Connecting workers to job opportunities and long-term career paths is a critical component of sustainable economic growth that is often hampered by a lack of information sharing and coordination among organizations. TIP’s proprietary Job Quality and Access tool, developed in collaboration with the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, provides multi-dimensional data that helps identify higher quality and more accessible jobs across geographies.
Students often feel pressured to pursue four-year degrees despite skyrocketing education costs. However, the value of affordable, shorter educational pathways, such as associate’s degrees and technical certificates, is increasingly evident. Institutions like Texas State Technical College and San Jacinto College demonstrate the benefits of skill-specific training, supported by philanthropic and industry investments, offering promising alternatives to traditional college routes.
Supporting Shorter, More Affordable Pathways to Quality Jobs Read More
In May, Katrina Parkey Fraser attended the National Association of Workforce Development Professional’s 40th annual conference in San Antonio. Katrina’s latest post shares insights gained from her time at the convening of over 2,000 workforce professionals from across the country.
As technology advances, a skills gap has emerged between students’ education and employers’ needs, threatening future workforce readiness. Work-based learning programs, which integrate real-world experiences and employer insights into education, offer a viable solution. This blog post explores three examples of programs that help students acquire essential skills and better prepare for high-demand jobs, addressing talent shortages in major sectors.
Limited access to the education and training needed to acquire high-demand skills and systemic biases in hiring decisions continue to perpetuate skills gaps and lead to underrepresentation in high-paying occupations. This post highlights two inclusive strategies—tailored community-based training programs and targeted recruitment—that economic developers can champion to help increase representation and bridge opportunity gaps.
Opportunity, Representation, and Participation In Workforce Development Read More
While it is often overlooked, placemaking has emerged as an essential factor in building successful innovation ecosystems. Erica Colston’s latest post explores two innovation hubs—North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park and Pegasus Park in Dallas, Texas—to illustrate how placemaking strategies have adapted to succeed in today’s innovation environment.
The process of placemaking is a means to bridge gaps across racial and socioeconomic lines, expand access to economic opportunity, and foster social inclusion within communities. These outcomes, however, require intentional efforts and a commitment to tackle unintentional practices that lead to division, creating unequal access to amenities, public spaces, and prosperity.
Rural America faces disparities in access to essential services and opportunities compared to urban areas. While the percentage of households without vehicles is similar across rural and urban regions, the income gap is substantial, highlighting the need for affordable and equitable mobility solutions. Could microtransit offer a promising solution to address this challenge?
Rising office vacancy rates following the COVID-19 pandemic have renewed conversations about the role of adaptive reuse. Jenn Todd-Goynes highlights notable examples of communities that have brought together public and private interests to transform vacant sites and underutilized assets into quality places that generate positive impacts and provide preferred destinations for people, businesses, and visitors.
Creating Place-Based Economic Impacts Through Adaptive Reuse Read More
Last month, John Karras attended the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) 2024 Leadership Summit in Phoenix, Arizona. In addition to speaking on a panel about high-performing regions and attending a plenary session on clean energy featuring TIP managing partner Jon Roberts, he took away observations about the importance of cross-jurisdictional collaboration which he shares in his latest post.
