We are pleased to announce that the early-bird registration for the third annual EMSI conference is extended until Tuesday, July 30. Head over to the site and if you’d like register.
To whet your appetite, here’s a look at some of the fantastic presentations. (If you’ve signed up for only the preconference, go back and register for the whole event! You don’t want to miss these talks.)
Jennifer Zeller, Director of Research in Economic Development, Georgia Power
“Utilizing EMSI to Promote Economic Development in Your State or Region”
The tools needed to respond to site consultant needs are becoming more sophisticated by the day. As information from the census and other sources are released on a block-group scale, we are able to combine EMSI tools with other sources of labor data to show occupational and educational concentration to tell a complete story for a community, region, or state. With these tools, companies are making better data-driven decisions in locating close to the optimal talent base. Learn how Georgia Power Community & Economic Development is utilizing EMSI and other tools to assist communities in understanding and building strategies for their communities as well as bringing business to the state.
Scott Sheely, Executive Director, Lancaster County Workforce Investment Board
“Drilling Down from Industry Clusters to Career Pathways and Compatible Skills Analysis (using the Analyst tool, of course)”
In this workshop, Scott Sheely, one of the pioneers of Industry Cluster research and an early user of EMSI tools, will share ways to use EMSI data to look at occupational and skills information which derives from industry analysis. He will also speak to the ways that the data can be used to inform curriculum planning and to provide workforce and other career development staff with information for use in career counseling.
Dr. Christina Whitfield, Director of Research and Policy Analysis, KCTCS, with Alicia Crouch, Director of Research and Data Analysis, KCTCS
“Education Supply and Employer Demand: Meeting the Needs of Manufacturers”
Economic development efforts underway in Kentucky aim to increase the number of advanced manufacturing jobs available in the Commonwealth. Dr. Whitfield and Ms. Crouch of Kentucky Community & Technical College System (KCTCS) will discuss how they used EMSI to determine if community colleges are producing adequate numbers of graduates—with the right mix of skills—to satisfy employer demand.
Dr. Jeff Strohl, Director of Research, Georgetown University Center on Education and Workforce
“The Beginnings of a Learning Labor Exchange”
In terms of employment outcomes for students, education planning works best with good information about future labor markets. Cyclical surpluses and shortages of particular degrees have been attributed to the fact that students make enrollment decisions based on the present labor market, yet the market will likely have changed by the time they graduate and need jobs. Although educators endeavor to keep curricula updated and relevant to the labor market, accusations still fly about ill-prepared students and mismatched skills.
Ongoing efforts in various arenas are bringing us closer to mining labor market in a way that can alleviate these problems. In this presentation, Dr. Strohl will discuss the underpinnings of the alignment problem and sketch the ideal transfer of information from the labor market to students and educators—the basic architecture of a learning-labor exchange. The presentation will end highlighting the next step in this journey: focusing on developing better feedback mechanisms between LMI and curriculum development.
Deidre Myers, Director of Policy, Research, and Economic Development, Oklahoma Department of Commerce
“Oklahoma’s Ecosystems: Using Data to Drive Policy, Programs, and Results”
Using Analyst as the driving research tool, Oklahoma Department of Commerce developed a comprehensive economic development strategy for Governor Mary Fallin’s administration. Commerce took a systems approach to the nuanced and sophisticated 21st-century economy, and identified the drivers of the state’s economy using 72 quantitative variables in the spheres of wealth generation, growth potential, and competitive advantage. The state’s economic systems, or Ecosystems, are used to prioritize resources, align policies, maximize outcomes, and demonstrate accountability in the five major economic development areas: business development, workforce, incentives, regulation, and infrastructure investment.