Narrative: II. a. 2. C.

The National Governors Association (NGA) Talent Pipeline Policy Academy is a cross-agency leadership team that is working to institute shared goals and strategies across the state’s education and training pipeline. The Governor’s Workforce Development Board (GWDB) is responsible for convening meetings and coordinating the activities of the policy academy, with technical assistance provided by the NGA Center for Best Practices. Senior leaders from the core partner agencies and other state entities have met monthly, attended three cross-state gatherings, and NGA policy analysts have traveled to Minnesota for two in-state policy sessions. Initial work of the policy academy centered on creation of a shared vision and goals. The shared vision has been incorporated into the State Combined Plan under WIOA. Talent Pipeline Policy Academy’s K-12 education-related goals mirror the World’s Best Workforce goals found in Minnesota Statute 120B.11. These five goals were expanded to include five workforce-related goals, creating an education-to-career continuum. Racial and economic disparities along this continuum are at the forefront of the policy academy’s work. Over the course of the past year, strategies to achieve these goals have emerged: Systemic Implementation of Career Pathways for Adults and Experiential Learning for Youth. The team members involved in the policy academy were instrumental in launching an ongoing committee of the GWDB, the Career Pathways Partnership (CPP). The CPP was formed to establish state leadership and an operational framework to support sector-based Career Pathways. It is a foundational group that provides an exchange of information and, through the development of short- and long-term goals, impacts Career Pathways programs and policies from a state, regional, and local perspective. The CPP is chaired by two members of the GWDB and includes a broad spectrum of members from all regions of the state, including business and industry, state agencies, education, higher education, and community-based organizations. Regional convenings on Experiential or Work-based Learning for ages 16-24 were recently held in three areas of the state: Southwest Minnesota, Northeast Minnesota and Minneapolis/Metro. Workforce center directors, with the support of the Minnesota Workforce Council Association (MWCA), collaborated with GWDB staff on logistics and an agenda. The goal was to gain insight on the unique challenges each region faces. The sessions also provided an opportunity to plan an integrated approach to establishing and expanding co-location of workforce centers within colleges and Adult Basic Education (ABE) centers in key areas of the state. Invitees included superintendents, ABE partners, postsecondary institutions, technical colleges, business and industry, and community-based organizations. An external consultant familiar with government at all levels facilitated the events and is submitting a white paper as a final deliverable. A follow-up survey was sent to participants by the Economic Analysis Department at DEED and results are being analyzed. Ongoing work is also being done on specific deliverables required by the NGA prior to the conclusion of the policy academy: • Measures corresponding to the policy academy’s goals, including educational attainment goals; • Talent Supply and Demand Dashboard to support the alignment and use of education, workforce and economic development data, including longitudinal data systems and current labor market data; • Asset Mapping of state and federal funding/programs to identify opportunities to increase alignment between the state education and training pipeline. The involvement of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry in the NGA policy academy and Career Pathways Partnership efforts has led to inter-agency collaboration and the awarding of a U.S. Department of Labor Innovation Fund Grant to support and study federally funded employment and training programs to ensure that our public workforce system evolves to continue serving the needs of job seekers and businesses. The funds will be used to build a “demand driven labor market” system and help implement and test innovative ways to deliver services more efficiently, facilitate cooperation across programs and funding streams, and create programs aligned with the needs of specific employers or industry sectors. This will lead to improved services and will provide invaluable data about effective and sustainable strategies that can be used nationwide. DEED’s Labor Market Information Office and its regional analysts continue to collaborate with local workforce investment boards, DEED staff, and others to provide data and analysis for grant applications; MnSCU’s Program Planning Office to provide data, analysis, tools and training for program planning; the Dislocated Worker program to provide and improve career products, planning and reporting; Veteran’s Services to provide and analyze information and data for planning and evaluation purposes and the GWDB. The LMI Office is currently working to improve its web-based data tools and the design and navigation of its website. In addition, the LMI Office DEED regularly develops 10-year projections of statewide and regional occupational employment and wages, job vacancies, and regional employment. The State Longitudinal Education Data System (SLEDS) is jointly managed by the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the Departments of Education and Employment an Economic Development. The system matches student data from pre-kindergarten through completion of postsecondary and into the workforce, enabling education and policymakers to answer a range of program and policy questions that can be used to gauge the effectiveness of programs, design targeted improvement strategies, and assist in creating a more seamless education and workforce system for all Minnesotans. DEED’s Office of Policy includes the Performance Management Office, which works throughout the agency to facilitate results-based accountability that is client-focused, impartial, and transparent. The office informs strategic direction by providing data-driven analysis and context to those who use, deliver, and fund the Minnesota economic and workforce development systems. Three major functions are information analysis, management analysis, and outreach. DEED’s programs and services are delivered through our 48 WorkForce Centers, online services and eligibility–based programs. DEED also partners with certified service providers, non–profits, and Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and Adult Basic Education programs.

