to them-
WE HOPE MEETS MIGHT BE AN EXAMPLE OF THAT (unbundling and/or repackaging)
Businesses themselves- observe trends in their own industries to see where, as individual businesses, they stand versus their competitors- and if we can offer them age and gender information not previously available, maybe that will serve as a good conversation starter between and among all these parties… 3

4. Project Goals (continued)
Promote LED use
Highlighting age and gender breakdown capacity
Emphasize historical trends
“Story-telling” approach
Promote and support state LMI shops
They get time and resources- an LED “jump start”
We get critical input and guidance
Promote…states don’t have the resources to dive into LED the way that might otherwise be able to- we can jump start that effort by working with states on this project..
This partnership is huge in the project in that states can help us make sure that what MEETS is doing is complementary to other products that states are producing- and helping us avoid duplication overlap 4

5. What we’ve been up to
State partner selection- California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Maryland
Local pilot site selection
Two sites per state
A “representative” sample
WIBs designated as local points of contact
Representative…mixed in terms of size, urban/rural
WIBs…ideal as point of contact because of their “convener” role, where they bring other workforce development partners to the same table regularly… 5

6. What we’ve been up to (cont’d)
Obtaining data/running/graphing
States provided QWI files
JFI staff did the data queries and the graphing and chart design of selected QWIs
Sample product developed for one of the MEETS local pilot sites
Presentation to Maryland LMI staff
Are we telling the story in a meaningful way?
(Last bullet)…which we’ll see a piece of shortly…
PRESENTATION…
NEXT, we’ll be doing similar ‘focus-group-type’ exercises with our locals to get at a more pointed question: Are we telling a meaningful story? 6

7. Next Steps
Production of profiles for all pilot areas, and review of products with state and local personnel
Refinement of products as needed
Having state and local partners assist with dissemination
Production…taking it to a broader audience to test it even further
Refinement…finding out what the “value-added” is…ALSO, we’ll see how local needs can vary, and how versatile the product really is
Dissemination…in this case, we mean locals helping us to ‘spread the word’ both within the state and at national forums. Again, this is where we think having that representative group of local areas involved helps us speak to everyone about the project… would be very powerful 7

8. A Peek at a Sample Product
Actual “picture” of one of our partner states’ local pilot sites
Some terminology changed to be more “user friendly”
County level, 4-digit NAICS coded data on “Health Services”
Terminology isn’t bad, but as a former local, it didn’t come to me automatically- so we want to ensure clarity at all costs… 8

9. We looked at this as a first chapter, first page- Net Job Flow…is there growth or not? Surprise…
I only wanted to include 3 slides, but I couldn’t leave this one out… 9

10. Here’s how we arrive at the numbers from the first chart
Points out how much opportunity can exist within an industry even during periods of high job loss…worth mentioning feedback from DLLR on this re: locals…
HOWEVER, it still doesn’t answer the question of WHY, that the first graph raises… 10

11. Looking at three significant industry groups…we see that one Industry Group- Med. & Surg. Hospitals- accounts for all the job loss in Health Care…from the size of the number, we can infer that most other industry groups prospered in addition to the two others shown 11

12. This is a busy graph, but let me take you through it…(in your handouts)……different thoughts- inequitable wages ?, occupational differences, BUT ALSO, female physicians with different hours 12

13. For More Information Jeffrey M. Gabriel, Project Manager
The Jacob France Institute
University of Baltimore
1420 N. Charles Street
Baltimore, MD
(410)
If you would like more information, I’d be happy to talk with you…
Also, if you would like to check out some related things we’re doing- including some things more specifically related to WIA customers and One Stop services… ANATOMY PROJECT? 13