the state of the region’s economy and workforce building on the region’s assets

The State of the Region’s Economy and Workforce

Building on the Region’s Assets

4th Annual Regional Economic and Workforce Development Summit

John P. MetcalfCSW Sr. Partner

Strategic Community Planning

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce

Summary Greatest opportunity is sustained collaboration to

build talent, agility, entrepreneurial culture, and a great quality of life Winning in a 21st Century Labor Market is hard Clear maps of the path don’t exist – for workers, for

businesses, for regions The work never ends – work must continue to

tackle the region’s needs and its “wicked problems” and leadership matters


The Region Place Matters to compete globally (regional branding matters)

The Region’s Personality underscores our “get it done attitude” Visionary Progressive Diverse Friendly Accommodating Innovative

Charlotte-Mecklenburg has enormous influence over the region’s reputation and its competitive advantage

The Golden Crescent Provides The State’s Economic Engine

Source: Regional Dynamics Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness

Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC

Asheville, NC

Hickory-Morganton-Lenoir, NC

Winston-Salem, NC

Greensboro-High Point, NC

Burlington, NC

Durham, NC

Raleigh-Cary, NC

Fayetteville, NC

Goldsboro, NC

Jacksonville, NC

Greenville, NC

Rocky Mount, NC

Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC

Wilmington, NC

Metropolitan Area

Micropolitan Area50K

200K

600K

Industry Employment

Industry Employment in North CarolinaMetropolitan and Micropolitan Areas (est. 2007)

*Employment for North Carolina counties only**Only metropolitan areas identified


Storylines: Then and Now With Great Growth Comes the Need for

Stability: Then: the region was growing at a faster than

normal rate and had created an imbalance between jobs available and the available workforce

Projected Population Growth, 2007 to 2017

7.8%

10.2%

3.9%

14.5%

2.3%

4.4%

7.3%

17.5%

7.0%

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

U.S. NorthCarolina

AdvantageWest

Charlotte EasternRegion

Northeast PiedmontTriad

ResearchTriangle

Southeast

Source: AGS Demographics

Proj

ecte

d G

row

th


Storylines: Then and Now Now: with the economic downturn accelerates

the imbalance the region is continuing to grow

but has even more job seekers than jobs available


Storylines: Then and Now A Cluster/Sector-Based Approach Aligns

Resources and Strategies Then: there was more than one competing economic

development plan with unnecessary duplication of effort and a lack of plan integration


Storylines: Then and Now Now: with the leadership of the Charlotte Regional

Partnership and its supporting county partner economic development offices, the region is enjoying a tighter focus than in 2005 to assemble a “single” integrated strategic plan.

Now: with the creation of the region’s Competitive Workforce Alliance comprised of the 16 counties’ seven (7) Workforce Development Boards there is a single voice to integrate workforce strategies with economic development and education strategies.


Storylines: Then and Now Technology Enables Economic and

Workforce Development Then: the region’s technology assets and their

use were critical to support industry and business growth


Storylines: Then and Now Now: this is more of a critical success factor for

the region to continue economic expansion With the growing need to provide for a

telecommuting generation of workers, people are increasingly able to live and work anywhere and must have access to technology to become productive


Storylines: Then and Now A Well Prepared and Career Aware Workforce is

Essential to Maintaining Economic Vitality Then: too many individuals, young and adult,

were not prepared to enter the work environment and help businesses compete on a global basis

Overview of NC Occupations and Occ Growth by Ed. Requirements “Success Favors The Prepared Mind” NTHS

Two-thirds of all jobs require more than a GED 25 percent of all jobs require at least a 2-year degree 38 percent of all NEW jobs in the next 10 years will

require at least a 2-year degree Workers with at least a 4-year degree make over three

times as much as someone without a GED Someone without a GED makes 60 percent of the state

average

Educational Band Emp 2007Net New Jobs

(07-17)Average Earnings

2007% Total Emp

(2007)% New Jobs

(07-17)Advanced Degree 160,572 36,560 $83,785 3.2% 5.3%4-year College Degree 687,536 134,808 $77,005 13.7% 19.7%Tech-Some Post 386,614 89,452 $46,774 7.7% 13.1%GED Some Experience 801,703 58,980 $42,952 15.9% 8.6%GED/Entry 1,263,563 88,085 $34,123 25.1% 12.9%Below GED 1,732,747 276,598 $24,405 34.4% 40.4%Total 5,032,734 684,484 $40,598 100.0% 100.0%Source: Regional Dynamics

North Carolina


Storylines: Then and Now Now: improvement in these areas has been

less than ideal. The continuation of unacceptable dropout rates

and low graduation rates makes this the region’s number one priority to correct

The consequences of having high value employers by-passing this region for a more prepared region is real.


Storylines: Then and Now“The challenge is to find quality workers with the education and skills to be successful in the workplace. If business as usual continues and the education and professional skills of the workforce do not radically improve, the current and future careers available in the Counties will be beyond the reach of current residents.”

Cabarrus and Rowan Counties Education and Workforce Development Acton Plan, 2008, prepared by Market Street Services, Atlanta, Ga.


The Economy and the Workforce:The Disappearing Middle Bifurcating into two camps

Those with adequate skills and education and are capable to navigate the labor market

Low in number but high in demand Can move upstream to new and emerging jobs

Those with little or no skills and are incapable of moving into new emerging industries

High in number but in low demand Must move downstream in deep recessions and high

sector displacement to find work


Storylines: Then and Now “Growing Your Own” Helps Offset

Impacts of Global Change Then: there was a growing demand to build off of

our entrepreneurial assets and grow our economic sectors by “growing our own”

The new economy


Storylines: Then and Now Now: the demand continues to build with the

displacement of highly talented, educated, and skilled individuals that are available to create new businesses

Many are from the financial sectors and are catalysts for either starting their own business or filling new financial sector businesses growing and relocating to the region

It is a perfect time for the region to create a single entrepreneurial system to “grow our own”.


