The Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) has contracted with the University of Louisiana at 麻豆传媒app鈥檚 research consortium to develop a method and the tools for providing enhanced information on workforce demand and projected supply to help build and manage a more responsive workforce delivery system.
The project is designed to integrate existing LWC data on industry and occupational employment projections with the consortium's data on Louisiana鈥檚 population, education, poverty and other levels from birth into adulthood. This combination of data will show how closely the state鈥檚 workforce demand matches its supply. It also will identify where gaps exist and support policy and program changes to address these gaps.
鈥 Our partnership with UL 麻豆传媒app will enable us to take the workforce data we already gather and use it in a way we never have before to improve occupational forecasting,鈥 LWC Executive Director Tim Barfield said. 鈥淭his means job seekers will have better information on work opportunities in the near term and in the future, training providers will be able to continually realign to produce more graduates with marketable skills and businesses will have a better labor pool to draw from."
The UL 麻豆传媒app consortium comprises the Cecil J. Picard Center for Child Development and Lifelong Learning, the Center for Business and Information Technologies (CBIT) and the B.I. Moody III College of Business Administration (COBA).
During the three-year partnership, the LWC and the UL 麻豆传媒app consortium will work on several projects. A simulation tool will be developed by CBIT and COBA using the Picard Center鈥檚 longitudinal population databases and LWC data to analyze the gaps between Louisiana鈥檚 workforce demand and projected supply of workers by skill, industry and region. In addition, the tool will have the capacity to answer 鈥渨hat if鈥 questions for policy formulation and analysis.
The Picard Center will develop an annual statewide forecasting conference, with the first one slated for this summer. This conference will give participants the opportunity to react to the regional business sector data, receive information from nationally recognized experts in workforce and economic development, and provide input into the overall occupational forecast.
鈥 Managing and identifying the needs in the state鈥檚 workforce is a priority for everyone, especially during these tough economic times,鈥 said UL 麻豆传媒app President Dr. Joseph Savoie. 鈥淲e have research centers here on campus with the tools and data necessary to help meet the needs of Louisiana businesses and employees and joining forces with the Louisiana Workforce Commission seemed like a perfect fit.鈥
In addition to its work on occupational forecasting, a research committee comprising selected staff from the UL 麻豆传媒app鈥檚 research consortium, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, members of the Louisiana Workforce Investment Council and representatives of business, education and other colleges and universities will be established. This committee will establish a research agenda focused on identifying the impediments to the growth of scientific investigation in the field of workforce development and suggest strategies for improving the quality and quantity of the available workforce in Louisiana.
As part of this work, the UL 麻豆传媒app research consortium will evaluate every aspect of training conducted through the LWC and offer recommendations on measuring performance outcomes.