Sector strategies effectively unite employers from a given industry with other stakeholders – including government, education, training, economic development, labor, and community organizations – to identify and address the regional workforce needs of that industry. Career Technical Education (CTE), which inherently connects education and training with industry needs, is key to the success of sector strategies.
A new report from the National Skills Coalition, the National Governors Association, and the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, lays out a snapshot of states’ sector strategies today and actions that policymakers and state leaders can take to create and support sector strategies.
Reviews of the sector strategies show statistical support that this workforce training model improves participants’ employment opportunities and increases their wages. Sector strategies also address the skills gap by focusing resources on industries that align with job providers in the region, encouraging relationships between workforce programs and industry, and increasing alignment of state programs and resources.
More than half of states are considering or implementing sector strategies, and over one thousand sector partnerships across the country are already in place. For state leaders interested in creating or expanding sector strategies in their state, the report also provides suggestions on how to do so despite the current fiscal environment.
The full report can be accessed here.
Kara Herbertson, Research and Policy Manager