91´«Ã½

Helping patrons with job search and resumes are just the first steps toward economic recovery and resilience; libraries are well-positioned to help people explore career opportunities and prepare for the future of work. Library staff accessing and using state and regional labor market information (LMI) are better equipped to work with community partners to help people move from “dead-end” jobs to “quality” jobs and careers that match people’s skills and passion.

This webinar—the second in the Public Libraries: Partners in Workforce Development series—highlights LMI resources and use cases and demonstrates how this information can inform and improve workforce service development, outreach, and partnerships to connect residents with in-demand jobs, gain in-demand skills, and improve economic mobility.

As the nation begins recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people are seeking opportunities to build skills, find and improve job prospects, and prepare for in-demand careers. The Public Libraries: Partners in Workforce Development webinar series showcases public library and partner workforce and career services from around the country. Each webinar tackles a different topic related to workforce development and provides practical tools and tips for libraries to plan, deliver, promote, assess, and advocate for these services to advance equitable economic recovery.

Originally presented August 26, 2021.

The series was co-developed by PLA and Libswork, a national networking group on workforce and small business development. Other webinars in this series:

• Partnering to Meet Community Workforce Needs
  Panelists: Xenia Hernández, Scott B. Sanders, Shayne Spaulding & Shanika Wallace
• Supporting Patrons to Obtain In-Demand Credentials That Boost Employability and Career Mobility
  Panelists: Emily Felt, Haley Glovoer, Karsten Heise, Elizabeth Iaukea & Tammy Westergard
• Bridging Workers’ Digital Skills Gaps through Libraries
  Panelists: Stacey Aldrich, Amanda Bergson-Shilcock, Scott Kuchinsky, Jen Nelson & Ka‘ala Souza
• Boosting Youth Workforce Readiness
  Panelists: Kate Aubin, Janelle Duray, Marquita Friday & Jennifer Griffin
• Supporting Formerly Incarcerated Individuals with a Fresh Start @ Your Library
  Panelists: Sherry Sandler, Sarah Swiderski & Nicole Warren

Learning Outcomes

At the conclusion of this on-demand webinar, participants will be able to:

• Identify sources of LMI, including online resources, governmental agencies, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations publishing research and analyzing trends;
• Evaluate LMI to develop workforce development and career services in libraries and inform effective practices and innovative approaches; and
• Apply best practices and recommendations from libraries currently utilizing LMI and local needs assessments to create high-impact services for their communities.

Additional Resources

• Slideshows:
  • Sherri Moses (PDF)
  • Stephanie Holcomb (PDF)
  • Ron Painter (PDF)
  • David Klokner & Natalie Ruppert (PDF)
• Links shared by Panelists:
  • America’s Libraries: Essential Partners in Workforce & Career Services
    http://www.ala.org/advocacy/sites/ala.org.advocacy/files/content/Workforce/Workforce_web_032621-1.pdf
  • U.S. Census Bureau
    
    • QWI Explorer
      
  • U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
    
    • Available Data Retrieval Tools
      
    • State Labor Market Information Contact List
      
  • Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis FRED Economic Data
    
  • U.S. Department of Labor O*NET OnLine
    
  • IPUMS USA
    
  • U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
    
  • Projections Central
    
  • Ohio LMI
    
  • National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB)
    
  • Workforce Investment Works
    
  • Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (NKWIB)
    
  • Kentucky Center for Statistics
    
  • Northern Kentucky Area Development District (NKADD)
    
  • Northern Kentucky Career Center
    
    • Locations
      
    • Labor Market Information
      
    • Employer Resource Guide
      
  • The W. Edward Demings Institute
    
  • NAICS Association
    
  • Kenton County Public Library
    
    • Job Search Central
      
  • NAWDP CWDP Certification
    
  • Kentucky Career Center’s Career EDGE
    
  • Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems Grant Program – Program Overview
    
  • Vera Institute of Justice
    
  • Data For Progress
    
  • U.S. Government Accountability Office
    
  • Local Workforce System Guide (Urban Institute)
    
  • American Job Center
    
  • PLA Workforce Development/Small Business Interest Group (members-only)
    
  • 91´«Ã½ Libraries, Workforce, and Economic Recovery Discussion Group (log-in needed)
    
  • ARPA resources (91´«Ã½)
    /advocacy/american-rescue-plan-library-relief
  • Project Outcome assessment tools and case studies (PLA)
    /pla/data/performancemeasurement
  • Workforce Innovation (91´«Ã½)
    /advocacy/workforce
  • Public Libraries & Workforce Development (PLA)
    /pla/initiatives/workforce
  • PLA digital literacy resources and projects
    /pla/initiatives/digitalliteracy
  • Libswork LinkedIn group information sharing of state and public libraries
    
  • WebJunction Community Partnership & Collaboration Guide (2012)
    
• Chat Transcript (PDF)

Who Should Attend

This on-demand webinar is intended for library and community partner staff formally or informally developing and delivering workforce and career services—or planning to do so—including administrators, reference staff, state library development staff, adult services staff, outreach and strategic partnership staff, and library trustees.

Panelists

Stephanie Holcomb is a research project coordinator at the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ), where she is involved in research on workforce development, education and training, and program evaluations. Holcomb holds a BA in Sociology from The College of New Jersey and a Master’s in Public Policy from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Bloustein with research focused on county-level differences in access to cash assistance.

David Klokner is the workforce data specialist for the Northern Kentucky Area Development District and Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board (NKWIB). As support staff for the NKWIB, Klokner is a contributing member on several Kentucky Career Center committees, including Business Services and Job Fair teams. He enjoys being involved in collaboratives that seek to empower our local workforce and create economic opportunities for all.

Ron Painter has served as CEO of the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) since 2009. He has traveled the country meeting with state and local workforce leaders to identify cutting-edge practices and programs and understand how best to spread innovative trends in human capital development throughout the nation-wide job training system. Painter was the founding CEO of the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board in Pittsburgh, where under his leadership the organization focused on producing labor market research, working with public educators on improved student career information, and supporting community leaders in the development of regional benchmarks. Before joining the Three Rivers Workforce Board, he worked in Washington, DC, first on loan to the U.S. Department of Labor, and then for the National Alliance of Business. Painter holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science from Grove City College in Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Public Administration and advanced graduate coursework from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs, where he served as adjunct faculty.

Natalie Ruppert is the workforce development manager for the Kenton County Public Library, located in northern Kentucky. Ruppert also served as a reference librarian and circulation manager for the system. She received the Margaret E. Willis Award for Community Service for helping patrons find jobs and explore careers from the Kentucky Public Library Association in 2014, and she won the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board Award for Community Collaboration in 2019. Ruppert received her BA from Allegheny College and her MLIS from the University of Kentucky.