An economic development strategy can only succeed if it is supported by a consistent workforce development strategy that recognizes the skill needs of the region’s key industries.We strongly believe that effective economic development is impossible without effective workforce development, and a detailed workforce analysis should be a component of a comprehensive economic development strategy. Regionomics offers extensive experience in helping clients understand their region’s or industry’s workforce needs.

Bill LaFayette is coauthor of Knowledge Economies and Knowledge Work (Emerald Publishing 2019). Bill collaborated with Wayne Curtis of Curtis Concepts, LLC, Denise Bedford of Georgetown University, and Seema Iyer of the University of Baltimore. This practitioner-oriented book discusses the transformation of the global economy from an industrial economy to a knowledge economy, and the implications of that transformation for workers, organizations, communities, and the definition of capital.

Case Studies

The five regional campuses of Ohio University in southern and southeastern Ohio serve mostly local residents, and needed to gain a better understanding of the workforce needs of local industries. In collaboration with the Ohio Strategic Training Center, Regionomics identified 30 to 40 industries with the greatest concentration and potential growth in each of the five local areas. Each campus selected three of these for focus based on the strengths of the individual campus. Regionomics identified crucial occupations in each of these industries, projected eight-year growth and replacement needs, and determined the skills needed to make workers in the occupation successful and productive. Focus groups of leaders in each industry were convened on the campus to discuss and add practical depth to the results. These focus groups provided the added benefit of strengthening relationships between the campus and business. The campuses have subsequently incorporated the insights from this project into their academic programs, producing graduates who are better prepared for successful careers in their hometowns.

Ohio’s insurance sector is an important component of the state’s economy with above-average growth and statewide employment 20 percent greater than average. However, the sector was not able to attract enough workforce to sustain their growth. Regionomics completed an initial report and subsequent update projecting the long-term need by occupation for each insurance-related industry and identifying the necessary skills in the most critical occupations. The resulting need for 29,000 net new insurance workers was used in a comprehensive initiative, insuringohiofutures.com, to attract workers to the industry, establish college programs, and ensure that the coursework in those programs matches the needs of the industry.