LISA DAUGHERTY: The worker at center of CWI’s strategic plan

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In recent years, workforce development has experienced significant shifts across Northwest Indiana and the nation. To respond to ever-changing needs and demands, workers and employers alike are seeking economic regeneration. The Center of Workforce Innovations finds itself uniquely positioned to lead economic invigoration efforts and advance Northwest Indiana’s status as a thriving regional workforce hub where individual workers and local communities prosper.

In 2022, we embarked upon a strategic planning process focused on outcomes for clients — because we believe that the strength of our region lies within our workers’ capacity to achieve their very own versions of success. The strategic plan process was human-centered and driven by stakeholders across seven Northwest Indiana counties: Jasper, Lake, LaPorte, Newton, Porter, Pulaski and Starke.

As a regional service provider, our clients are supported by the efforts of the many dedicated CWI employees distributed across regional WorkOne offices, Adult Learning Centers, Ready NWI, the Northwest Indiana Workforce Board and more. However, the vitality of the region isn’t bound by the buildings at which we work. Current and potential clients, employers, community partners, policymakers, educators, and youth activists all play a critical role in strengthening our regional workforce.

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We collected insights from two regional gatherings with more than 90 in-person participants, as well as interviews with subject matter experts, regional focus groups with more than 40 stakeholders, and a region-wide survey with more than 100 total respondents. From our stakeholders, we heard:

● The greatest barriers to employment are longstanding challenges for clients to secure quality, affordable transportation, childcare, mental health and housing.

● Across the region, clients and employers can feel when their community has been invested in. The impact of environmental health and safety concerns, unique geographic challenges across rural and urban landscapes, and a community’s ability to attract and retain both business and talent ultimately impact the quality of life for those working and living in the region.

● Stakeholders value a more equitable approach to investment.

● Youth are seeking opportunities for engagement, but often lack knowledge and exposure to opportunities. When in a new role, they are looking for additional holistic support, training, and mentorship to ensure their success.

● Navigating the workforce ecosystem is difficult for many stakeholders, clients and employers alike. While there are supply and demand challenges, there are also great opportunities for meaningful, fulfilling work at a quality wage.

● The value of collaboration is acknowledged among partners, but many desire to focus collective efforts not around service domains, but instead around shared outcomes for workers.

In order to address our clients’ primary concerns and dreams for the future, CWI identified five distinct strategic plan pillars and a desired outcome for each. The desired outcomes serve as our shared destination — one that we will continually and intentionally advance toward throughout the next five years.

Our findings resulted in five strategic initiatives that define CWI’s objectives. The pillars of our strategic plan are: Accessible Employment Opportunities, Informed and Engaged Youth, a Supported Workforce, Aligned and Activated Partnerships, and an Aspiring and Trusted Leader.

The work outlined in this strategic plan advances our mission by centering our work around our clients’ success. By putting the interests of our clients first, we can work toward a higher quality of life across our communities — urban and rural — and our region as a whole.

Pillar #1: Accessible Employment Opportunities

CWI will promote equity-centered policies, practices and systems that remove structural barriers for entry-level workers and those seeking new employment. We understand that the greatest barriers to employment are longstanding challenges for clients to secure quality, affordable transportation, childcare, mental health and housing.

We will actively support public policies that enhance transportation, childcare, wages and housing within the region. We see this as an opportunity to mobilize our network of resources to generate funding and community buy-in for policies that work towards higher wages, affordable and accessible transportation, childcare, and housing across the region.

Pillar #2: Informed and Engaged Youth

CWI will create a safe, supportive young-adult community, connecting 16-to-24-year-old individuals directly with workplace experiences and positive, demographically representative mentorship. Our goals include clarifying and promoting viable employment pathways that do not require postsecondary education and fostering mentorship and career guidance between longstanding and entry-level employees.

We have set the stage partnering with the Construction Advancement Foundation to present the annual Construction and Skilled Trades Day. We activate our partnerships with community organizations, resource providers, the trades, and employers to host NextGen events to build understanding and awareness with the future of Northwest Indiana’s workforce.

We will leverage relationships with schools and educators through Ready NWI, embracing our determination by the Department of Labor as modern Apprenticeship Ambassadors. This includes rolling out a local chapter of The Federation for Advanced Manufacturing Education (FAME): an apprenticeship program providing global-best manufacturing workforce development.

Pillar #3: A Supported Workforce

CWI will ensure new employees’ success through career assessment, exploration, readiness services and upskilling opportunities to meet individuals where they are. We will provide guidelines rooted in best practices and research for employers to effectively articulate role expectations, qualifications and desired skills to foster mutually successful employment.

We will actively support workplace practices that promote positivity and enhance employees’ mental health, connecting employers with social services and partners to strengthen wraparound services.

Pillar #4: Aligned and Activated Partnerships

CWI will create a client-centric regional culture by nurturing strategic partnerships and collective action by assembling a diverse and geographically inclusive group of cross-sector partners in industry, business, education, social service, and government. The goal is to inspire outcome-based strategies and service alignment.

Pillar #5: Aspiring and Trusted Leader

CWI will establish trust and build an approachable public-facing identity that uplifts the organization’s unique strengths and leadership role within the region. We believe that by fostering an internal culture focused on client outcomes that are grounded in a shared purpose and vision, while showcasing stories that celebrate individual workers’ success and regional workforce development outcomes, we can reach our goal.

I would like to thank our many stakeholders and acknowledge them as co-creators in our strategic planning process, and contributors to its ultimate success. These co-creators have shared their personal and lived expertise, as well as their vision for our NWI economy throughout six months of community listening.

At the end of this strategic plan, we aspire to ensure the vitality of the regional workforce. By putting the region’s employment needs and quality of life first, CWI can work towards regional regeneration, inclusive workplaces, and sustainable practices that will stand the test of time.

Lisa M. Daugherty is President & CEO of the Center of Workforce Innovations.

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