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This post was authored by Robin Willis, Associate Vice President, Talent Pipeline Strategies at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce.

As Chambers, we are all experiencing tremendous workforce strain in our communities. Just like you, we are hearing members express serious concern over finding and keeping skilled talent.

The Charleston metro region is the 75^th largest metro in the county but ranks in the top 10 for job growth. We’ve evaluated the data and have projected there will be 35,000 new jobs in our region in the next 5 years.

Our Talent team works directly with school district leaders, guidance counselors and teachers. As we have communicated the local skills gaps data we noticed another cause for concern: students and parents were experiencing information overload. Instead of using the data to choose a high demand career path, they were lost in a sea of opportunity—hundreds of certificate or degree options in our market alone. Students needed simplified information that showed them there are multiple, but not infinite, pathways in high demand industries that can lead to a career with high potential for growth.

Enter a new publication called Mapping Your Path. It highlights several pathway options in six of our region’s high demand industries. Each pathway has been validated by 17 of the region’s leading employers. Students, or adults reentering or changing careers, can see starting and stopping points from Certifications to Associates Degrees through Masters Degrees.

School districts have embraced the information—giving print and electronic versions to students and parents as part of state-mandated planning meetings with school counselors. We envision producing an updated version with live online links, and ultimately the development of a mobile-enabled portal.

Tags: #Talent, Education Attainment, workforce

Leaders from 20 chambers of commerce, representing communities throughout the United States, have been selected to participate in ACCE’s Fellowship for Education and Talent Development. This is the fifth cohort of Fellows to participate in this program. 

The Fellowship is an immersive professional development program that provides chamber of commerce professionals with education, peer connections and tools to improve the education and workforce development outcomes in the communities they serve.

Throughout the year-long experience, participants develop regional action plans to address a specific education attainment or workforce development issues in their communities.

Congratulations to this year’s Fellows!

Danielle Britton
Talent & Education Director
Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce
Binghamton, New York

Eric Brown
Vice President of Economic Development
Salina Area Chamber of Commerce
Salina, Kansas

Anthony Edwards
Senior Vice President of Talent Development, Attraction & Retention
Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce
Fort Worth, Texas

Angela Finding
Director, Education & Workforce
Greater Cleveland Partnership
Cleveland, Ohio

Rod Garvin
Vice President of Talent & Workforce Development
Charlotte Chamber
Charlotte, North Carolina

Theresa Harvey
President & CEO
North Orange County Chamber
Fullerton, California

Deana Karem
Vice President of Regional Economic Growth
Greater Louisville Inc.
Louisville, Kentucky

Stephanie Keinath
Director of Public Policy & Economic Development
Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce
Dayton, Ohio

Meg Lindsay
Director Education & Workforce/Spokane STEM
Greater Spokane Incorporated
Spokane, Washington

Sarah Moylan
Senior Director of Talent
Greater Omaha Chamber
Omaha, Nebraska

Anna Osland
Manager, Policy Initiatives
One Acadiana
Lafayette, Louisiana

Samantha Perez
Director of Education Policy
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
Nashville, Tennessee

Beth Rinehart
President & CEO
Bristol TN/VA Chamber of Commerce
Bristol, Tennessee

Paige Sharpe
Program Manager
Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce
Springfield, Oregon

Betsy Sikma
Vice President, Talent & Economic Inclusion
Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce
Spartanburg, South Carolina

Kwee Lan Teo
Vice President of Talent & Workforce
Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce
Austin, Texas

Melissa Thompson
Director of Talent Development
Baton Rouge Area Chamber
Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Adrea Turner
Director of Talent & Workforce Solutions
Greenville Chamber
Greenville, South Carolina

Kami Welch
President
Arvada Chamber of Commerce
Arvada, Colorado

Robin Willis
Associate Vice President of Talent Pipeline Strategies
Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce
North Charleston, South Carolina

Learn more about the Fellowship here. ACCE will begin accepting applications for the next Fellowship cohort in May 2019.

Tags: ACCE News, Education Attainment, Education Attainment Division, Fellowship for Education Attainment

In 2008, as the world wrestled with the fallout from the global financial crisis, growth in Chattanooga, Tennessee barely skipped a beat. Now, the city is showing signs of growing pains, with its workforce lacking the education attainment levels needed to fill the high-paying jobs arriving every day in Hamilton County.

To correct this misalignment, the Chattanooga Chamber and its community partners introduced Chattanooga 2.0, an initiative designed to increase the portion of Hamilton County adults with a college degree or technical training certificate from 38 percent to 75 percent by 2025. The chamber estimates that 80 percent of the 15,000 new jobs expected over the next several years will require a post-secondary degree.

