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December 2017 News & Updates
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Welcome to our Winter 2017-2018 newsletter! Workforce Matters is a national network that leverages the collective knowledge, relationships, and experience of grantmakers to advance the field of workforce development. Read on to learn more about recent events, planned activities, and partner resources.
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Interesting in getting more involved with Workforce Matters? We're looking for a few good leaders!
Are you interested in growing your national network and working alongside other workforce leaders to help advance the field? The Workforce Matters Steering Committee is now accepting applications from individuals interested in serving as Steering Committee members and/or Learning Network co-chairs. Steering Committee members convene 3-4 times per year via phone and once in person to provide oversight for our operations and guide the strategic priorities of the network. Learning Network co-chairs work remotely with the Workforce Matters co-chairs to develop member learning opportunities.
Interested in applying or learning more? Please email
info@workforce-matters.org with the following information by
January 12, 2018:
- Name, Title, Organization
- Contact Information (email address, best phone number)
- How long have you worked in Workforce Development?
- How long have you worked in philanthropy?
- Are you interested in serving on the Steering Committee, co-chairing a Learning Network, or both? If co-chairing a Learning Network, which one?
- Why are you interested in getting more involved with Workforce Matters?
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Three Questions for
Regan Gruber Moffitt
Regan Gruber Moffitt is Vice President of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in Little Rock Arkansas, where she proactively identifies and supports activities to achieve the Foundation's Moving the Needle goals to increase prosperity and improve the nonprofit infrastructure in the state of Arkansas. Regan is a member of the Steering Committee for Workforce Matters.
Q: What are the primary workforce challenges your community faces?
RGM: In Arkansas, 70 percent of jobs are low-skill jobs, requiring a high school diploma or less. Most of the jobs do not pay family-supporting wages. Only 30 percent of Arkansas jobs require a post-secondary credential. Arkansas is poised for significant job growth over the next decade, but the 70-30 split is expected to remain.
Q. How does your foundation work to address these challenges? And what's the benefit to being part of a larger national network that's working on these issues?
RGM: We are working with the Arkansas State Board of Education, Walton Family Foundation, and Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation on a partnership called ForwARd Arkansas. ForwARd is committed to ensuring every Arkansas student graduates prepared for success in college and the workplace. ForwARd was created based on a model from Delaware, and its recommendations were developed by--and are being pursued by--thousands of Arkansans. Partnership is highly valued at the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. We understand and appreciate the importance of learning from others and adopting strategies that work.
Q. What's one thing you're currently working on that makes you excited to come to work each day?
RGM: I jump out of bed each morning excited about the potential to bring solutions that work to scale in Arkansas. Let me be clear, I am not a morning person. But over the last year, a diverse set of foundations who support Arkansas have been meeting to determine how we can collaborate to create an Arkansas where everyone thrives. In a small state, philanthropy acting collectively and intentionally on the most important issues can create change at scale. This is a big enough deal to bound me from my bed to my coffee cup.
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Apprenticeship Learning Network
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Webinar: December 2017 Apprenticeship Update
December 7, 2017
The Workforce Matters Apprenticeship Learning Network was
joined by Brent Parton of New America. With the support of the Siemens Foundation, New America recently completed research to answer some key questions about the possibilities and challenges of connecting more American high school students to apprenticeship. Those include:
- What makes youth apprenticeship an attractive option for improving outcomes for America's high school students?
- Is the public open to connecting more high school students to apprenticeship?
- What do we know about the current landscape of youth apprenticeship programs?
- What can we learn from past efforts to expand youth apprenticeship?
- What efforts are underway today to expand youth apprenticeship?
During this webinar, New America shared its key findings and reflected on new possibilities in this emerging field. That includes the important roles of policymakers, industry, as well as philanthropy to support the expansion of meaningful, high-quality youth apprenticeship.
Access the Recording
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Race Equity Learning Network
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| Webinar: A Conversation about Employer Engagement and Race Equity
October 30, 2017
Race Equity Learning Network In-Person Convening
November 28, 2017
Workforce Matters members gathered in-person in Washington, D.C. for a full-day training and discussion of race equity in workforce development, facilitated by the Race Matters Institute. The Learning Network will be using this meeting as a jumping off point for a series of learning opportunities and webinars in 2018. We'd love to have more Workforce Matters members engaged.
