The Defense Industry Partnership

Workforce Development Approach


Establish a Framework

The second phase of this project includes the establishment of a workforce development framework consistent with emerging policy and best practices. The framework will be shaped by the recommendations from the National Academy Report, Rising above the Gathering Storm, Energizing and Employing America for a Brighter Future (see below), the resulting America Competes initiative, and the work of the Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce. In particular, education and industry will be tightly integrated in the RI Competes PK-16 workforce development model.
                                    

Individual stakeholders in the development of the defense workforce educational components are currently working on K-12 strategies and programs at the inter-US governmental agency level, the Department of Defense level and the Department of Homeland Security level.  The Department of Defense’s STEM Development Office has just released their outreach and strategic plan on workforce development.  Tom Kowalczyk and the RI STEM Center are currently working with Dr. Laura Adolfie, the Director of the STEM Development Office, to better understand the strategy so that the resulting RI Competes framework will be consistent with the DoD strategy and will leverage it to the maximum practical extent. This is critical considering the importance of the Naval Sector to the RI Economy.


STEM Education Coalition

Individual members of the Education Committee are also currently working with the newly established Business and Industry STEM Education Coalition. More than 40 business and industry associations have joined together to form the Business and Industry STEM Education Coalition. The coalition will enhance and elevate the U.S. commitment to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and facilitate STEM Education through private and public partnerships. As a coalition of industries, their purpose is to align their efforts to improve STEM education to develop the future workforce in order to build the nation’s economic competitiveness, sustain national security, and develop future jobs and employment specialties that engage a dynamic STEM workforce.  This model will be adopted and adapted by Rhode Island stakeholders to ensure the state’s efforts are in line with the national trends and objectives.

Changes in the external environment, which will be outlined in the defense industry analysis and skills gap study, dictate a comprehensive look at the PK-16 workforce development framework.  This analysis will provide the foundation for the Education Committee’s series of workshops to be hosted and facilitated by the RI STEM Center at RIC, which will convene the full set of STEM stakeholders in RI.  These workshops aim to develop the framework for a radically improved workforce development system that is aligned with RI defense companies’ needs and national priorities and trends.  The following is a preliminary list of workshops proposed to take place:


Workshop I

 

Better understand the challenge facing RI and the nation, identify next steps, and commit to a new paradigm of education/business/government cooperation (full set of stakeholders (200 attendees)) –

Theme: Adaptation of ‘America Competes’ to ‘RI Competes’

  • White House Office of Science and Technology Policy / DoD STEM Development Office / US Dept. of Labor Workforce Revitalization Initiative
  • Ninigret Partners Industry Analysis and Skills Gap Presentation
  • RI Department of Education, Department of Labor and Training, and Economic Development Corporation, STEM faculty and STEM-educators from higher education; RIC students studying and preparing to teach STEM disciplines; Providence After School Alliance
  • US Chamber Institute for a Competitive Workforce

Workshop II-IV

Regional workshops to work on actions identified in workshop I, as well as reach out to and promote regional and local youth councils, business-education partnerships, councilors and outreach to employers

Workshop V

Full set of stakeholders for framework integration and finalization of implementation plans 

Final Policy Analysis

A final policy analysis will be done that will include a description of the linkages to educational K-12 and post secondary education that ensure suitable training programs are available to meet the skill needs of the defense industry; how the partnership will develop new career ladders and pathways within and across companies, enabling entry-level workers to improve skills to advance into higher skill, higher wage jobs; how the partnership will develop new industry credentials that give companies confidence in the skills of new hires and workers more mobility and earning potential across firms; and how the state and local workforce agencies can be linked into the transition process of education/training to placement and employment.   The result of this policy analysis will lay the groundwork for implementation of selected elements of the improved workforce development strategy in the second year and implementation of full set of improved workforce development strategies in the third year of this project, ultimately aiming to lead to full integration.

The results of this analysis will provide the Governor’s Workforce Development Board with a comprehensive skills assessment across all major segments of the defense industry.  Additionally, these results will be delivered and presented to the Advisory Committee of the Partnership and also to the Education Committee at their Workforce Development Workshop Series, to ensure the skills gap are prioritized in their policy analysis for improving the workforce development strategy for the state of RI.

See other elements of the Partnership