Reflections on the Past Year

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Did 2018 fly by for you?  It did for the RealTime Talent team.  About this same time last year, we were welcoming our new Executive Director, Deb Broberg, to RealTime Talent and we had just finished moving into the Chamber Foundation location.  We adopted the mantra, “new year, new location, same mission.”  As the year moved on and we settled into our new home, we continued to focus on our mission: to help create more informed, market-oriented decisions throughout the Minnesota workforce and education ecosystem to ensure the state’s economy has the talent it needs to help Minnesotans prepare for well-paying careers.  We also continued our aim to create a movement toward workforce alignment, support sector-based collaborations for quality employment opportunities, increase cross-sector collaboration, and ensure daily decision-making is guided by strong data in the workforce and education ecosystem.  Phew!  That’s not only a mouthful – that’s a big task at hand!  It’s a great thing we have so many great partners dedicated to Minnesota’s workforce and economy. 

In 2018, RealTime Talent developed 113 data driven reports.  From occupation snapshots and industry overviews, to labor market analyses and custom-built surveys, we offered just-in-time insights to decision-makers and encouraged data-informed planning in our workforce and education systems.  Many of these reports are available on our website at http://www.realtimetalent.org/research.

We also gave 85 presentations and trained 310 participants on real-time labor market data tools both in the education and workforce space.  95 organizations and institutions of higher education that work with students, job-seekers, or employers currently had access to TalentNeuron Recruit and training and about 335-400 people currently use TalentNeuron Recruit on a regular basis in service to students, job-seekers, or employers. Between 6,400 and 7,350 job-seekers statewide received job search assistance that included data from TalentNeuron Recruit in FY2018, doubling the reach of the tool in 2017.

An estimated 7,200 students were advised using data from TalentNeuron Recruit in FY2018, with many more being reached with modified curriculum, programs, and materials that introduced them to high-demand career pathways.  Approximately 60% of users working directly with students said use of TalentNeuron Recruit “increased the relevance of job opportunities to student needs” between April and October 2018.

RealTime Talent continued to use its unique position as a public-private partner to bring creative solutions to Minnesota’s labor shortage, skill misalignment, and labor market inefficiencies. 

In K-12 education, we expanded TalentNeuron access and training, developed customized career pathway reports, and provided data consultation to Career and Technical Education (CTE) consortia across Minnesota, leading to in-depth engagement and increased use of labor market data in the classroom.  For Higher Education, RealTime Talent created customized reports or provided consultation around program development, expansion, modification, as well as regional workforce data for institutions including, but not limited to, The College of St. Scholastica, St. Cloud State University, Normandale Community College, and AgCentric Center of Excellence.   Some of RealTime Talent’s contributions to the workforce system include engagement with the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Council’s workforce planning efforts, supporting the sector committee, data work team, and the strategic partnership team in employer engagement and securing appropriate labor market data.  RealTime Talent also supported the curriculum and delivery of the GMWC Sector Skills Academy, focusing on data-informed decision-making and employer engagement strategy.  We were privileged to collaborate with the DEED Workforce Strategy Consultants and the Center for Economic Inclusion to support the GMWC and local Workforce Development Board employer engagement needs in the six key industry sectors. 


Left to right: Tawanna Black, Center for Economic Inclusion , Peter Frosch, GREATER MSP, Laura Beeth, Fairview Health Services, Shawntera Hardy, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development , Deb Broberg, RealTime Talent

This past year,  RTT established a Business Talent Initiative, with the support of GreaterMSP, MSPWin, the Minnesota Chamber, MN Business Partnership, and the Itasca Project, to facilitate employer involvement in partnership with key sector team leads: MPMA, Hennepin County, AgriGrowth, and MHTA.  This Business Talent Initiative is now a working group within RealTime Talent’s Advisory Council.  We continued the development of diversity reports and talent sourcing strategy consulting for private companies and business associations, provided labor market data for industry membership organizations, and solidified relationships with the commercial building trades associations, offering demographic and workforce data for four quarters to help guide apprenticeship program enrollment planning.

We look forward to the work ahead of us in 2019 and collaborating with our partners in the great state of Minnesota. 

If you have any questions about the work of RealTime Talent, please contact Phil Arellano, phil@realtimetalent.org.

Content contributed by Phil Arellano and Erin Olson, RealTime Talent.

Erin Olson Graduates from U.S. Chamber Foundation Education and Workforce Fellowship Program

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Fellowship Provided State and Local Chambers with Opportunities to Engage Nationally on Critical Education and Workforce Issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation today announced Erin Olson, Research Strategist of the Minnesota Chamber Foundation graduated from its premier business leadership program. The inaugural Business Leads Fellowship Program trained and equipped leaders from state and local chambers of commerce with resources, access to experts, and a network of peers to build their capacity to address the most pressing education and workforce challenges.

