The Planning Process:
Education & Workforce Development

The Education and Workforce Development chapter serves to provide leadership and direction to advance an integrated, demand-driven workforce supported by the metropolitan Springfield educational systems, starting with pre-school through post graduate study (the full spectrum of which is often referred to as P-20).

In our chapter, we sought to coordinate our goals and strategies with those of the region's education and training institutions. We hope to foster stronger partnerships with regional "green" initiatives with the goal of building new educational programs that lead to new career pathways. We want to increase accessibility to education and training opportunities as well as public workforce services. We believe the alignment and coordination of various partner missions, policies and procedures across the region is essential.

The chapter identifies four major goals in the areas of: early childhood development; a comprehensive educational system; increased access to workforce and educational services and strengthening community partnerships.

Each of these four goals encompasses detailed objectives that engage the region's civic, business and industry leaders and its education/workforce practitioners in a variety of ways to ensure this strategic initiative is successful.

• The first major goal addresses early childhood development, which will serve to ensure these programs are connected to the K-12 educational system to better prepare children for school and create an environment that fosters better preparation for entry into the workforce as the child matures into an adult.
• The second major goal concentrates on championing a comprehensive educational system for all students that will have an emphasis on work readiness, lifelong learning, and access to all — not only students but adults in need of work skills learning opportunities and growth.
• The third major goal is to ensure access for business and workers (job seekers) to the full array of workforce and educational services and support by creating a clearing house of services, expanding career centers located throughout the community, and improving career counseling programming for both high school students and school career counselors.
• The final goal focuses on strengthening community partnerships — not only locally but with county, regional, state and federal partners in order to meet the workforce and life-long training needs of the region. Supporting the recently formed P-20 Council of the Ozarks will help further this goal.

This chapter supports an aligned system that will deliver a stronger education and public workforce system that is connected to the critical needs of the region's industries. This will help create a growth cycle that leverages investment, attracts high-tech entrepreneurs and directly results in community sustainability.

With increased accessibility to education and training opportunities as well as public workforce services, new private and public partnerships will be formed to enhance work-based opportunities, educational attainments, job readiness and employee retention. All of this will result in positive economic growth that will engage the region's growth well into 2030.

By: Dawn Busick - OTC Center for Workforce Development
4.22.2011