The Workforce Leadership Council (WLC) is the platform the county uses to convene regional public and private sector employers as well as education and non-profit partners for cross-sector sharing of ideas, promising practices, and resources. The goal is to cultivate strong partnerships to address economic hardships including the disparate impact on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities. Additionally, the County will use the WLC to connect to other metro and statewide efforts.
Co-chairs: Commissioner Irene Fernando and business owner Nawal Noor
Background
The previous Workforce Leadership Council (2017) was instrumental in shaping the Hennepin Pathways model. The WLC was interrupted by the COVID-19 public health emergency and Hennepin County is restarting this effort.
What is Hennepin Pathways?
- A solution to help Hennepin County and other employers in the region find qualified candidates and close employment disparities by creating diverse pools of well-trained and high-potential applicants tailored to meet our region’s workforce needs.
- Structured and connected customized education and training programs, work experiences, and support services all provided at no-fee to job seekers to enable them to secure a family-sustaining career or advance in an industry or occupation.
- A partnership of employers with education and community-based training institutions to train job seekers and build their skills and experience to meet the employers’ needs.
Vision
We envision the WLC as a partnership between the county and small-to-mid-sized employers to better understand their challenges and needs and identify opportunities for innovation. By creating strategic business partnerships, we expect to have a council aligned to meet industry demands.
Through the collaboration of regional employers, business leaders and other partners we can exchange and share the experiences, know-how and expertise necessary to then align resources and champion strategies that prepare residents for careers and meet employers’ needs.
Future of work
The nature of work is changing and technology is a key driver of this change. Shifts to remote work, e-commerce and automation were all possible because of technological advancements. Technology will continue to accelerate change. The challenge is to determine how work will evolve and how to adjust to this transformation to benefit business and workers across the county.
Where will there be job growth? What occupations will see declines? What skills will employers need from workers? What career pathways resources will be needed to prepare workers for the future?
Strategic workforce planning is necessary for economic recovery, especially within BIPOC communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, and for preparing for the future of work. The WLC is the vehicle the County envisions for doing this work.
How the county is helping
The county will:
- Be a convener of this collaborative effort to examine post-pandemic trends to help inform and prepare the current and future workforce; will include a focus on engagement and retention.
- Provide technical assistance to employers. Examples of assistance include free advising and other resources through Elevate Business HC.
- Provide technical assistance for women-owned businesses and minority-owned businesses.
- Create or build on career pathways and allow for the development and implementation of tools for businesses. Examples include tools to access labor market resources and sector or occupation data so businesses have the opportunity to better understand their current workforce landscape and solve for their most pressing talent needs in critical occupations.
- Allocate resources to commensurate $20 per hour pilot proof of concept for a livable wage. With this pilot, the county seeks to develop a process that is co-created with members of the WLC to align the county’s decision to increase pay to $20 per hour in the private sector.