Ed has an optimistic outlook for 2011. Although Michigan has been a victim of several mass manufacturing job layoffs, Ed says that a lot of hiring is happening in his region. Michigan Works is focusing on the hiring need of their state, rather than the unemployment problem, and staying very busy:

We also chatted with Ron Painter, CEO of the NAWB, about what he’s seen and heard from local workforce boards while traveling around the nation and talking to attendees of the conference. Ron noted that the focal point of the conference for the majority of attendees has been discussions of how to harness technology to understand the labor market or different ways to use social media to get the message out about jobs or trainings.

You can watch his video interview on the wide range of challenges, successes and programs that workforce boards across the nation are experiencing, and why he thinks it’s an exciting time to be in the business of getting Americans back to work:

The NAWB Forum not only spread ideas by bringing together people from across the nation to have a conversation, but also through three days of workshops on various topics. Representatives of the Monster Public Sector and Education also participated in three workshop panels, talking about subjects such as reaching out to young people to engage them in the workforce, how to deliver local workshops and trainings that have a big impact, and how to drive development and programs with real-time labor market data.

To slow down losses, the Indiana State Legislature formed the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority (RDA) in 2006 to invest in economic development throughout the region. This was welcome news to Cimcor CEO Robert Johnson, who had been working diligently to create a pool of qualified and experienced candidates for his company for many years.

Johnson grew up in Indiana, went to Purdue University, and wanted to stay in the general area. His background imbued him with a strong work ethic that he knew was held by the employment pool in the area.

“I like the work ethic in the Midwest,” said Johnson. “Midwesterners are hardworking people who do a job until it’s done right. The people who move from blue to white collars are highly dedicated, highly productive and very proud of their work.

In 1997, Johnson co-founded Cimcor, a company that develops innovative IT security and integrity software solutions that protect corporate, government and military computer networks from unauthorized access. The company required employees that were high-level thinkers and experts in technology systems.

“The area was shifting away from manufacturing, and those jobs were going away, leaving people needing jobs without the right skill base for those jobs,” Johnson continued. “I wanted to be a catalyst for change in Northwest Indiana and to help begin to create a technology-oriented economy. It certainly would have been easier in a place like San Francisco, but I wanted to stay here.”

Through his active work in the community and with Purdue University, he knew he could initiate programs that would help prepare a workforce for the future. Working with other board members from a handful of programs and associations, he brainstormed ways to develop ways to prepare the workforce for the future.

“Purdue listened to our ideas and requirements,” said Johnson. “We identified skill gaps of candidates in the area and critical needs for our company and others like it. Purdue was very responsive and proactive. They actually modified their curriculum to help close those gaps.”

Since 1998, Johnson has worked with Purdue to recruit from its great pool of talented graduates. Today, 90 percent of Cimcor employees are Purdue graduates, including Johnson himself.

Johnson’s loyalty to Northwest Indiana and education has paid off in terms of Cimcor’s success and employee loyalty. Turnover at Cimcor is low for a tech company, and many of the employees have been with the company for five to 10 years.

Johnson’s hard work towards transitioning the Northwest Indiana workforce away from manufacturing and into high-tech jobs may have helped his company, but it has also had long-term positive repercussions in the region. By identifying the skills and abilities needed for the Indiana workforce to compete for high-tech jobs, working to educate them in those areas and placing them with compatible high-tech jobs, Johnson and Purdue University have created what we at Unleash the Monster call a high-performance workforce.

A high-performance workforce is one in which the local employee base has been trained in the unique skills and abilities needed to perform in the jobs available in the region. With a high-performance workforce in place in Northwest Indiana, the region can now work to attract other companies in the high-tech growth markets. The end result is the growth of a new market in Northwest Indiana, and a subsequently thriving and improving economy.

“As a pure software developer, we’re the leader in this area, but we are seeing others come here,” Johnson continued. “We welcome them.”

We applaud Robert Johnson’s work and dedication to the Northwest Indiana region. With the programs he worked to start with Purdue University and an increasingly qualified high-tech workforce, the region’s economy is primed for continued growth and success today and into the future.

By embracing a high-performance workforce, local governments and stakeholders can ensure that they have a workforce that can lure companies in growth industries into the region, and keep them there.

Huntsville’s recent embrace of cyber security is an incredible example of a city working towards a high-performance workforce.

With the knowledge that the battlefield of the future is in cyberspace, the city is looking to become a nationally recognized hub of expertise in cyber security, research, development, test and evaluation, engineering, experimentation and life cycle management.