Storylines: Then and Now What Goes Around, Comes Around

Then: our intra-regional dependence on a well thought out and diverse transportation system was critical for connecting our labor force to the needs of business


Storylines: Then and Now Now: The need for a comprehensive intra-regional

transportation system is very important. The demand for access to employment opportunities is

critical for the region to continue to grow economically Having the capability for employers to access qualified

labor from anywhere in the region is what will distinguish this region from other competitive regions

While the light-rail system is a step in the right direction, it alone is not enough to eliminate congestion and bottlenecks to allow for a transparent connection of job seekers with employers


The Sectors That Drive the Region’s Economy2005 Pharmaceuticals & Bio-

informatics Finance & Insurance Logistics (inclusive of

Transportation and Warehousing)

Automotive & Motor Sports. Manufacturing Back Office Support

Services

2009 Healthcare Life Sciences Energy/Environment Defense/Security Entrepreneurial Activities


Agile CommunitiesAgility comes from the ability to make necessary changes to direction as outside

influences intervene into well laid plans

“Can a region dance the dance when the music changes?”


What Will Get In the Way of a Regional Recovery? Jobless recovery - the new norm

Expect high unemployment numbers for a protracted period

If you thought green was a movement – lean is now a movement across all sectors Efficiency will drive new productivity gains New skill set demands for re-hires


What Will Get In the Way of Recovery? The second financial downturn –

commercial real-estate foreclosures and second mortgage re-set No place for people and firms to go for relief Lack of capital

The public “safety net” – getting thin and frayed More requests than assets to cover needs


What Will Get In the Way of Recovery? Unknown international conflicts effecting

energy costs Will impact economic recovery fostering less

growth Will reset labor sheds and their development

What were a few issues turns into a mountain of wicked problems demanding new approaches to rectify


What Will Get Us Through the Recovery?

What Will We Build On?


Demand Generators: Fuel for Creating New Jobs …the big hitters for the region that will help recapture its economic vision and provide the energy to create new jobs


North Carolina Research CampusBy some estimates the total employment created by the campus will approach 13,000 direct and indirect jobs, PhD to certificate based jobs, by 2035; a substantial demand generator for the region.


Healthcare and Life SciencesCurrently there is a large expansion of hospitals in the region. When hospitals are built, there soon follows an expansion of medical offices and doctors facilities fueling the growth of additional population centers.


EnergyThere is a sense that green energy is the next level of innovation to become a primary industry for the region and nation.

…the movement towards green energy finds its way to Charlotte as a national leader to develop ways to de-carbonize energy usage.


University of North Carolina CharlotteEnergy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) aimed at training engineers and upgrading knowledge in every energy field from nuclear to solar to biofuels.


Entrepreneurismthe economic downturn is a national problem and not just a local problem, many of those workers will find their next choice of career is to create new business startups.


Demands on the Workforce: New Level of Talent and Skill Required

Business’ Global Context Entrepreneurial Spirit Technology Driven Communications “Multi-task masters” – trainable across

multiple skill sets Collaborative Planning Job Retention Skills


“Wicked Problems” the Region Continues to Face and Must Solve If We Are to be Globally Competitive


What is a Wicked Problem? Not good vs. evil But it is an issue/problem that is so

resistant to resolution it demands new thinking and approaches to tackle them they are not tamable through normal linear

thought and means Most wicked problems never go away, just

mitigated over time


Our Wicked Problems Graduation/Dropout Rates

Valuing education Literacy

Acculturation of In-migrants Community College Funding Transportation


New Regional Storylines to Evolving NC Research Campus – Creating a New

Center of Gravity for Bio Energy – Charlotte at the Epicenter of Green UNC Charlotte – Growing Into Its Own Tourism – Now a Destination Region Healthcare – Providing for a Growing Region Entrepreneurism - A New Vision for the

Region’s Entrepreneurial Strategy


Final ThoughtsPartner

CollaborateNetwork

The power is in the connection and regional leadership matters

The Opportunity for the Region

Greatest opportunity is sustained collaboration to build talent, agility, entrepreneurial culture, and a great quality of life Winning in 21st Century Labor Market is hard Clear maps of the path don’t exist – for workers,

for businesses, for regions

Changing Strategies for Changing Times

· Build strong connections between economic, education, and workforce development· Don’t just talk, do it!!!

· Help industry sectors and businesses more directly meet talent needs· It’s all about the “Talent Search”

· Improve lifelong education opportunities and outcomes to:· Grow talent, attract talent, retain talent

John Frank & Fraser Mustard G&M 05-01-95

"Societies that have a strong coherent sense of what is important, and a collective will, will probably be most successful"

A Famous Philosopher Said

Somebody’s got to do something, and

it’s incredibly pathetic that it’s

got to be us. Jerry Garcia, The Grateful Dead

900 Victors Way, Suite 350Ann Arbor, MI 48108(734) 769-2900

John Metcalf, [email protected]

Questions?

mailto:[email protected]

the state of the region’s economy and workforce building on the region’s assets

Documents

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economic downturn

economic expansion

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skilled workforce11storylines

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skilled workforce10storylines