“There’s not only an economic imperative, but also a moral imperative,” said David Steele, vice president of policy and education at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. “A lot of what makes Chattanooga such an awesome place to live and work was not awesomeness that was being enjoyed by everyone in the community.”

The initiative has already begun reshaping education in Chattanooga. The coalition has launched a new polytechnic academy housed in a local community college, which welcomes students from each of the eight city high schools and trains them in four localized career clusters. A partnership with Volkswagen AG provides industry credentials that often lead to high-paying jobs at its local plant.

“We are distributing certificate programs that lead to other degrees and credentials earlier in the pipeline, when the kids are juniors and seniors in high school,” explained Steele. “The goal is not simply degrees and credentials, but degrees and credentials that have a value within the context of our economy.”

The chamber solicited feedback from stakeholders over an 18-month period to identify obstacles to accessing college, successful programs for replication and strategies for bridging the gaps in available opportunities. At the same time, it kept the community updated through weekly print and online newspaper columns, letters to the editor, op-eds and email newsletters.

“We had school board members host town hall meetings, and we made presentations to every level of government,” recounted Steele. “The 2.0 program schedules two to three meetings a week, so an awful lot of communication takes place in conference rooms and around board tables. It’s become a really dominant factor here in our community.”

Although 2025 still looms far off, there are signs that the initiative is on the right track. Chamber publications predict that 20 percent of the graduating class of 2018 will have been involved in an industry credential program during their junior and senior years. The chamber's communications also speak volumes, with the coalition's website earning 3,600 average monthly visits and 1,500 subscribers to its weekly newsletter.

The coalition’s success was further validated when the Chattanooga Chamber was named Chamber of the Year by ACCE in July. The award recognized the chamber for its success with Chattanooga 2.0, as well as Thrive 2055, a regional growth campaign that complemented the 2.0 movement.

“The award has been a tremendous source of pride for our entire staff and the membership,” said Steele, adding that the chamber has taken the trophy on a tour of its regional councils. “It’s something the entire community has taken ownership of, and that’s been very exciting for us.”

But, even with the chamber still reeling from its big award wins at the ACCE convention, Steele insists the best is yet to come for the chamber and the Chattanooga community.

“It’s very gratifying to have received the recognition we have, but if you were to talk to our staff, the sense you’d get is that none of us feel like we’ve peaked,” he said. “We’re very focused as individuals and teams on building on the success we saw last year, and maintaining the momentum as we continue to enhance our organizational infrastructure.”

Want to see your story featured in the #ACCESpotlight? Share it with Ben Goldstein.

Tags: #ACCE17, #ACCEAwards, Chamber of the Year, Chattanooga Area Chamber, Chattanoooga 2.0, Education Attainment

Leaders from 21 chambers of commerce, representing communities throughout the United States, have been selected to participate in ACCE’s Fellowship for Education Attainment.

The Fellowship is an immersive executive development program that provides chamber of commerce professionals with education and tools to improve the birth-to-career education pipeline in the communities they serve.

Throughout the year-long experience, Fellows work to develop a regional action plan that focuses on addressing specific education attainment or workforce development issues in their communities.

Congratulations to this year’s Fellows!

Kristi Barr
Director, Workforce Development & Education
Little Rock Regional Chamber
Little Rock, Arkansas

Travis Burton
Manager of Public Affairs
Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Frankfort, Kentucky

Cathy Burwell, IOM
President & CEO
Helena Area Chamber of Commerce
Helena, Montana

Tim Cairl
Director, Education Policy
Metro Atlanta Chamber
Atlanta, Georgia

Brett Campbell
Senior Vice President for Education and Workforce
Tulsa Regional Chamber of Commerce
Tulsa, Oklahoma

Christopher Cooney, IOM, CCE
President & CEO
Metro South Chamber of Commerce
Brockton, Massachusetts

Jonathan Davis
Director of Workforce Initiatives
Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce
Augusta, Georgia

Melanie D’Evelyn
Manager, Education Attainment
Detroit Regional Chamber Foundation
Detroit, Michigan

Dexter Freeman, II
Director of Intelligence, Innovation, & Education
Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce
Irving, Texas

Christy Gillenwater, IOM, CCE
President & CEO
Southwest Indiana Chamber
Evansville, Indiana

Derek Kirk
Director of Community & Government Relations
North Orange County Chamber
Fullerton, California

Angelle Laborde, CCE
President & CEO
Greenwood Area Chamber of Commerce
Greenwood, South Carolina

Meaghan Lewis
Government Affairs Manager
North Carolina Chamber
Raleigh, North Carolina