The Mayor recently used the 13th annual Space and Missile Defense Conference at the city’s Von Braun Center as a launching pad for a new initiative that will include the construction of a multi-story “Cyber Systems Innovation and Security Center.” The focus of this center would be securing weapons systems and the technology supporting them against computer attacks.

While the city begins its march towards growing the cyber security industry within its borders, the city’s education institutions are doing their part on the backend to ensure that the workforce is prepared with the skills and knowledge it will need to flourish in the industry.

The University of Alabama in Huntsville has established a new master’s program in cyber security that focuses on protecting information systems from attack. The Master of Science in Information Assurance and Security (MSIAS) is designed to emulate the real world challenges of engineers, managers, and scientists who must work together to resolve their IT security challenges.

Essentially, Huntsville is working to draw in a hot growth industry to the city that will provide jobs while simultaneously training the workforce that this industry will need to thrive. Huntsville is working to create a high-performance workforce in an industry that is not only emerging, but will have a positive economic impact over time. The end result will ensure that the city continues to be an example of economic and population growth even in the country’s ongoing economic downturn.

How could your region benefit from working towards a high-performance workforce?

During his speech (embedded below), Obama took the opportunity to not only deliver a pep-talk, but also to discuss the importance of education on future success. He discussed how, despite the hard times and the strain it is putting on families, it is more important now than ever to achieve academic success to open doors in the future.

He also added that the increasingly competitive global economy is putting pressure on American students to work harder to get ahead.

It’s almost like he’s been reading Unleash the Monster!

We clearly agree. The global economy is making our students work harder than ever. Unfortunately, not all students are like the students at Masterman. Many urban and “high poverty” school districts are struggling to get their students motivated and working toward academic achievement today, and career success in the future.

This is why we created iSucceed, a solution for local schools, regions and economic and workforce development boards designed to get students motivated and looking towards their future. The program also provides the keys for success that many students in “high poverty” regions lack: mentors, soft skills and career exploration opportunities. It’s designed to prepare our students for future careers, and create an American workforce than can compete with the rest of the globe.

If you’re interested in learning more about the iSucceed Program, we’ll be holding a Webinar on September 15, 2010 at 2PM ET to introduce the program and ways that it can help your region. Registration for the Webinar is available HERE.

The fact is that “high poverty” students are significantly less likely to score as high as “low poverty” students on assessments, to graduate and to earn post-secondary credentials. What’s worse is the end result: a national workforce that is getting outpaced by other countries and will begin to struggle to compete in our global economy.

But what causes these students to fall behind? What keeps them from excelling in their assessments, graduating and going on to higher education and successful, lucrative careers?

For many of these students in “high poverty” regions, it’s not one thing, but a combination of many factors, and a long timeline of obstacles and challenges that seems to intensify around middle school and continue into high school.

First off, let’s look at some of the factors at play in the environment and home lives of many of these students.

Violence and outside influences obviously play a large part in these students’ lives. Many of these students also tend to suffer from a lack of mentors, less parental involvement and other challenges. These problems are secondary to teacher skill and quality, with many talented teachers choosing suburban and “low poverty” regions due to improved working conditions and higher pay.

In addition to these outside issues, each step forward in a student’s academic career is met with a new series of challenges and obstacles.

Middle school – Students are preparing for and managing the transition to high school. There is greater pressure to make decisions about what academic and extra-curricular pursuits will best prepare the student for their personal future.

Freshman year – This year is pivotal in terms of adjustment and achievement. Course work intensifies and students are forced to deal with increased pressure, higher workloads and concerns about the impact of their success on their future. This seems to be an increasingly difficult period for students in “high poverty” schools since 40 percent of dropouts leave after ninth grade, compared to 27 percent in “low poverty” schools.

Sophomore year – This tends to be the end of the line for dropouts in “high poverty” schools, as a majority leave during sophomore year. A combination of outside pressures, violence and other societal factors influencing them, and an inability to find value in their lessons seems to be the catalyst. In one recent study of high school dropouts, nearly half (47 percent) said a major reason for dropping out was that classes were not interesting.

Junior year – Remaining students struggle from a lack of career exploration that could help them clearly evaluate career and educational options ahead of them. Many find themselves unprepared for college and higher education.

Senior year - By this year students should be well on their way to developing both the academic and social skills they need for their post-secondary career. Unfortunately, many do not have the full opportunity to develop the soft skills required to thrive in the business world. In fact, many experience burn-out and apathy, which leads to a lack of follow-through and disengagement.

