GRADUATE ST. LOUIS

DEVELOPING COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS

MAWD CONFERENCE 2011

Presenters

Michael Holmes, Rod Nunn, Tom Jones

Graduate St. Louis

• Community-Based Job Training Grant - $4.4 million – U.S. Department of Labor

• 3 key industries – Healthcare, IT, and Emerging Green Jobs

• Modeled after Graduate Philadelphia

Challenges?

• Degree and certificate completion for adults

• Unemployment vs. Educational level

• Skills Gap

• Poverty vs. Educational level

Adult Completion

• Over 451,000 working age adults with some college and no degree

– Many are Dislocated Workers

• In portions of St. Louis City/County only 8% have college degree

• 30% live at or below poverty level

• 67% no certificate or degree

Unemployment vs. Educational Level

• Individuals with lower levels of education were hit harder by the recession

• Unemployment rate by educational attainment level U.S., 1992-2010

Skills Gap

• Missouri Middle Skills Occupations Report –September 2009

– “Demonstrable middle skills gap” – positions that require more than high school diploma or certification but less than a four-year degree

– MERIC data “over 50% of all jobs in Missouri can be classified as “middle skills”

– Most are Healthcare and IT jobs

Poverty vs. Educational Level• Education decreases the likelihood of living in poverty.

• According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the 2009 poverty threshold for an individual was $10,956.

• The percentage of individuals living in poverty whose highest level of educational attainment is a high school diploma is about three times higher than for those with a bachelor’s degree or more.

Poverty vs. Educational Level

What did we do?

Established a regional consortium to address the challenges:

*Workforce Investment Boards

*Area Community Colleges

*Regional Commerce and Growth Association (RCGA)

Workforce Investment Boards

– St. Louis City

– St. Louis County

– Jefferson/Franklin Counties

– St. Charles County

– Mid-America Workforce Investment Board (Illinois)

– Madison Bond Workforce Board (Illinois)

Area Community Colleges

• Community College Partners

– East Central College

– Jefferson College

– Southwestern Illinois College

– St. Charles Community College

– St. Louis Community College

Proposed Outcomes

• Leverage – Training for Tomorrow Funds

• Increase the number of adult learners– 2,200 over 3 years

– Dislocated Workers, unemployed and incumbent workers

• Greater access to financial resources, career guidance, flexible education and training offerings

• Increase the number of credentials of value – Associate Degrees, Certifications, Licenses, etc.

Outcomes To Date

• Capacity Building

– Strategic Alliances

– Engaging Business

– Course Design and Development

– Hiring more Instructors

– Work-based learning – Internships

– Scholarships

Graduate St. Louis Workforce Consortium

• Evolving Strategy

• Increased community partnerships

– Talent Council

– College Access Pipeline

– Area 4 year Universities/Colleges

Economic Competitiveness

Many of our competitor regions have significantly higher proportions of college graduates.

St. Louis is tied for 17th with Pittsburgh out of 27 peer regions in bachelor’s degree or higher attainment for the population aged 25 to 64.

Bachelor’s degree or higher attainment for population aged 25 to 64

27%

30%

32%

35%

37%

45%

49%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%

Riverside

Phoenix

Houston

United States

Dallas

St. Louis

Indianapolis

Philadelphia

Atlanta

Chicago

New York

Denver

Research Triangle

Boston

Financial Benefits of Education

• Education pays financial dividends to individuals.

• On average, individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher earn more money and are less likely to be unemployed.

• Between 2005 and 2009, the average unemployment rate for those in St. Louis with a bachelor’s degree or higher was 2.7 percent, compared to 8 percent for those with a high school diploma.

Financial Benefits of Education

Strategy

Talent Council

• The RCGA’s 16-member Talent Council, chaired by Brown Shoe Co. Chief Talent Officer, Doug Koch– Talent Council purpose:

• working with employers, educators, civic groups, government agencies, job seekers and students,

• advocate talent as an advantage in the retention, attraction, and development of business in the St. Louis region;

• Briefings and consultation with DWD and local area WIBs

• Educational institutions, non-profit groups, professional orgs, talented people themselves

College Access Pipeline

• St. Louis Regional College Access Pipeline Project

– Key Strategies:

• Achieve goal of 50% of adults who have a post secondary degree by 2020

• Establish a college-going culture in schools and your organizations

• Supporting students to complete post secondary degrees

What’s Next?

• Strategic Planning

• Expansion to 4-year colleges/universities

• Public Awareness – Importance of college completion

• Adult friendly institutions