Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford

Hartford

, Connecticut

The Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford is comprised of a diverse set of stakeholders representing broad sectors of the philanthropic and workforce systems with a history of working in funders’ or programmatic collaborations intended to improve community conditions.

The collaborative is a response to the increase of workforce challenges in Connecticut: an aging workforce; the thinning of young talent pool; the lack of basic literacy skills; and the limitations in the capacity of the current training system to develop and upgrade talent.

Through the National Fund for Workforce Solutions initiative, members of the Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford are committed to connecting smaller, localized collaboratives into a strategic, regional funders collaborative that will significantly impact workforce partnerships and investment by: increasing financial stability and creating career advancement opportunities for incumbent/new workers; developing a talent pipeline to meet current employer needs and enhance regional economic competitiveness; and building the capacity of service providers and employers to assist low-wage adults in developing career skills for advancement.

Funding Collaborative

The steering committee of the Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford is open to funders and stakeholders interested in pooling, aligning, or leveraging funding resources toward sector-based workforce partnerships. Members include United Way of Central and Northeastern Connecticut, Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, Capital Workforce Partners, Nutmeg Foundation, Capital Workforce Partners, and Connecticut Business and Industry Association.

Any funder that contributes to either the pooled fund or aligns its funding with the decision-making process established by the Workforce Solutions Collaborative gets voting privileges. Funders in excess of $100,000 annually have two representatives and exercise two votes if desired.

A business advisory committee comprised of employers from industry sectors supported by the collaborative will provide advice on strategic workforce development partnerships.

Key Strategies and Interventions

The Workforce Solutions Collaborative of Metro Hartford provides direct financial support to workforce partnerships in health care, manufacturing, and energy/utilities. Each workforce partnership provides career advancement services to lower-skilled adults and assists employers in addressing their needs for workers with mid-level skills.

Each workforce partnership will:

Have a combination of public/private funding streams,
Have a steering/advisory committee comprised of business, trade, and providers, with business representing at least 25 percent of the overall membership;
Provide for a broad range of supports and services to help reduce barriers on a long-term basis (18-24 months minimum);
Have flexible scheduling to accommodate the worker participants; and
Have a structure in place to manage the business of the partnership. Success is determined, in part by the commitment and engagement of employer partners.

The funding collaborative plans to award an average of $175,000 per year. The awards will be for two years, with an option for a third-year renewal. Awards will be based on completeness of response to the RFP, alignment with the vision of the collaborative, and experience to carry out the required functions of the partnership.

The first year, the collaborative plans to engage 30 employers (10 in each sector) and serve 360 individuals.

Labor Market Analysis

The following powerpoint provides an analysis of the Hartford regional labor market. The analysis is intended to provide a picture into overall employment conditions and structural changes in this local economy, focusing on the period from 2001-2007. Though this data does not capture changes associated with the recent 2008 recession, it should still provide useful insights into medium-term demographic and employment changes.

The data analyzed here comes from two major sources: The American Community Survey 2007 (and 1990 & 2000 Decennial Census for some charts) from the U.S. Census Bureau; and the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For a full guide to the data content, structure, and how it might be used, please listen to the June 16, 2009, recorded webinar available here.