Overview of our clients in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2014:

• Over 230,000 Minnesotans received service from DEED’s Workforce Development programs and services.
• One out of every four Minnesotans served by our workforce development program and services is from a community of color.
• More than 66% of our customers served by our workforce development program and services found a job with a Minnesota company.
• Approximately 22% of unemployed Minnesotans received a services from a WorkForce Center..
Approximately 7.5% served were veterans.

WorkForce Center services are available to all Minnesotans throughout the state, free of charge. These customers are often called universal customers. They might walk into a WorkForce Center and use a computer to search for a job or take a workshop on resume writing.

In Calendar Year 2015, Minnesota’s WorkForce Center system:

• Served 90,390 total customers, including 47,000 Unemployment Insurance applicants and over 14,000veterans; and
• 8,560 workshops were delivered to 28,470 attendees.

Demographics of WorkForce Center customers served include:

• 72% were White; 23% were African American or Black; 7% were Hispanic; 5% were American Indian or Alaskan Native; 4% were Asian or Hawaiian Native or other Pacific Islander;
• 67% were age 31 or over; and
• 8% have less than a high school diploma/GED; 55% have a high school graduate; and 37% have a college graduate

Online services for job seekers are also available to all Minnesotans, free of charge. Customers can create a resume and search for jobs on MinnesotaWorks.net, the state’s no–fee job bank for jobseekers and employers.

In Calendar Year 2015, MinnesotaWorks.net:

• Had 801,400 total job openings posted; and
• Opened 79,320 new job seeker accounts and 1,940 new employer accounts.

Demographics for customers of MinnesotaWorks.net include:

• 78% were White; 14% were African American or Black; 5% were Hispanic; 4% were American Indian; 4% were Asian or Hawaiian Native or other Pacific Islander;
• 54% were age 35 or older; and
• 48% had a high school diploma or GED; 44% had a vocational credential or college degree.

Eligibility–based programs: While DEED serves all Minnesotans through any of our 48 Workforce Centers, our primary focus is on disadvantaged workers, or those with barriers to employment. These populations of Minnesotans have been separated from employment through no fault of their own and often fall into one of the following categories:

• Veterans
• Laid–off workers
• Low–wage, low–skill adults
• People with disabilities
• At–risk youth

Almost 50,000 Minnesotans each year receive workforce development services through state– and federally–funded eligibility–based programs administered by DEED. Services range from skills evaluations and career guidance to on–the–job and classroom training. This number does not include individuals receiving Department of Human Services–administered income assistance programs who are required to complete employment services with DEED, an additional 70,000.

In SFY 2014, DEED’s eligibility–based programs:

• Served 47,101 total (28,141 unduplicated) customers; and
• One in three (33%) customers served were long–term unemployed and had no earnings in the six months prior to enrollment.

Demographics for eligibility–based program customers include:

• 74% were White; 17% were African American or Black; 7% were Hispanic; 2% were American Indian; 5% were Asian or Hawaiian Native;
• 15% have a disability;
• 64% are age 31 or over; and
• 52% have education beyond a high school diploma or GED.

Vocational Rehabilitation Services and State Services for the Blind:

In FFY 2016, Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS):

• Serving 17,240 persons under Title I of the Rehabilitation Act, all of whom will be individuals with either a significant disability or a most significant disability under Minnesota’s administrative rule for vocational rehabilitation;
• 89% will be persons who have a most significant disability (three or more functional limitations); 11% will be persons with a significant disability (one or two functional limitations); and
• 3,000 individuals will have individualized employment plans with a supported employment goal, under Title VI Part B, Supported Employment Services Program.

Adult Basic Education: The mission of Adult Basic Education (ABE) in Minnesota is to provide adults with educational opportunities to acquire and improve their literacy skills necessary to become self–sufficient and to participate effectively as productive workers, family members, and citizens.

In Program Year 2014, ABE programs:

• Served 38,612 customers; and
• One in four (25%) participants served were unemployed at entry into the program; 40% were not in the labor force.

Demographics for ABE program customers include:

• 19% were White; 37% were African American or Black; 23% were Hispanic; 3% were American Indian; 16% were Asian or Hawaiian Native; 2% were two or more races;
• 6% have a disability;
• 75% are age 25 or over; and
• 90% do not have education beyond a high school diploma or GED.