Ask Us Anything
The Ask Us Anything event series from the Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity facilitates a national discussion among policymakers, community partners, and practitioners and engages them in real-time conversation. These events provide insight on implementation of rapid response policies, programs, and federal financial support. Discussions allow participants to identify gaps in service or funding and highlight successes at the local level.
Ask Us Anything: Finding Talent with Skills-Based Practices – November 30, 2022
November 2022
In a country where two-thirds of workers do not hold at least a bachelor’s degree, employers are looking for ways to find candidates that match their needs through other methods of evaluation. Katie Kirkpatrick, left, president and chief executive officer of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, Bridgette Gray, chief customer officer at Opportunity@Work, and Ashley Black, managing director of global equity strategies at Delta Air Lines, discuss how expanding skills-based practices can help alleviate the tensions of a tight labor market and improve diversity within a firm.
Ask Us Anything: Partnerships between Community Development Financial Institutions and Workforce Development Organizations – August 9, 2022
August 2022
Inability to secure capital to improve worker skills or expand training programs can prevent growth in a local economy. Nisha Sutaria, director of programs and impact at the Community Development Bankers Association; Tim Cerebe, vice president of financial wellness programs at Freedom First Credit Union; and Donna Nuccio, vice president of New Market Tax Credit Investing at New Markets Support Company, discuss their experiences working with workforce developers and key components of successful relationships.
Ask Us Anything: Skill Development and the Growth of Green Jobs - March 31, 2022
March 2022
The United Nations describes a green economy as "low carbon, resource efficient and socially inclusive." Betony Jones, senior adviser for workforce at the US Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Paula DiPerna, special adviser to CDP North America, and Peggy Brannigan, director of global environmental sustainability at LinkedIn, discuss how the green economy includes roles throughout the economy at large, including the energy industry and companies with products that are substitutes for high-emission products.
Ask Us Anything: The Cost of Inequality in the Labor Market - July 14, 2021
July 2021
Racial disparities in employment were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic as Blacks and other workers of color bore the brunt of employment losses. Kathryn Edwards, economist for the RAND Corporation; Clair Minson, founder and principal consultant at change management firm Sandra Grace LLC; and William Rodgers III, vice president and director of the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, discuss how promoting racial equity in the labor market can help communities reach their economic potential.
Ask Us Anything: Labor Policy Reform for a Cohesive Workforce Development Sector - May 19, 2021
May 2021
Labor policy reform can be most effective when it prioritizes better wage and life outcomes for all workers. Panelists Maria Flynn of the nonprofit Jobs for the Future, Earl Buford of the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning, Larry Good of Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, and Chike Aguh of the U.S. Department of Labor discuss gaps in national labor policy that have been exposed by the pandemic and ways to improve workforce development, including incorporating worker voices and a racial equity lens in the redesign of programs.
Ask Us Anything: Infrastructure Job Programs Creating Career Opportunities for People of Color, Women, and Youth - March 3, 2021
March 2021
The Biden administration is expected to propose an infrastructure modernization plan that could spur hefty job creation. Workplace practitioners Kisha Bird of the Center for Law and Social Policy, Mary Alice McCarthy of New America, and Brad Markell of the AFL-CIO’s Working for America Institute discuss ways to make sure that traditionally underprivileged populations, particularly youth, people of color, and women, will connect with employment opportunities from infrastructure investments. Carl Van Horn, director of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, moderates the discussion.
Ask Us Anything: Using Labor Market Data to Drive Workforce Strategies
December 2020
Insights from labor market data can help the workforce system prepare job seekers for the COVID-19 recovery. Nikhil Patel, a partner with McKinsey & Company; Karin Kimbrough, chief economist at LinkedIn; and Matt Sigelman, CEO of software analytics firm Burning Glass Technologies, discuss the use of big data and trends that are likely to influence the job market in 2021.
Ask Us Anything: Financial Innovations in the Workforce System
October 2020
Angela Jackson, a partner with New Profit, a philanthropic organization; Jason Tyszko, vice president of the Center for Education and Workforce at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation; and Tracy Palandjian, chief executive and cofounder of the nonprofit group Social Finance, discuss new financing tools used by public-private partnerships to provide technical skills training for the underemployed and other vulnerable populations.
Ask Us Anything: Workforce and Economic Development Innovations
September 2020
Coordinated efforts produce positive results. This webinar examines how Midwest Urban Strategies—a consortium of 13 workforce development boards from cities extending from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Wichita, Kansas—shares best practices and pools resources to address community needs.
Ask Us Anything: Childcare as a Key Community Development Priority
August 2020
Childcare is a critical need for working families, but the COVID-19 pandemic has brought numerous challenges to the industry. This webinar discusses the importance of childcare to economic resilience and outlines employment policies that can support working families.
Ask Us Anything: Racial Equity and the Future of Workforce Development
August 2020
Bill Rodgers, chief economist at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University, and Claire Minson, assistant vice president for talent and workforce at the New Orleans Business Alliance, provide an overview of differences in employment and economic outcomes for people of color and outline workplace practices that can advance racial fairness.
Check back for details on the next Ask Us Anything webinar from the Atlanta Fed.
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Data Tools
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Funding and Financing Workforce Development
Explore resources and videos from experts that seek to help communities and organizations understand and develop strategies to fund, finance, and invest in workforce development.