Educational Alignment
Progress
No updates at this time.
Goal
Educational resources aligned to meet the comprehensive current and future needs of employers in Yakima.
Why Important?
Access to talent is the leading factor for business growth, productivity and ultimately viability. Competitive communities stay on top of matching needs of local employers with skills to advance quality business services and production. With the impending retirement of many Baby Boomers, it is important to fill these openings. By enhancing skills, workers have access to greater opportunities to increase earnings. Yakima also benefits from local training of residents so that youth stay in the community because they are skilled for living‐wage jobs.
Tactics – Educational Alignment
- Assemble education and training providers (possibly leverage Employer Engagement Network of the South Central Workforce Council)
- Review goal, why important and tactics
- Review current initiatives in place that may be related to this effort
- Define who does what by when
- Inventory all educational assets for skill enhancements: provider, programs, participants, graduates, placements in local jobs
- Document educational institutions outreach and marketing of programs to employers and prospective students
- Inventory occupation awareness programs/efforts that expose students to careers in Yakima
- Document current and future needs of business for specific workforce skills, due to retirement and job growth areas, via
- Engagement of business organizations (YCDA, GYCC, HCC, Yakima Valley Tourism, Yakima Valley Human Resources Association)
- Employer survey
- Face‐to‐face meetings with large employers and those with high wages
- Research of key occupations and corresponding skills of target industries (i.e. what do companies we aim to recruit need)
- Analyze needs versus asset inventory to define gaps
- Create programs to address gaps
- Measure results of programs
Core Working Group – Educational Alignment
Lead | Yakima County Development Association |
---|---|
Team | Central Washington University Heritage University Opportunities Industrialization Center Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences Perry Technical Institute South Central Workforce Council Superintendents of East Valley, West Valley and Yakima School Districts Unions (i.e. Operating Engineers Local Union #370, United Association of Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 598) Yakima Valley College Yakima Valley Human Resources Association Yakima Valley Technical Skills Center (YV‐Tech) |
Resources | Business/local employers |