Amber Mooney
Manager, Government Affairs
The Business Council of New York State
Albany, New York

Dr. Gilda Ramirez
Vice President, Small Business & Education
United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce
Corpus Christi, Texas

Chris Romer, IOM
President & CEO
Vail Valley Partnership
Avon, Colorado

JoAnn Sasse Givens
Director of Workforce Development
Effingham County Chamber of Commerce
Effingham, Illinois

Mary Anne Sheahan
Executive Director of Leadership & Workforce Development
Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce
Burlington, Vermont

Barbara Stapleton
Vice President of Workforce & Education
GO Topeka
Topeka, Kansas

Sherry Taylor
President & CEO
Mason Deerfield Chamber
Mason, Ohio

Emily Ward
Vice President, Foundation Supports & Grant Management
Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce
Brooklyn, New York

Find more information about ACCE’s Fellowship for Education Attainment here, or contact Molly Blankenship, community advancement coordinator, by email or phone at 703-998-3530. ACCE will begin accepting applications for the next Fellowship cohort in May, 2018.

Tags: Education Attainment, Education Attainment Division, Fellowship for Education Attainment, ACCE News

Ever wonder how ACCE’s Education Attainment Division (EAD) team stays up to date on all things education and workforce development related? We take advantage of the many free e-newsletters available and wanted to share a few of our favorites with you. From equity to fundraising, this is by no means an exhaustive list, but rather a collection of the ones we have found to be most valuable. 

Collective Impact

Collective Impact Forum Newsletters
Content related to collective impact, includes case studies, tools, and resources from Collective Impact Forum / Note: You must make a profile to receive emails.

Economic & Workforce Development

C2ER Weekly
Content related to economic development, workforce, and labor issues, includes resources curated from around the web and programs of the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER).

National Skills Coalition Monthly
Content related to workforce, education, and training policies, includes news curated from the web and resources created by the National Skills Coalition.

SSTI Weekly
Content related to economic development through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship, includes news curated from around the web and analysis from the State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI).

U.S. Chamber Center for Education and Workforce Monthly
Content related to business engagement in education and workforce development, includes resources created by the U.S. Chamber Foundation.  

Education

Community College Daily or Weekly
Content related to issues and legislation that affect community colleges, includes resources curated from the web and articles written for the American Association of Community Colleges.

Education Dive Daily
Content related to trends and advancements in either the K-12 or higher education industries, includes headlines curated from around the web.

Gallup Newsletter
Content related to research on the U.S. education system, includes original data and research reports from Gallup.  

InsideTrack Innovation Bulletin Weekly 
Content related to innovation in higher education, includes headlines curated from around the web

Lumina Higher Ed News Daily
Content related to higher education attainment, includes news curated from around the web and resources created by Lumina Foundation.

Equity & Youth

America’s Promise Alliance Weekly
Content related to issues affecting the successful education path of young people, includes resources curated from around the web and a list of funding opportunities.

CLASP Newsletters
Content related to economic and workforce policies that affect low income people, includes analysis and resources from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP).

Philanthropy and Fundraising

Inside Philanthropy Daily
Content related to fundraising strategies, includes insights into funder mindsets and fundraising tips.

Philanthropy News Digest RFP Alerts Daily
A daily roundup of recently announced requests for proposals from private, corporate, and government funding sources / Note: Creating an account allows you to filter your RFP preferences.

Philanthropy News Digest RFP Bulletin Weekly
A weekly roundup of recently announced requests for proposals from private, corporate, and government funding sources

Policy

Federal Flash
Five-minute (or less) video series on important developments in education policy from the Alliance for Excellent Education.

Pew State Line Daily or Weekly
Content related to trends in state policy, includes news curated from around the web and policy analysis by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Workplace/HR

HR Daily
Content related to workforce and workplace trends and practices, includes analysis and news from the Society of Human Resources Management (SHRM).

Do you know of any e-newsletters to add? Email mvegliante@acce.org with your suggestion and it will be added to this list. 

Tags: Grants, Policy, Workforce Development, Economic Development, education, Education Attainment, Grant research

What’s missing?

As education and workforce development (EDWD) organizations are wrapping up annual strategic planning processes for 2016, many are still looking back on their plans wondering what is missing. Seasoned EDWD professionals know all too well that there is no silver bullet when it comes to improving education attainment and developing a talented and competitive workforce, and that various factors affect the talent pipeline; yet, the question of what will most significantly accelerate their organization’s annual goals will hover over their minds throughout the year.

