The Workforce Partnership Model

Workforce skills matter in an increasingly global and competitive economic environment, yet over a third of the American workforce lacks the skills needed to succeed in this environment. America’s prosperity will continue to depend on the strength of its workforce. Some sectors and communities already face skill shortages, unfilled jobs, low productivity, threats to regional competitiveness, and increasing disparities between those with and without education and skills.

Few communities are prepared to meet these challenges. The need for skilled workers has outstripped the capacity of the existing public workforce system, which is underfunded, fragmented, and constrained in its focus.

Workforce partnerships show promise in addressing these key challenges. In regions and states across the nation, a variety of organizations play the role of workforce intermediary: they organize the key stakeholders and local resources to help workers gain the skills they need and to give employers access to the skilled labor they need. At their core, workforce partnerships tend to be results-driven, entrepreneurial, and worthy of trust from both employers and workers.

The key functions of workforce partnerships include:

• Pursuing a “dual customer approach,” serving businesses looking for qualified workers and job seekers and workers looking to advance their careers;

• Organizing multiple institutions and funding streams around common goals;

• Providing or brokering services—training and supports—that help workers gain access to the initial rungs on the ladder to economic opportunity and advancement;

• Serving a variety of workers but recognizing and addressing the special needs of lower-skilled, lower-wage workers and job seekers;

• Reducing turnover and increasing the economic mobility of workers;

• Testing and adapting innovative approaches to workforce problems; and

• Catalyzing improvements in public systems and business employment practices.

Workforce Partnership Guidelines