H-1B Ready to Work Conference
October 15, 2015
Speaker:
Sandino Thompson, Executive Director, It’s My Community
Initiative
Demand Driven Strategies
SANDINO L. THOMPSON
Demand Driven Model
 Employers placed at the
forefront of recruitment and
service delivery
 Supply and demand logic
 Strategic outreach
 Focus on meeting needs (employer
focus) vs. generating placements
(program focus)
 Continuous industry analysis
Strategic Outreach: Messaging
 Benefits: Encourage employers to utilize Work Ready
Oklahoma as a recruitment source to cut down on
applicant screening time
 Strengths: Discuss ways to upskill existing
(incumbent) workforce and the benefits of investing in
“known quantities”
 Solutions: Offer to quickly back-fill vacancies created
by incumbent advancement
Strategic Outreach: Process
Discover needs
Assess challenges
Discuss current staffing
Use career pathways models as a base
Develop a recruitment and training strategy
specific to the employers needs
 Utilize custom outreach materials to build a
pipeline to meet the employer demand
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Industry Analysis
 Employment development staff continually
tracks job news and events
 Media Outlets
 Internal Contacts
 Rapid Response Reporting (layoff alerts)
 Local industry issues on the 2015 radar:
 Teacher shortage in public schools
 Oil and gas industry downturn
 Manufacturing industry jobs creation
Industry Outlook: Teacher Shortage
Industry + Employer Snapshot
Industry:
Employer:
Education
Oklahoma City Public
Schools (OKCPS)
 1000+ teacher vacancies
statewide in 2014-2015
 800+ substitutes working in
place of a full-time teacher
 Over 500 emergency
certifications issued (5x more
than previous year)
 Certified Teacher shortage +
excess capacity in entry level
(paraprofessional)
 High new teacher turnover
 36% of current staff
underqualified/inexperienced
Employer-Driven Strategy Highlights:
Teacher Shortage
 Developed two-part plan with OKCPS
 Part 1: Work to fill vacancies before 2015-2016
school year
 Part 2: Upskill Paraprofessionals to Certified
Teachers and backfill vacancies with long-term
unemployed
 Developed accelerated degree program with
University of Central Oklahoma (UCO)
Education Career Pathway
Employer-Driven Strategy Highlights:
Teacher Shortage
 Work Ready Oklahoma + OKCPS:
 Co-branded outreach materials
 Website landing page
 Funnel all recruitment through online
application
 Work Ready Oklahoma + UCO:
 18 month accelerated master’s degree program
 Alternative certification credit hour progression
Employer-Driven Strategy Highlights:
Incumbent Upskill
 Work Ready Oklahoma + OKCPS:
 Identified 29 paraprofessionals for pilot
 Leveraged funds for education costs
 Work Ready Oklahoma + UCO:
 Working to alter student teaching requirements
 Accelerated program under development to fill
administration vacancies (teacher to principal
progression)
Customized Outreach Materials
Teacher Recruitment Flyer
Employer Driven Strategy Highlights:
Results Snapshot
 Work Ready Oklahoma + OKCPS
 OKCPS reduced vacancies at the start of the
2014-2016 school year by nearly 50%
 18 full-time certified teachers were credentialed
and placed through WRO efforts
 24 hours of professional development training
delivered since July
 First Incumbent Worker Information Session
scheduled for this month
Industry Outlook: Oil & Gas Layoffs
Employer Driven Strategy Highlights:
Oil and Gas Downturn
 Work Ready Oklahoma + Employers
 Early 2015 – Developed custom materials for local
employers to use with Employee Resource Packets
during staff reduction
 Work Ready Oklahoma + Oklahoma
Employment Security Commission (OESC)
 Presented resource handour to OESC for use with
rapid response effort for mass layoffs
Customized Outreach Materials
Resource Packet
Customized Outreach Materials
Resource Packet
Industry Outlook: Jobs Creation
Industry Snapshot
Industry:
Manufacturing
Employer:
Boeing
 10% of the state’s workforce
 Shortage of qualified
technicians
 2015: Emerging skills gap
addressed by Governor
 High percentage of jobs in
engineering (60% or more)
 Expanded from 900 to
2100 positions in 2013
 Additional 900 jobs
announced in 2014
(primarily engineering)
 1300 related jobs at Tinker
AFB expected by 2018
 Relocation + new hiring
Advanced Manufacturing Pathway
Employer Driven Strategy Highlights:
Jobs Creation
 Outreach to Boeing:
 Had employment development staff
reach out to Human Resources
 Utilized LinkedIn to see who we (our
staff, key partners and associates)
might know
 Found a connection with the site
director and were able to reach out
directly
 More to come…