From WIRED to What's Next: The Post
Recession Partnership for
Skills-Driven Economic Development
Richard Seline, Principal
Presentation for the
North East Regional Employment and Training Association

Why WIRED?
 Lack of coordination among drivers of job-creation and skills
development at the regional level
 Continued reinvention of the industry engagement model from
appointee to appointee at the state or WIB levels
 Inability to keep pace with new skills requirements in certain
emerging industry sectors, technologies, and globalization of
business models
 Hundreds of funded programs, grants, contracts circling around
the skills gap but no coordination of response much less
opportunity to explore mutual interests

“Regionalism” on the rise then…and now:
Driving Clusters and Industry Sectors
3

Clustered Asset Mapping

Clusters and Industry Sectors
Source: Regions of Innovation Project, US Council on Competitiveness

6
However, A New Regional Model
Emerging…
Then….
Manufacturing
Research
Development
Trials/Testing
Services
Self-contained
regional clusters
Intl Region
A
Local
Network E
Your
Region
Industry
Consortia F
Province D
Region C
Country G
Now….
Specialized,
networked regions:
Global Hubs & Nodes

Assessing Capacities to Innovation
Identifying & Measuring Assets and Skills
Regional
Innovation
Capacity
Converge, Coordinate, Collaborate
1 Knowledge of Critical Sciences,
Technologies, Applied
Engineering
5 Economic Value Generation
6 Infrastructure and Facilities Driving
Design, Manufacturing, Delivery
7 Market Analysis and Access
3 Expertise in capital sourcing,
commercialization of ideas
3
4
5
71
2 6
4 Competitive strengths assessment
2 Global Perspective

The Challenge: Changing vs. Creating Cultures
Legacy Future Scenario
Commodity-based
economy
Narrow value chains
Wholesale Market
perspective – pennies
Tall Poppies
Knowledge Driven
Endless Value chains
‘Niche’ Retail Market
perspective
Brand: Innovative
Entrepreneurs
Reality Check

Encouraging open source innovation and applied knowledge as a competitive
advantage within the region AND as an export to national and global interests
Supporting businesses (industries) that provide growth solutions
to specific challenges across several geographies and sectors
Attracting businesses, value chains based on tech sectors contained
within the proximity of their governance and maybe the region
Promoting business relocation based on jobs
and taxable business base
Creating global networks of innovation and becoming a hub or node
of unique knowledge, know-how, and competency
Evolution of the Role of Economic & Workforce Development Strategies

State Workforce
Commission Regional
Workforce
Continuum for
Targets of Opportunity
& Competencies?
State Agencies
Secondary and
School-to-Careers
Adult Education
Certification
Community and
Technical
Colleges
Business &
Industry
Training
Consortium
Network
Economic
Development
Agencies
Local Workforce
Boards and
One Stops
Community
Based
Organizations
Postsecondary and
Graduate Schools
Employment & Occupation Analysis: The Continuum Model

The WIRED Landscape

13
EWIB RIG Regional Innovation Framework?
Creating a ‘Big Picture’ and Specific Next Steps
Cluster of
Competency and
Knowledge
Existing
Technology&
Engineering
Capacity
Long-term
Occupations
that
consistently
grow with the
economy
STEMas a near-
term
investmentin
humancapital
Attract/Recruit
firms and their
outsourced
operationsto
the region
New pipeline of
students and skills,
leveraged by subject
matters experts in the
community, region
Tap Defense/
Intelligence
capabilities, but
‘repurpose’ skills to
address other options
Underpinning
competency and a
steady flow of
people, ideas,
capabilities derived
from Electric Boat,
UCONN, others
“ Why I must
be in the
Regionto win!”
What is required to create
this continuous innovation
cycle - what are THE
fundamental steps,
operations?

From Clusters of Industry to Clusters of
Knowledge & Competency
Industry Clusters
Production Strengths
• Build-What
Industry and occupational employment remain the foundation for
competencies:
Occupational Clusters
Skill Strengths
• Know-How
• Know-Whom
• Know-What
+
=
“Competencies”
Examples:
• Aerospace engineering
• Consumer product dev.
• Optics research
• Drug design clinical trials
• Bioinformatics
• Materials logistics
• 3D Printed-Manufacturing
Competitive Competencies
Additional databases:
• Patents
• R&D
• Asset Inventory
• VC
Further refine
Competency
definitions or
benchmarking

