Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder announced the creation of a new state-level department that will focus on developing a pool of skilled workers that will better meet the needs of the state’s employers. For the past several years, employers, not only in Michigan but around the world, have complained they cannot find qualified workers. At his news conference, Gov. Snyder pointed to the “tens of thousands of open jobs that are not being filled” in the state. Talent development is a major focus of the Upjohn Institute. Recently, it partnered with the Organization of Economic Cooperative Development (OECD) to find best practices around the world in meeting employer skill needs. As part of a 12-country study, the OECD recently released the U.S. country study, authored by Institute staff. The key to job creation, according to the study, is to promote collaboration among key local stakeholders—businesses, workforce development boards, and educational institutions. The OECD sees the U.S. as international best practice in local flexibility in setting workforce development strategies and engaging businesses and other local stakeholders in the process of developing local talent.
Read "How Local Workforce Investment Boards Can Help Support Job Creation," by Randall W. Eberts, in the Institute's Employment Research newsletter.