workforce development

As the need for remote teaming and virtual service delivery continues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, frontline staff in the public workforce system continue to explore the ways in which technology can assist them with their essential job duties on a day-to-day basis. At this unique moment, technology may be able to assist with customer-facing job duties in ways that workforce professionals have not considered or needed prior to the pandemic, which forced extensive operational changes at the local level.

One area where frontline staff may want to seek alternatives is using online scheduling services to more efficiently arrange customer appointments. Online scheduling services can eliminate much of the time-consuming back and forth via phone or email when trying to make and/or change customer appointments. This frees up staff time to focus on more customer-facing, value-added tasks.

Online appointment scheduling services are technology tools that allow customers to schedule, reschedule, and cancel appointments through a web interface, without the need for staff assistance or involvement. If applied in the public workforce system, scheduling services could allow customers to schedule appointments with their career counselors in real time, with most of these technologies offering 24/7 web access via a computer or mobile device. Scheduling services instantly update a calendar when changes are made, thereby reflecting an up-to-date calendar at all times and eliminating any confusion or hassle in scheduling appointments.

A new blog post by Heldrich Center staff members Heather Allen, Amanda Bombino, and Liana Volpe reviews the benefits of online scheduling tools and previews three potential tools that public workforce offices might want to consider. Readers should note that the Heldrich Center is not endorsing any of these proprietary products.

Tagline

A new blog post reviews the benefits of online scheduling tools and previews three potential tools that public workforce offices might want to consider.

Microlearning Strategies: Another Approach to Virtual Workshop Delivery

admin — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:21:25 +0000

Microlearning Strategies: Another Approach to Virtual Workshop Delivery

Published Date

August 11, 2020

admin Thu, 10/22/2020 - 15:21

Type

Announcement

Topic

microlearning

workforce development

Unemployment & Reemployment

Workforce Policy & Practice

Suddenly Virtual

Related Experts

Liana Lin

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As the public workforce system continues to redefine and refine remote service delivery, many local workforce areas are converting their traditional in-person workshop content on job search skills into recorded PowerPoints they post to the Internet. For many job seekers, this can be overwhelming, providing them with too much information to absorb at a time when they are already stressed by information overload. Microlearning — a strategy that breaks longer content into smaller, hyper-focused lessons — offers an alternative approach that staff can use to deliver job search skill development programming.

A new blog post by Amanda Bombino and Liana Volpe examines the concept and benefits of microlearning. It also provides detailed descriptions of two microlearning strategies — audiovisual media-based microlearning and interactive microlearning — and the technology tools that support microlearning strategy development and delivery. Readers should note that the Heldrich Center is not endorsing any of the proprietary products mentioned in the blog post.

Amanda Bombino is a Research Intern and Liana Volpe is a Research Associate at the Heldrich Center.

Tagline

A new blog post examines the concept and benefits of microlearning for the workforce development system.

New Brief: Is it Time for a Great Reset of the Public Workforce System? (A Work in Progress)

heldrich_robb — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:23:24 +0000

New Brief: Is it Time for a Great Reset of the Public Workforce System? (A Work in Progress)

Published Date

September 27, 2022

heldrich_robb Tue, 09/27/2022 - 14:23

Type

Announcement

Topic

One-Stop Career Centers

American Job Centers

public workforce system

workforce development

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Is it Time for a Great Reset of the Public Workforce System? (A Work in Progress)

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English

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For nearly a quarter century, the U.S. public workforce system has been guided by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 and its successor, the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014. WIA and WIOA’s structures rely heavily on the establishment and operation of One-Stop Career Centers or American Job Centers, where job seekers can gain physical access to resource rooms for self-service tools and to workforce development staff who provide an array of services, including job search information, career counseling, and training for qualified individuals. System governance is provided by business-dominated Workforce Development Boards.

In a new brief, Is it Time for a Great Reset of the Public Workforce System? (A Work in Progress), authors Maria Heidkamp and Kathy Krepcio raise a series of questions to encourage a dialogue as to whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the outdated structure of the one-stop model. They ask what a 21st-century workforce system would look like if it was built in today’s economy using today’s technology, and whether the current WIOA system is obsolete. The brief reflects conversations with public workforce system leaders across the nation, including at a 2021 summit and the 2022 winter policy forum of the National Association of State Workforce Agencies.

Maria Heidkamp was the Director of Program Development and a Senior Researcher at the Heldrich Center. Kathy Krepcio was Executive Director and a Senior Researcher at the center until her recent retirement.

Tagline

New brief raises questions to encourage a dialogue as to whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the outdated structure of the U.S. workforce development system's one-stop model.

