Communicate Workforce Needs
Audience:
Workforce developers, economic developers, and education and training program planners may find this guide useful.
Workforce development strategies are based on a thorough understanding of a region's labor dynamics. Regional workforce analysis provides insights for program
planning by investigating the regional skill needs of major industries; the potential skill needs of industries targeted by economic development efforts; and
assessments of the skills possessed by the existing and incoming labor force. Competency models support workforce development strategies by providing a common
language for employers to communicate their workforce needs.
Regional workforce program planning requires an analysis of the skill needs of employers, the skills of the available labor force, and the education and training programs currently in place. Workforce developers build an interdisciplinary team of professionals, businesses, economic developers, and educators.
Additionally, workforce developers can use competency models as a resource to:
- provide a big-picture view of industry skill needs;
- assess workforce competencies;
- identify transferable skills between occupations;
- identify skill commonalities across industries.
The Workforce Development Council (WDC) of Seattle-King County, Washington, has been convening industry panels every two years since 2003 to identify workforce skills requirements for key industry sectors such as Information Technology. Read more about the WDC and their work on developing sector strategies and career pathways.
Visit the Models in Action to learn about the many additional ways competency models are being used.
- Identify the key industries in the local area. If you have an industry or list of industries in mind skip Step 3.
- Identify critical industry sectors in the state or local area by targeting industries that may have a relative competitive advantage in the state.
- Calculating the location quotient for employment in an industry provides a way to compare the relative concentration of employment among different areas.
- Select the industry model that most closely matches the selected industry.
- Use the Build a Model Tool to customize the model to the targeted industry if necessary.
- Download competencies and key behaviors to the Employer Analysis Worksheet.
- Identify the local businesses in the targeted industry or industries using the Business Finder.
- Use the Employer Analysis worksheet to gather information from local businesses about their skill needs.
- Analyze the results.
The Employer Analysis worksheet allows employers to weigh in on competencies they value most by formatting a competency model into a survey or questionnaire.
To download and use the Employer Analysis Worksheet, follow these directions:
- Worksheets are available to download from each industry model page. After choosing an industry model, click 'Download' in the Helpline section.
- Edit the text or column headings as desired; suggested headings are provided.
- Use the worksheet to gather input from employers.
- Tally the input – count the responses.
- Analyze the results.
Below is an example of a completed Employer Analysis worksheet.