These challenges are difficult, but not impossible to overcome. This is why Monster Public Sector & Education recently created the iSucceed Program. iSucceed is designed to help educational institutions, school boards and even local workforce and economic development organizations improve the educational experience for their students and help them overcome the challenges awaiting them at each step of their academic career.

iSucceed utilizes Monster’s Making It Count program and other inspirational, educational and motivational opportunities to drive students towards success Additional information about iSucceed is available HERE on a dedicated page of Unleash the Monster.

We’ll also be holding a Webinar on September 15, 2010 to introduce the program and ways that it can help your region. Registration for the Webinar is available HERE.

Some of the most interesting and telling statistics in this year’s report relate to the achievement gap between “high poverty” and “low poverty” schools.

On average, students from “high poverty” schools scored sometimes as much as 30-40 points lower on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reading, mathematics, music, and art assessments as students from “low poverty” schools. Also 23% fewer 12^th grade students graduated from “high poverty” schools with a diploma than they did in “low poverty” schools.

Based on the data, it’s fair to assume that “high poverty” schools are falling behind schools with large populations of students from more prosperous households. But what’s the cause of this achievement gap?

One of the most fundamental problems is that young people in “high poverty” areas lack a vision of what they can become and do not have ready access to the opportunities for achieving their highest potential.

While many young people in “high poverty” areas have firm beliefs that a good education can lead to opportunity and success in careers and wealth-building over one’s lifetime, they also hold strong beliefs in the reality of their individual lives that continue to translate into underachievement.

Many of these students ‘believe’ in the power of education, but they self-exclude due to personal challenges at home and in school. While it is widely accepted in America that education is important to career success, the concept loses its meaning for young people who are exposed to a different set of concrete experiences on a day-to-day basis.

The result is a population of students that believe that education can lead to a better life via better, more profitable careers, but feel that they don’t have the ability, avenues and tools needed to get an education and compete in the workforce.

In addition to this negative attitude, students in “high poverty” areas often suffer from low self-esteem and very low self-efficacy which has a negative impact on motivation and future success. They also tend to come from family backgrounds and communities where the presence of positive role models and positive feedback are hard to come by.

The achievement gap and the ongoing education challenges facing “high poverty” areas create more problems than just contributing to the cycle of poverty in our country. With increased competition in the global economy for jobs as a result of increasingly skilled and educated workforces abroad, America can no longer afford to have entire populations not entering the mainstream workforce.

Changes have to be made, and programs put into place to ensure that students in both “high poverty” and “low poverty” regions are educated in the skills and abilities needed in today’s growth industries before all children are left behind.

Monster Public Sector & Education is working with local regions to implement solutions and programs that will make a difference. In an upcoming post, we’ll take a look at the things that need to change to illicit positive change in “high poverty” regions and discuss our new iSucceed Program, which is designed to provide the support, opportunity and motivation needed to close the achievement gap in America’s school system.

We’ll also be holding a Webinar on September 15, 2010 to introduce the program and ways that it can help your region. Check back often for new posts and additional details on the upcoming Webinar.

Although the economy has showed signs of improvement, hiring remains down and the unemployment rate in many regions remains high. While it seems counterintuitive, there are many reasons why companies would be hesitant to hold off on hiring despite increasing revenues.

With many companies nervous of a repeat of the economy’s downward spiral and subsequent credit crunch, they are holding onto every dollar they can. Additionally, many companies are hesitant to consider the economic downturn behind them and begin operating and hiring as such.

And who can blame them, really? Hiring people is expensive.

But Ohio is betting on their people. In an effort to help put their large unemployed population back into jobs and back on the private sector payroll the state has implemented a new program to take the risk out of the new hiring process for local companies.

The program, called Project Hometown Investment in Regional Economies (HIRE) is a statewide Workforce Investment Act initiative funded by the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Administered by the Ohio Department of Development in collaboration with the One-Stop Workforce system and the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Project HIRE provides enhanced job matching strategies linking employers and job seekers at no cost to either.

Through Project HIRE, the State of Ohio is making federal funds available for up to six months to help offset up to 50% of the cost of on-the-job training for fulltime jobs in a handful of targeted, high-demand industries. These industries include, but are not limited to:

• Advanced Energy and Environmental Technologies
• Aerospace and Aviation
• Bioscience and Bioproducts
• Instruments, Controls and Electronics
• Polymers and Advanced Materials
• Healthcare

Project HIRE benefits both companies and prospective employees immensely. For employers, a high-performance workforce is created that is trained in the necessary skills and abilities on-the-job at a significantly reduced cost. This takes the gamble out of hiring new employees by reducing a company’s investment in each new hire while ensuring that they have what it takes to be successful in their jobs. For employees it provides valuable on-the-job training in a handful of high-demand, growth industries.