Is it Time for a Great Reset of the Public Workforce System? (A Work in Progress)

heldrich_robb — Tue, 27 Sep 2022 14:18:18 +0000

Is it Time for a Great Reset of the Public Workforce System? (A Work in Progress)

Topic

One-Stop Career Centers

American Job Centers

One-Stop Model

workforce development

public workforce system

heldrich_robb Tue, 09/27/2022 - 14:18

Published Date

September 27, 2022

Type

Research Publications & Reports

Work Category

Research Products

Attachments

Great_Reset_of_the_Public_Workforce_System.pdf (111.2 KB)

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Excerpt

Raises a series of questions to encourage a dialogue as to whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the outdated structure of the U.S. workforce development system's one-stop model. Asks what a 21st-century workforce system would look like if it was built in today’s economy using today’s technology, and whether the current WIOA system is obsolete.

Tagline

New brief aims to encourage a dialogue as to whether the pandemic exacerbated the outdated structure of the U.S. workforce development system's one-stop model.

Funding Streams for Opportunity Youth

heldrich_robb — Wed, 08 Jun 2022 12:18:10 +0000

Funding Streams for Opportunity Youth

Topic

Opportunity Youth

New Jersey

workforce development

heldrich_robb Wed, 06/08/2022 - 12:18

Published Date

June 21, 2022

Type

Research Publications & Reports

Related Authors

Work Category

Attachments

Funding_Streams_for_Opportunity_Youth_Report_Final.pdf (230.29 KB)

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Excerpt

Summarizes the literature around available funding for youth workforce development and the programs serving this population in New Jersey. Examines the development of New Jersey’s youth workforce system since the implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, including available funding for youth workforce development and the programs currently serving this population. Also reviews the systemic and financial realities that have impeded a more collaborative approach to helping opportunity youth. Finally, offers recommendations from local and national experts in youth workforce development.

Tagline

New report examines youth workforce development system in New Jersey.

New Brief - Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

heldrich_robb — Mon, 26 Jul 2021 17:05:09 +0000

New Brief - Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

Published Date

July 27, 2021

heldrich_robb Mon, 07/26/2021 - 17:05

Type

Announcement

Topic

Strategically Virtual

workforce development

virtual services

job seekers

unemployment

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Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

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English

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In Strategically Virtual: Providing Job Search Support in COVID, Michele Martin of the Heldrich Center presented a three-tier model for working with individuals who are unemployed. This model emphasizes expanding beyond labor exchange and basic job search skill development, such as résumé writing and interviewing workshops. It encourages the public workforce system to adopt more human-centered, holistic approaches to working with job seekers that center safety, care, community, and coaching as primary service strategies.

In a new brief, Strategically Virtual: Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment, Martin shares strategies for implementing the three-tier model in a virtual environment, using technological tools to reach a broader audience of job seekers and leveraging technology to provide the supports that job seekers most need. The brief also discusses some key shifts in service delivery that agencies should consider to support the core needs of job seekers.

In conjunction with the release of the new brief, the Heldrich Center is pleased to offer a virtual conversation with Michele Martin about her briefs highlighting effective job search supports during the COVID pandemic and how the public workforce system can implement these job search strategies in a virtual environment.

The webinar will be held on Wednesday, August 11 from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Eastern. Space is limited and registration is required. Register here today. You can also copy and paste the following URL into your web browser and then register: https://bit.ly/SV_Webinar_0811

Upon registration, you will receive an email with the Zoom link for the webinar along with a password that you will need to enter in order to join the discussion. Be sure to check your spam and junk folders in addition to your inbox for the confirmation notice.

Michele Martin is Director of Technical Assistance at the Heldrich Center, Director of the New Start Career Network, and Director of the New Jersey Career Network.

Tagline

As workforce agencies plan their return to in-person services, the workforce system needs to consider not only the quality and content of its services, but also how to continue on the virtual journey that began abruptly in March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States. Backtracking to in-person-only services will waste what has been learned during the pandemic and agencies will lose out on valuable opportunities to serve more people and provide more effective services.

Strategically Virtual

heldrich_robb — Fri, 23 Jul 2021 16:51:19 +0000

Strategically Virtual

Topic

Best Practices in Workforce Development

workforce development

Strategically Virtual

heldrich_robb Fri, 07/23/2021 - 16:51

Published Date

July 26, 2021

Related Authors

Related Work

Status

Work Category

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The Strategically Virtual series builds off the lessons learned from the Suddenly Virtual series to explore how to provide guidance to the public workforce system on being more strategically virtual, particularly how that could be operationalized at the state and local levels. The Strategically Virtual series envisions how the public workforce system could engage community resources and partners to holistically address job seeker needs, addressing physical and psychological safety in addition to more traditional job search supports and skill development. Strategically Virtual has developed a framework for job seeker services and produces issue briefs, Medium blog posts, practical guides, and more.