So what could be missing—even from best practice models like cradle-to-career collective impact initiatives, which build cross-sectors partnerships to improve student outcomes? Chances are that what is missing is a comprehensive and well-balanced health and wellness agenda. At ACCE, we see a growing number of chambers of commerce that are championing health and wellness initiatives in their community, understanding that efforts to improve the talent pipeline work hand in hand with improving health.

What’s the connection?

You may be wondering just how critical a health and wellness action plan is to improving education attainment and workforce outcomes, and the correlation between the two is stronger than most of us realize. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that losses in productivity due to worker illness and injury costs U.S. Employers $225.8 billion annually, equal to $1,685 per employee, enough to significantly impact a business’s bottom line. One study, conducted by the nonprofit Health Enhancement Research Organization, even suggests that best-practice workplace wellness practices are linked to better corporate performance (read more at SHRM.org). These findings help us to understand how deeply health affects our workforce.

What is also interesting is that, on the flip side, EDWD significantly impacts health outcomes. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation created an excellent Better Education = Healthier Lives infographic, which demonstrates how an individual’s health is greatly shaped by their socioeconomic factors, such as education and income. It states that “Each additional year of schooling represents an 11% increase income. High earnings increase access to healthier food and safer homes, and can even lower uncertainty and stress.”

Recognizing that you cannot advance one agenda without the other, ACCE has identified the following three opportunities for chambers of commerce to incorporate health and wellness strategies into their EDWD efforts.

1. Ensuring Children Are Ready to Learn: Chambers of commerce are uniquely poised to work with key education stakeholders and community service providers to ensure that young children receive the quality education and wellness care they need to be healthy and ready to learn by the time they reach kindergarten. By focusing on a community’s youngest residents, a chamber can not only ensure children are set on a positive trajectory to succeed in school and career, but also instill effective wellness habits that will shape their future health—and as an added bonus, help develop a talented and productive workforce capable of competing in the 21^st century global market.
2. Promoting Workplace Wellness: With direct access to the business community, chambers of commerce can provide employers with the support and guidance needed to implement innovative and effective programs and workplace policies that encourage employees to adopt healthier lifestyles. The benefits of workplace wellness programs far outweigh their cost, and more and more employers are finding that, in addition to helping employees adopt healthy work-life habits, these programs produce more productive employees, help attract and retain talent, build staff morale, combat employee absenteeism, minimize staff turnover and reduce healthcare costs for employers.
3. Building a Healthy Community Culture: Chambers of commerce already champion opportunities to raise the quality of life for their residents, knowing their members will prosper as a result. These organizations—which typically represent diverse sectors of the community, including business, non-profit, education, and health and government entities—can offer opportunities for their members to participant in events and/or councils that are focused on improving community health. Strong community health can be the tipping point towards economic vitality and equitable prosperity, fulfilling a chamber’s vision for its community.

Where to start?

For ACCE members looking to develop or expand an education and workforce development agenda that is inclusive of health and wellness, ACCE’s Education Attainment Division has pulled together excellent examples of chamber-led health and wellness initiatives and created a series of communication briefs, which are available on the division’s Workforce Wellness and Community Health Chamberpedia page. The division will be also be providing on-going technical assistance throughout the year and developing additional resources with an expanded online library of health and wellness resources to come this spring, as well as in-person support and education-and-workforce-development-related sessions at ACCE’s 2016 Annual Convention August 9-12 in Savannah, GA.

To learn more about these resources or to share how your organization is championing health and wellness, please contact Analidia Blakely, Education Attainment Division Manager, via email at ablakely@acce.org.

Tags: Workforce Wellness, Children's Health, Community Health, Education Attainment, Workforce Development

Last week Greater Spokane Inc. hosted Engineering Week as part of its Business AfterSchool Program. Business AfterSchool brings area students and parents to Spokane's high-demand industry sectors and companies to teach them about different careers and the skills needed to land available jobs. The program will devote one week each to focus on these industries: health care, engineering, manufacturing and computer science. 

Continue reading for the whole story and program details from Greater Spokane Incorporated's blog. 

Tags: K-12, Workforce Development, education, Education Attainment

Be sure to read ACCE's Education Attainment Division's latest blog post on "Business-Friendly Tools Chambers Can Use to Support a College & Career-Ready Agenda" (12/13/2013).  This post highlights updated resources and tools you can use for education attainment, workforce readiness, and Common Core Standards for chambers and your members. If your chamber is doing any work in Education & Workforce Development, be sure to get connected to ACCE's Education Attainment Division in our Divisions & Groups. HERO content relies on your contributions. Have a Sample document, link, or resource to share with us? Email HERO@acce.org to contribute resources or ask us a question.

Tags: common core, education, Education Attainment, HERO, Workforce Development