Published 1/20/2016
Defining the issue.
Lincoln has a higher rate of poverty than the United States, though it does have a high workforce participation rate (72%) and low unemployment rate. However, the unemployment rate has not fully rebounded from its low in 2009 following the recession (Lincoln Vital Signs, 2015). There is a clear positive relationship between educational attainment and income.
In the 2014, the Lincoln Labor Report1 showed that in Lincoln, there are nearly 250,000 potential job seekers who would seek new, better, or different employment in the next year if available. Of those who are currently unemployed, and 55% are between the ages of 25 – 44.2 With a low unemployment rate, qualified and skilled workers become more difficult for employers to find.3 Lincoln businesses plan to add 805 jobs over t by 2017.4
Barriers to employment reported for Lincolnites include inadequate pay, lack of opportunities, lack of benefits, and inadequate hours for many job seekers. Job seekers also reported barriers in over- qualification, lack of training, lack of education, and family commitments. Lincoln job seekers listed barriers to training and education in the areas of cost, time requirement, distance, and availability of training opportunities. More than 30% of homemakers in Lincoln are seeking employment.5
In the United States, despite growth in jobs since 2009, the gap in income between more and less- educated individuals continues to grow. The number of individuals in low-paying jobs has increased to match the demand for employees in these low-wage jobs. Still, there is currently no scholarly consensus on the ability of government workforce development programs to dramatically raise earnings and employment for the economically disadvantaged.6 Government funding for programs like that of Pell Grants for higher education scholarship for the economically disadvantaged have not offset the increased income loss; however, Pell Grants do positively impact employment and job skills. Workforce development programs are shown to be more effective for adult women than for adult men or out-of- school youth.
There is an expected economic growth in middle-skilled labor areas such as health care, construction, and retail trade, which are areas likely to remain as jobs within the United States.7 This projected growth indicates a high need to train low-educated individuals for middle-skilled jobs. A post-secondary education credential has shown positive outcomes for employment. A 2000 study found that 1 in 7 workers were employed in “bad jobs,” which are defined as those with unsteady hours and no health or retirement benefits;8 these low-skill service jobs are increasingly on the rise.9
Historically, economists have shown that a diverse workforce with fields of opportunity in a variety of sectors create the healthiest economies. Those cities and regions with targeted training and workforce development programs do the least well when these programs are the sole focus of the economic development.10
Workforce development networks should be diverse, including representatives from public sector organizations, employers, and training institutions.11 Workforce development efforts should focus on “employment and social policy, career and technical education, and organization and human resource management.”12 New movements in workforce development include adding a requirement of “green collar jobs,” which focus on hiring locally and equitable development – a trend to develop jobs and opportunities for the whole workforce.
A continuum of opportunities to build skills throughout the lifespan creates a healthy workforce.
Increasingly, a focus on work readiness, including “soft skills” and employment experience is necessary for career advancement, including skills such as communication, interpersonal and social skills, and professionalism.13 With a new workforce paradigm, workforce development programs must focus on career path mapping and helping laid-off workers find and develop new career paths.14 A focus on lifelong learning is tied to healthy individual and workforce development.15 Individuals with increased education have a longer tenure in each job.16
Preparation and skill development should focus on available jobs.
In Lincoln, specific needed skills for jobs are in the areas of computers, manufacturing, and installation, maintenance and repair. A lack of education and training were obstacles to new employment. In the United States, STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) jobs are expected to increase at a rate of nearly 18%, which is twice that of typical job growth.17 While training and skill development should focus on needed jobs, the scope of job training should avoid single-sector focus.18 Job training partnered with academic development, like that at community colleges, has shown to be successful since many jobs require both a degree and specific skill.19 A focus on developing a regional “cluster” around related industries has grown since the 1990, but research indicates this approach should focus on collaborative knowledge development rather than single-industry development.20
Skill building should focus on building a diverse and robust workforce.