Products

Issue Briefs

A Review of New Jersey Public Libraries’ Virtual Services

Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID

Implementing Job Search Services in a Virtual Environment

Voices from the Field: Workforce Responses to COVID-19

Lessons Learned from the New Jersey Career Network Job Seeker Community

Long-term Unemployed Older Workers Persist in a Boom Economy

Blog Posts

Digital Equity During COVID-19: How New Jersey Public Libraries are Expanding Broadband and Device Access

Strategically Virtual: Offering Wellness Activities in a Virtual Environment

Strategically Virtual: A Review of New Jersey Public Libraries’ Virtual Services

Strategically Virtual: Effective Job Search Support in the Time of COVID

Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services

Strategically Virtual: The Rise of Behavioral Assessments in Hiring

Strategically Virtual: The Shift Toward Virtual Interviewing and what it Means for the Public Workforce System

Strategically Virtual: The Value of Chunking Information for Job Seekers

Strategically Virtual: Job Search Burnout and Strategies for Prioritizing Well-Being

Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

Mobile Engagement: How the Public Workforce System Can Stay Connected with Customers

Strategically Virtual - Voices from the Field: Workforce Responses to COVID-19

Tagline

Outlines how the public workforce system can use technology and community partnerships to expand services, address job seeker mental and emotional well-being, and ensure that a broader range of the public is able to access supports.

Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

heldrich_robb — Thu, 15 Jul 2021 12:35:48 +0000

Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

Published Date

July 15, 2021

heldrich_robb Thu, 07/15/2021 - 12:35

Type

Announcement

Topic

workforce development

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Incorporating Wellness Programming into Job Search

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English

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Increased job loss, accompanying social isolation, the expansion of virtual methods of communication, and general economic turmoil during the COVID-19 pandemic put significant strain on job seekers and the systems designed to help them get back to work. Job search burnout is increasing across a variety of professions and can hinder reemployment. Having fewer financial, social, and psychological resources can lead to job search fatigue, resulting in poorer long-term outcomes. In particular, long-term unemployment can lead to high levels of fatigue. Fortunately, there are ways that burnout can be combated, including mindfulness practices.

Companies often use wellness challenges to keep their workforce productive and engaged. Wellness challenges are short-term behavioral change contests, interventions, and team activities designed to improve employee health and morale by encouraging healthy habits. Recognizing that unemployed people don’t have access to these kinds of services that are critical to both the job search and employability, a new Medium blog post by Savannah Barnett and Stephanie D’Angelo explores using that same model for job seekers as part of workforce programming. The post examines a “Restoring Aliveness Challenge” that was organized for the New Jersey Job Seeker Community as well as tips for implementing wellness changes in workforce programming.

Savannah Barnett and Stephanie D'Angelo are researchers at the Heldrich Center.

Tagline

Companies often use wellness challenges to keep their workforce productive and engaged. A new Medium blog post explores using that same model for job seekers as part of workforce programming.

The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era

heldrich_robb — Wed, 21 Apr 2021 14:10:03 +0000

The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era heldrich_robb Wed, 04/21/2021 - 14:10

Type

Announcement

Topic

Data Collection

Data Collection and Analysis

workforce development

Recession

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The Failure of Big Data to Address Problems in the Workforce during the COVID-19 Era

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English

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The COVID-19-driven economic recession has devastated the U.S. labor market and American workers. Real-time data are critical for policymakers to be able to develop strategies to respond to a crisis like the current recession as soon as it begins and can help inform recovery plans. Unfortunately, the United States does not have sufficient data infrastructure to quickly address the policy needs for responding to neither the current workforce crisis created by the pandemic, nor for future crises. A new article by Sean Simone offers recommendations for improving national workforce data collection and dissemination to better address future economic recessions and to allow for the monitoring of state and local economies.

Sean Simone, Ph.D. is Director of Research and Evaluation at the Heldrich Center and Director of the New Jersey Education to Earnings Data System. His paper is part of the Leading Workforce Resurgence series published by the Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Tagline

State governments must have efficient data systems in place to better respond to workforce crises. A new article in the Leading Workforce Resurgence series offers recommendations for improving national workforce data collection and dissemination.

Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services

heldrich_robb — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 17:31:07 +0000

Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services heldrich_robb Thu, 04/15/2021 - 17:31

Type

Announcement

Topic

virtual services

job seekers

workforce development

unemployment

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Five Reasons the Public Workforce System Should be Doubling Down on Virtual Services

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English

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As more people are getting vaccinated and the possibility of reopening American Job Centers looms large, many state and local workforce agencies may be thinking that it’s time to return to the pre-pandemic days of providing only in-person services to America’s unemployed. The past 13 months have been challenging for professional workforce and reemployment staff and for job seekers as the workforce and unemployment system struggled to adapt to virtual, work-from-home conditions. While the desire to return to “normal” is understandable, it would be a significant missed opportunity to not take the lessons learned over the past year and use them to expand and vastly improve the workforce and unemployment system’s capacity to help job seekers in an online environment.

A new Medium blog post by Michele Martin offers five reasons that the workforce system should continue to emphasize virtual services:

The workforce and reemployment system doesn’t have the physical infrastructure to serve the millions of people who need help.
Virtual services free up in-person space for the people who need and want it the most.
Virtual services can reach job seekers who don’t normally visit American Job Centers or who are not in the Unemployment Insurance system.
Virtual services can help local areas effectively leverage resources.
Companies are becoming more virtual in hiring and job seekers need more opportunities to practice with virtual tools.

Tagline

New Medium blog post by Michele Martin offers five reasons that the workforce system should continue to emphasize virtual services.