Let us know if you'd like more information or want to get involved!
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Webinar: Community Voice and Breakout Innovation
November 2, 2017
A growing number of workforce development grantmakers are interested in incorporating the voice and perspective of workers in the design, implementation, and evaluation of their grantmaking. In this webinar, we explored this nascent field via conversations with four national leaders in this space:
Joanna Levitt Cea and
Jess Rimington, whose article -
Creating Breakout Innovation - recently appeared in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and
Kelly Ryan and Jenny Riggenbach of Incourage Community Foundation, who have been endeavoring to apply these principles in their own work.
Access the Recording
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Webinar: The Community Reinvestment Act and Workforce Development
December 8, 2017
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2018 Skills Summit
The 2018 National Skills Coalition Skills Summit is scheduled for February 6-8 at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Workforce Matters will host a funder networking dinner the evening of Tuesday, February 6th and the Workforce Matters Steering Committee will convene following the Summit on February 8th. Click here for more information.
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United We Rise: 2018 GCIR National Convening
Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees (GCIR) will hold its 2018 Convening, United We Rise, in Los Angeles from February 27-March 1. The conference will explore a wide range of issues facing immigrants and refugees, including workforce development, and how a diverse range of grantmakers are responding. Click here for more information.
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The Good Jobs Project Launched
The Good Jobs Project
, a research project by The Georgetown Center on Education and the Workforce and JPMorgan Chase, was created to investigate the impact overarching structural economic change has had and is having on workers who do not have a bachelor's degree. Their new site provides users with an interactive way to determine the level of economic opportunity for workers without BAs across the country. Learn more: https://goodjobsdata.org/
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Rethinking the Mission: Community Colleges and Workforce Education
In this new paper from the
American Enterprise Institute, Tamar Jacoby asks which training providers can supply workforce education on the scale that's needed to close the skills gap and concludes that community colleges are arguably the only institution with the reach and scale to make the difference that's needed.
Click here to read the report.
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Why wages aren't growing in America
In this Harvard Business Review article from Jay Shambaugh and Ryan Nunn of the Brookings Institution, the authors highlight the key findings of their recent research into wage stagnation. Read the article.
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The Role of SCSEP in Workforce Training for Low-Income Older Workers
The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) is projected to serve more than 67,000 low-income unemployed older adults in program year 2017. The fiscal year 2018 budget eliminates all funding for SCSEP; this white paper from Kelly S. Mikelson at the Urban Institute examines the evidence on the program and discusses the potential effects of cutting it. Read the report.
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Aspen WSI Launches New Website
The Aspen Institute Economic Opportunities Program's Workforce Strategies Initiative has launched an updated website. You can visit their new online home at
aspeninstitute.org/wsi.
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In a new policy paper from Mary Alice McCarthy, Iris Palmer, and Michael Prebil, New America lays out its vision for Degree Apprenticeships in America. Eight policy recommendations show how the financing, program design, and quality assurance elements can quickly fall in place.
Read more by clicking here.
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Field Notes and News & Resources are provided by Workforce Matters as a courtesy to our members and colleagues from other funding networks and workforce development initiatives. These announcements are shared for informational purposes only and do not imply a Workforce Matters endorsement or affiliation.
Are you headed to these or other workforce events soon?
Let us know and we'll keep you apprised of Workforce Matters networking opportunities at upcoming conferences.
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Can't get enough Workforce Matters?
We've launched a Google Group where Workforce Matters funders can directly connect with one another to ask questions and share information. Available via digest.
Email Us Today if You'd Like to Join!
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Thank You to Our Supporting Members!
Workforce Matters is made possible through the generosity of our Supporting Members. A special thanks to our 2017-2018 funders: Annie E. Casey Foundation,
Fairfield County's Community Foundation,
Hitachi Foundation, Incourage Community Foundation, Joyce Foundation, JPMorgan Chase, Lumina Foundation, The New York Community Trust, Siemens Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the Walmart Foundation, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.
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