Studies show that a culturally and ethnically diverse workforce with a variety of skillsets creates a healthy economy; a rich diversity is associated with higher wages and productivity.21 In some cases, transitional employment, or time-limited subsidized jobs that provide training opportunities until full time work is available, offer promising outcomes by providing a bridge to employment.22
Remove barriers to jobs and skill growth to increase community labor force.
Significant barriers to skill growth and employment are child care, transportation, and personal history. For families, particularly for single mothers, one barrier to employment or skill growth opportunities is due to lack of access to affordable, quality child care.23,24
Car ownership and cost of car ownership is a significant barrier to work, particularly for families receiving public assistance, as most employment opportunities are located away from where residents reside. This transportation barrier is particularly problematic for entry-level positions, where employers rely on walk-in applicants and face-to-face contact.25 A dependence on public transportation was found to reduce employment access more than other factors.26 In Lincoln, a majority of those working report that they drive alone to work.27 Transportation programs should focus on creating equity rather than special programs for the poor.28
An additional barrier to job attainment is failed background check for potential employees in health care, food preparation, construction, and transportation.29 Increasingly, a substantial share of the population has an arrest record;30 many states have elected to seal arrest records for low-level crimes after a certain number of years.
Retain the workforce by increasing community embeddedness.
Attractive communities help employers attract and retain employees. Community and organizational commitments are shown to increase employee engagement and health, and, as such, retention.31 The presence of a university in a community helps to attract and retain talent when universities collaborate with community organizations to provide knowledge, networks, and innovation.32 Workforce retention increases when communities are more culturally diverse.33
Decrease opportunity gaps by providing exposure to jobs and networks.
Job search success is related to the availability of job networks; that is, employment is often a result of who one knows rather than what one knows. Research has shown success in job search and job matching assistance programs.34 For this reason, skill and network development become key to career attainment.
Focus on exposing youth to jobs, networks, and opportunities in the future.
While government workforce development efforts are less effective for out-of-school youth, those programs for in-school youth are significantly more effective, particularly programs that partner academic education with career training and work experience.35 Mentoring and youth development programs are positively related to greater educational and employment opportunities.36
1 Nebraska Department of Labor. (2014). Lincoln Labor Availability Report. Lincoln, Nebraska.
2 Nebraska Department of Labor, 2014.
3 ATD Lincoln, Knowledge Management Council (n.d.). Make it work for Lincoln: Lincoln area labor availability, skills needs of business, and bridge programs study. Lincoln, Nebraska.
4 Lincoln Partnership for Economic Development (2014). Lincoln’s 2014 Business Conditions & Indicators Report.
5 Nebraska Department of Labor, 2014.
6 Holzer, H.J. (2008). Workforce development as an anti-poverty strategy: What do we know? What should we do? Retreived from: http://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/35478/1/584275331.pdf.
7 Holzer, H.J., & Lerman, R. (2007). America’s forgotten middle-skill jobs: Education and training requirements for the next decade and beyond. Washington, DC: The Workforce Alliance.
8 Kalleberg, A.L., Reskin, B.F., & Hudson, K. (2000). Bad jobs in American: Standard and nonstandard employment relations and job quality in the United States. American Sociological Review, 65: 2, 256-278.
9 Autor, D.H., Dorn, D. (2009). Inequality and specialization: The growth of low-skill service jobs in the United States. Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network. Retrieved from: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1434624.
10 Markusen, A. (2004). Targeting occupations in regional and community economic development. Journal of the American Planning Association, 70(3), 253-268. See also: Buss, T. F. (1999). The case against targeted industry strategies. Economic Development Quarterly, 13(4), 339-356.
11 Green, G. P., & Galetto, V. (2005). Employer participation in workforce development networks. Economic Development Quarterly, 19(3), 225-231.
12 Schrock, G. (2014). Connecting People and Place Prosperity Workforce Development and Urban Planning in Scholarship and Practice. Journal of Planning Literature, 29(3), 257-271.