The State of Ohio is taking huge steps towards getting people back into jobs and creating a high-performance workforce. Between the Ohio Means Jobs portal that we discussed previously on Unleash the Monster and Project HIRE, Ohio means business when it comes to getting its citizens back to work.

What could your state learn from Ohio?

Located just inland from Los Angeles in Southern California, Riverside County was experiencing incredible population and economic growth as people moved to Temecula and Murrieta from Los Angeles for the county’s less expensive real estate.

Now, the ongoing economic situation has dealt the region a significant blow by creating widespread unemployment and financial uncertainty among residents. Although the unemployment rate has dipped slightly over the past few months, it still remains in the double-digits.

Looking to turn the economy around and recapture some of the growth that the county saw in the past decade, the Riverside County Workforce Investment Board (WIB) has taken a bold step towards economic development.

Working hand-in-hand with Monster Public Sector & Education, the WIB launched a customized online community for Riverside County businesses seeking qualified employees and for area job seekers who want the latest information about jobs specifically in their geographic area.

The Monster Evolutions Platform, which the online community is based, gives the county the ability to connect with local job seekers and businesses in ways that were previously unheard of. The portal also allows local business to connect with local job seekers in their region.

Through the new portal, local businesses can post jobs free of charge in a “gated” online community that also features online news, business insights and events tailored for Riverside County residents. This ensures that only local residents can see and apply for these local jobs.

The portal also brings the functionality and power of social networking to regional job seekers, who are empowered to offer each other encouragement and share employment and educational opportunities. The site is also updated with the latest in labor market information, tools to assist with career transition plans and innovative job search techniques that help users find a job.

Riverside County has seen its amazing population and economic growth stall and has suffered greatly from the ongoing recession. Through innovative public-private partnerships, the county is working towards getting its large population of unemployed, skilled labor back into jobs, and its economy back on track.

On May 13, 2005, the United States Department of Defense released a Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) proposal to close 33 military bases and either enlarge or shrink 29 more. The proposal was created to help save the Unites States an estimated $15 billion over the course of 20 years, as well as:

• better integrate active and reserve units
• rearrange forces to be able to act around the globe
• make the military more flexible and agile
• improve cooperation between military service branches while training and fighting
• convert unneeded capacity into warfighting capability

Although there appears to be significant benefits to BRAC from the federal government perspective, there are serious problems that arise for the regions that are losing military bases.

Most people think that military bases are filled with enlisted military personnel only, which is very far from the truth. Military bases are populated with soldiers and other enlisted personnel, but they are also significant regional employers, hiring civilian employees to help run base operations and perform mission-critical duties.

Unlike military personnel who are required to go where stationed, civilian employees are not bound to follow their jobs to different bases in other states. Many civilian employees are established in their communities and have homes and families and are hesitant to leave.

In fact, we recently featured a blog post here at Unleash the Monster authored by an employee at the soon-to-be-closed Fort Monmouth in Monmouth County, NJ. In that post, the author talked about the challenges, issues and large life decisions that a base relocation or closure can have on the established civilian employees. That employee was considering making the move to Aberdeen, Md. or one of the other bases where his job was potentially relocating, but in most base realignment and closures, only about 20-30 percent of the employees will make the move.

The remaining 70-80 percent of the employees become a different challenge altogether. These civilians have just become unemployed and have a very specific range of skills and abilities needed to function in their previous military jobs. That means that a local region has to provide unemployment and job training services for a large population of unemployed residents.

However, the civilian jobs at a base are not the only things lost when a base relocates or closes. When enrolled military personnel leave a region, so does their spending. Combine that with the decreased spending power of the now unemployed civilian workers, and the local businesses begin to suffer while the region’s sales tax revenues decline.

Then there are military contractors. Many companies that sell specific solutions to the military open offices around the military bases that they are looking to sell their solutions to. When these bases leave, so do the military contractors, their jobs, and their tax dollars.

What’s left is a large, now unemployed workforce with very specific skills and abilities that may or may not be applicable for the private sector jobs available in the local region. This creates a significant need to provide education and workforce training programs to help them get the skills they need to find employment. Unfortunately, these local governments are often forced to do so with tightened purse strings due to significant decreases in tax revenue.

Although BRAC may seem like an idea that can truly benefit the federal government by slashing military costs and making the armed forces more prepared and flexible, the concept has a serious and significant negative impact on local regions losing bases. The impact of BRAC isn’t limited to the regions losing bases, however. The regions where bases are expanding and to which operations are moving also face a unique set of challenges. In our next post, we’ll analyze the regions on the other side of the coin, and the impact that the growth or reassignment of a base can have on its surrounding region.