Toni Ford, Waubonsee Community College, rocking the new “Data Pro” t-shirt
Emsi2019 was a huge success and an historic event for us!
Our ninth annual users’ conference took place last week, September 16-18, in beautiful Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Clients and data-users hailing from all over the US and Canada came together for three days of keynotes, workshops, and brainstorming together. With over 270 attendees, it was by far our biggest conference to date: 50% bigger than 2018. Many thanks to those of you who joined us!
Emsi2019 wasn’t just a fantastic opportunity to give and share best practices, it was also an encouraging and energizing chance for passionate, innovative professionals from higher education, business, and economic and workforce development to collaborate as a team.
Because that’s what we are: a team dedicated to building a stronger economy and increasing personal prosperity for everyone.
Theme: Lead & Engage
Rob Sentz, Emsi CINO
Rob Sentz, Emsi CINO, kickstarted the conference by orienting everyone to the theme Emsi2019: Lead and Engage: How to Use Labor Market Data Like a Pro. Driving our conference this year (every year) was our mission to help create an aligned, prosperous economic ecosystem where…
people have the information they need to make the right choices about their education;
colleges and universities are equipped to help students and employers;
employers know how to find the talent they need; and
regional developers are valued and effective as they draw people and businesses together.
We strive to accomplish this mission by working with you. That’s what Emsi2019 was all about.
Download Lead & Engage: How to Use Labor Market Data Like a Pro
Emsi Skills
Emsi CEO Andrew Crapuchettes visits with clients on the dinner cruise
On Tuesday, September 17, Emsi CEO Andrew Crapuchettes delivered a keynote in which he introduced Emsi Skills: a new skills library to serve as a common language between people looking for work, work looking for people, and educational programs looking to connect people to the labor market.
“We built Emsi Skills to create a common language between people, education, and employers—groups that have historically struggled to communicate,” said Crapuchettes in a press release. “Employers want to know what skills to require in their job postings. Educators want to know what skills to teach in their programs. And jobseekers want to know what skills to learn so they can succeed in the workforce.”
Visit Emsi Skills; read the press release; download Andrew Crapuchettes’s keynote
KEYNOTE: Economic Mobility: Data-Driven Responses in a Disruptive Time
Stephen Goldsmith, professor at Harvard and former mayor of Indianapolis
We were honored to be joined by keynotes Stephen Goldsmith, professor of government at Harvard and former mayor of Indianapolis, and Jonathan Kaplan, former White House advisor and university president.
In their joint keynote, Goldsmith spoke on his experience of teaching mayors and senior local leaders about how to structure governance that uses data and how to create a culture that supports the use of data and innovation. Kaplan followed by discussing lessons he has learned from advising policymakers and institutional leaders on how to create data-driven strategies.
Download Stephen Goldsmith’s keynote (Note: Jonathan Kaplan’s is unavailable)
KEYNOTE: A New Geography of Skills
Dr. Michelle Weise, CINO, Strada Institute for the Future of Work
The Strada Institute for the Future of Work delivered a fascinating keynote on Emsi’s new, skills-based approach to understanding regional workforce DNA. This novel approach is designed to help cities, states, and regions realign how they might prepare their residents for 21st century jobs, further develop a competitive niche, and deliver the right skills at the right time for employers.
In this keynote, Strada highlighted major findings from their upcoming report with Emsi, “The New Geography of Skills,” and the implications for employers, state and regional leaders, educators, and working adults.
Breakout presentations
Some of Emsi’s most innovative power users shared their success stories in breakout sessions for higher education, business, workforce development, and economic development. Popular topics included:
Western Governors University’s work on skills-mapping
DentalOne’s success in using Emsi to find hidden pockets of talent and fill 75% of their open jobs
How Solano County and Anne Arundel Workforce Development Corporation are using Emsi to build successful sector strategies
Larimer County’s cluster-based approach to characterizing their local and regional economy
See all available presentations
What else was new
Aloha from our friends from Hawaii!
Last year, attendees requested more training, more collaboration, and more networking. We worked hard to boost all three for Emsi2019.
Besides completely revamping our training workshops, we introduced new team challenges where attendees worked together to create data-driven solutions to common challenges within higher education. These team challenges were such a success that next year, we plan to add challenges for our business and workforce/economic development attendees as well!
Our favorite networking opportunities included the long lunches, Monday’s outdoor reception, and Tuesday’s dinner cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene. To accommodate nearly 400 people (including over 100 Emsi reps) on the two-hour cruise, we lashed together three boats to create one giant floating monster. We were so grateful to spend such quality time with our amazing clients and friends!
Emsi2020
We’re already looking forward to next year! Emsi2020 will take place October 12-14 in Coeur d’Alene. Seating is limited, so we encourage you to register early. Sign up here to be notified when Emsi2020 registration opens.
Questions about the Emsi conference? Contact Gwen Burrow at gburrow@economicmodeling.com.