13 Danziger, S. K., & Seefeldt, K. S. (2003). Barriers to employment and the ‘hard to serve’: Implications for services, sanctions, and time limits. Social Policy and Society, 2(02), 151-160. See also: Robles, M.M. (2012). Executive perceptions of the top 10 soft skills needed in today’s workplace. Business Communication Quarterly, 75(4), 453-465.
14 Schrock, 2014.
15 McCombs, B. L. (1991). Motivation and lifelong learning. Educational psychologist, 26(2), 117-127.
16 Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Employee Tenure in 2014. United States Department of Labor (USDL-14-1714).
17 Langdon, D., McKittrick, G., Beede, D., Khan, B., & Doms, M. (2011). STEM: Good Jobs Now and for the Future. ESA Issue Brief #03-11. US Department of Commerce.
18 Buss, 1999.
19 Schrock, 2014.
20 Martin, R., & Sunley, P. (2003). Deconstructing clusters: chaotic concept or policy panacea?. Journal of economic geography, 3(1), 5-35.; Porter, M. E. (2000). Location, competition, and economic development: Local clusters in a global economy. Economic development quarterly, 14(1), 15-34.; Tallman, S., Jenkins, M., Henry, N., & Pinch, S. (2004). Knowledge, clusters, and competitive advantage. Academy of management review, 29(2), 258-271.
21 Ottaviano, G. I., & Peri, G. (2006). The economic value of cultural diversity: evidence from US cities. Journal of Economic Geography, 6(1), 9-44.
22 Baider, A., & Frank, A. (2006). Transitional jobs: Helping TANF recipients with barriers to employment succeed in the labor market. Center for Law and Social Policy. Accessed online at www. clasp.org/publications/transitional_jobs_06. pdf.
23 Brooks, M. G., & Buckner, J. C. (1996). Work and welfare: Job histories, barriers to employment, and predictors of work among low-income single mothers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 66(4), 526.
24 Danziger, Sandra K., and Kristin S. Seefeldt. Barriers to employment and the ‘hard to serve’: Implications for services, sanctions, and time limits. Social Policy and Society 2.02 (2003): 151-160.
25 Ong, P. M. (2002). Car ownership and welfare‐to‐work. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 21(2), 239- 252.
26 Wachs, M., & Taylor, B. D. (1998). Can transportation strategies help meet the welfare challenge?. Journal of the American Planning Association, 64(1), 15-19.
27 Nebraska Department of Labor. (2014). Lincoln Labor Availability Report. Lincoln, Nebraska.
28 Pugh, M. (1998). Barriers to work: The spatial divide between jobs and welfare recipients in metropolitan areas. The Brookings Institution: Center on Urband and Metropolitan Policy. Retrieved from: http://content.knowledgeplex.org/kp2/cache/kp/910.pdf.
29 ATD Lincoln, n.d.
30 Solomon, A.L. (2012). In search of a job: Criminal records as barriers to employment. NIJ Journal (June): 270., 42-51.
31 Sinclair, R. R., Cheung, J. H., Arpin, S. N., & Mohr, C. P. (2015). Personal benefits of strong organizational and community ties: Health, engagement, and retention. Journal of Community Psychology, 43(6), 778-793.
32 Bramwell, A., & Wolfe, D. A. (2008). Universities and regional economic development: The entrepreneurial University of Waterloo. Research Policy,37(8), 1175-1187.
33 Florida, R. (2002). The Rise of the Crative Class–and how it’s transforming work, leisure, community and every day life. New York.
34 Schrock, G. (2014). Connecting People and Place Prosperity Workforce Development and Urban Planning in Scholarship and Practice. Journal of Planning Literature, 29(3), 257-271.
35 Holzer, 2008.
36 See, e.g., Herrera, Carla. 1999. School-based Mentoring: A First Look into Its Potential. Philadelphia: Private/Public Ventures.
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