Workforce 2010: ACT’s National Workforce Development Conference

Upskilling Workforce Key to America’s Economic Recovery

Improving workers’ skills through training—also known as upskilling—is vital to America’s economic survival.

Andy Levin

“Even in the toughest times, states can transform themselves by upskilling their workforce to be competitive in a global economy and in a world of constant technological change,” said Andy Levin, chief workforce officer for the State of Michigan and deputy director of the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth.

Levin was one of two keynote speakers at Workforce 2010: ACT’s National Workforce Development Conference held in April in Philadelphia, at which nearly 350 educators, employers, economic developers, and state officials shared ideas for strengthening America’s workforce. Formerly known as the WorkKeys^® National Conference, the event was renamed to broaden its focus on programs that use work readiness systems to upskill America’s workforce.

Patti DeiTos, lead education coordinator at Inova Health System, and Brad Rhorer, manager of human resource, training, and performance management at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., make a presentation at ACT’s National Workforce Development Conference.

A high unemployment rate has driven Michigan officials to help residents gain new skills through the No Worker Left Behind (NWLB) program, which offers up to two years of free tuition at a community college, university, or other approved training provider to residents who study for careers in high-demand occupations or emerging industries in the state.

NWLB takes unemployed and underemployed workers from “crisis to opportunity” by combining adult education, workforce, and postsecondary programs to make learning affordable and accessible, said Levin. The state’s employers and the National Career Readiness Certificate are at the heart of the program. Employers define the jobs available and the skills needed to do those jobs. The National Career Readiness Certificate allows workers to demonstrate to employers that they have those skills.

Christine Chmura

Keynote speaker Christine Chmura presented research that shows what could happen if America upskilled its workforce. Chmura is president and chief economist for Chmura Economics & Analytics, a quantitative research, economic development, and workforce consulting firm in Richmond, Virginia.

Her firm completed an occupational analysis of 2008 United States Bureau of Labor Statistics showing that 30 percent of American workers had below-average qualifications for their particular occupation. At the time, there were 150 million people working in the United States and 45 million had below-average job skills. Increasing the skills of even 10 percent (4.5 million) of these workers could result in a nearly $4.7 billion increase in total wages, based on Chmura’s analysis. It could also generate a nearly $15 billion increase in retail spending and an almost $16 billion boost in federal taxes.

Laura Harmon, project leader, workforce development at United Way of Greenville County/Greenville Works in South Carolina, shares her experiences at the conference.

Underemployment is also a concern, she said, because it results in the underutilization of workers’ skills. Underemployment happens when workers are in jobs that are below their level of training, such as college graduates who are working as retail clerks or restaurant servers.

Regions with an oversupply of high-skilled workers can increase the wealth of their area by attracting companies that need such workers, she said. Regions with an undersupply of high-skilled workers need to upskill their current workforce, or risk losing the companies that need these workers.

“Whether upskilling workers who have below-average qualifications or attracting companies to match a region’s workforce base, the result is the same: increased productivity, higher wages, and faster economic growth. These trends are needed to reduce the country’s ballooning national deficit.”