Connecting Innovation-Related Competencies and Assets
As Competitive Advantage for Regional Progress
Information
Technology/
Computing/Digital Tools
Aligned Workforce
Training & Skill
Creation-Monitoring
Unique Infrastructure,
Specialize Equipment,
Programs
Regional & Global
Networks/ Markets
Industry Sector
Specific
R&D/
Commercialization
Conversion of Ideas
Into Products, Services
Leading to Economic
Opportunity for All
Social Networks,
Leadership, Civic
Stewardship
Laboratories, research parks,
Incubators, Centers of Excellence
21st Century
Knowledge
Competencies
Gap? Early stage, seed capital
Gap? Advanced
manufacturing,
logistics
Gap? High
School-
Community
College Academy
Gap? Value proposition for
outreach to non-resident
CEOs, decision-makers

Advanced
Systems & Materials /
Polymers /
Nanotechnology
Biomedical
Research
Advanced
Manufacturing
Aerospace
& Defense
Transportation
&
Logistics
UAVs / Sensors /
Micro-Electro-
Mechanical Systems
Biomedical Engineering
/ Diagnostics / Drug
Development
Military Technologies
/ Shipbuilding /
Professional R&D
Services
Modeling &
Simulation
Technology
The Knowledge Economy and Clusters of Knowledge

Formal Approach to Taking a Job:

Emergence of New
Roles:
• Disease Mapper
• Robotic Surgery
Assistant
• Artificial
Intelligent Device
Designer
• Remote Sensing
Test and
Evaluation
Manager
• Nanoscale
Pharmaceutical
Production
Facility
Operations

Beginning of the Mismatch…

The Recession Impact

Deepest Job Loss in History

Part-Time Recovery and the 4:1
Productivity Gain in Corporate America

An Uneven Recovery

What’s Changed?
Jobless recovery
Changing labor relations
Advances in technology
Demographic shifts
Reduced funding sources
On-shoring of manufacturing
Distributed learning

Explanation of the Changes
Full-time versus freelance, contract, just-in-time hires,
small group expertise
Hyper-local, hyper-specialized versus global and mobile
Routine maintenance, operations in manufacturing
versus robotics, 3D printing, and other disruptive
technologies
Place-based learning versus MOOCs, DIY Skills
Development
Federal and State Grant Programs versus Public-private
partnership resources, fee-for-services, alternative
certification programs

Competition for Job Creation:
An Issue of Scale

Highest and Fastest Growing Jobs

Shifts, Shifts, and More Shifts

Game Changers in the Economy and
Employment Scenario

Where We Are Today!

What is Different in 2014?
 Nothing: we still have clusters of industries, competencies,
skills, and locations where work occurs – and we still approach
skills development as a system – a linear process.
 Everything:
 we now have totally unique job categories and interdisciplinary
skills as well as teams of PhDs working side by side with Blue
Collars;
 we have product and service ‘disruptions that are occurring on a
weekly and monthly basis, no longer years;
 we have structures and systems that are faster, accelerated, and
self-designed called ‘networks’.

Disrupting Traditional Business Models:

The “Language” of Global Youth & Next Generation
 Networks operating regardless of boundaries, histories, ethnic and
demographics….forming global diplomacy of powerful economic and social impact

Pre Recession vs. Post Recession:
The Structures Are At Odds
Pre Recession Post Recession

WIA Reform – In Our Lifetime?
 The 3 Million and counting “Brigade” of Un, Under-,
and Never Going To Be Traditionally Employed
 Finite Resources and Finite Political Will
 Targeted Performance and Impact – Laser Like Focus
 National Goals and Regional Dynamics, Flexibility
 Labor Unions, Corporate America – and The Axis of Real Job
Creation (which is neither of these!)
 21st Century Competitiveness through Advanced Manufacturing,
Disruptive Technologies, Industrial Design and Engineering, and a
Creative Spark for Global Product Delivery

“ Ready to Work” & Other
Funding Opportunities
$150 Million for “Ready to Work” Partnerships to Support
Innovative Public-Private Efforts to Help the Long-Term
Unemployed Get a Fair Shot. Today, the President and
Department of Labor are announcing $150 million in existing
resources from the H-1B fund to support high performing
partnerships between employers, non-profit organizations
and America’s public workforce system that will help provide
long-term unemployed individuals with the range of services,
training, and access they need to fill middle and high-skill
jobs. A solicitation for applications for these “ready to work”
partnerships be available in February and awards will be
made in mid-2014.

What Does All This Mean For Us?
 Embracing the Entrepreneur, Innovator, Inventor, and Disruptor –
THEY are your new partners in delivering skills and talent
development
 Engagement is NOT what YOU are doing – its what the eco-system
is creating WITH you
 Take a Job or Make A Job – the choices are exponentially
powerful, life-changing, and relevant to the future of WIBs,
Economic Development partners
 Resource allocation of time, energies, monies is top of mind in
determining your ROI – WHAT are your metrics, performance
results?

Questions, Answers, Discussion and Next Steps
Facilitated Session by Dan DeMaio Newton