“The business community is the key to solving our state’s talent shortage and skill misalignment,” said Erin Olson. “Chambers of Commerce are uniquely positioned to help infuse the critical skills of tomorrow’s economy into our educational system from early childhood through postsecondary.” Olson provides labor market research, consultation, and employer engagement support to higher education, high school CTE programs, employer associations, workforce development, and career pathway initiatives across Minnesota.

“As clearly displayed throughout this program, state and local leaders know better than anyone the critical link between education and economic development,” says Cheryl Oldham, senior vice president of the Center for Education and Workforce. “Not only did the Fellows gain a network of peers and experts in the field, the program is designed to help these leaders find opportunities to develop initiatives that will continue to advance the growth of their local economy and put education policy into practice.”

Following a competitive application and selection process, Olson was selected along with 34 other state and local chamber executives across the nation to participate in the inaugural class. The four-month program, which ended this week, covered the entire talent pipeline, including early childhood education, K-12, higher education, and workforce development.

Upon completion, Business Leads Fellows join the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s dedicated network of 200 chambers of commerce and statewide associations from around the nation who regularly engage on education and workforce initiatives.

Given the overwhelming interest in the program, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation will host a second cohort in spring 2019.

For a full list of participants in the Business Leads inaugural class, visit the U.S. Chamber Foundation website.

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Insights For Action

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How the MSP Region is Addressing the Growing Talent Crisis with Analysis of Real-time Labor Market Data

In the last few years, a range of online analytical tools has enabled a clear view of our dynamic and constantly changing labor market. For the first time, this data is available to job counselors and planners not just as information for reflection, but as a real-time action tool to direct jobseekers to the best opportunities. This report outlines our approach to taking the first step in addressing this crisis: documenting the labor shortage and skills gap, identifying the impact that our programs and initiatives could have on closing those gaps, and building a strategy for a more systematic and employer-led long-term solution.

We believe workforce development must now be based on a real-time feedback loop. Without a clear line of sight into the current labor market realities, it is impossible to advise job-seekers effectively, meet employer talent needs, or plan effective educational systems. We have learned that in a program-rich, systems-poor environment, context in real dataand short-term outcomes can help move out of the spin-cycle of planning and into systems change.

However, a strong report alone will not lead to systematic change, better programs, or improved outcomes without engaging the necessary leaders to take the next step. Even after reviewing the wealth of LMI, job postings, and educational data at our disposal, it is still essential to get out in the field and talk to employers, training program managers, K-12 educators, and postsecondary directors get their take on the accuracy and relevancy of the data and your conclusions from it.  Only then can we identify solutions that ensure employers have the workers required to sustain and grow Minnesota’s economy.

Real Time Talent and MSPWin will continue to promote and expand demand-driven solutions that are grounded in the realities of talent supply limitations and opportunities. We hope that this implementation guide is an important step toward building the next generation of cross-sector, employer-led education and workforce collaboratives to address the workforce challenges of our time.

Click HERE to read the full report.

RTT Joins Center for Workforce Solutions

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As a Program of the Minnesota Chamber Foundation, RealTime Talent Joins the Newly Created Center for Workforce Solutions

St. Paul, MN (05/08/18): The Minnesota Chamber yesterday announced the creation of the Center for Workforce Solutions, an innovative initiative under the leadership of the Chamber Foundation. Through collaboration and key partnerships, it offers research and programs to confront the state’s growing worker shortage and will help solve critical workforce challenges to sustain and grow Minnesota’s economy for the long term.
A key component of the Center for Workforce Solutions will be the work of RealTime Talent.  RealTime Talent seeks to increase workforce alignment throughout the state of Minnesota by bringing together education, workforce, economic development and private sector leaders.  RealTime Talent provides real-time labor market data to inform and affect market-oriented decisions made be these key stakeholders in Minnesota’s workforce and education system.  Recently, RealTime Talent published a series of reports detailing sector-specific occupations with high growth, middle skill, and livable wage opportunities.  These sector analyses have become critical data points used in workforce solutions conversation across the Twin Cities, and RealTime Talent is working to scale this work state-wide.
Along with RealTime Talent, the Center for Workforce Solutions will consist of three other solutions-focused components:

  •  MN Job Match is a job-to-candidate matching platform that helps employers find the right fit in qualified candidates. This platform’s unique capabilities matches modern skills with the changing needs in the marketplace, helps bridge the gap among job-seekers and employers, and identifies new opportunities.
  • Business Education Networks (BEN) seek to narrow the skills gap by helping students understand the career opportunities and complete necessary degree and certificate programs, thus helping employers find highly-skilled workers. BEN is already connecting businesses and local chambers with students, educators and workforce training programs in Winona, Brainerd, Waconia and White Bear Lake, with plans to accelerate networks throughout the state.
  • Educational opportunities bring together community and business leaders facing these challenges and offering solutions to ensure long-term economic success. The center offers resources and information that can expand employers’ knowledge base and offer new, innovative approaches to recruitment and retention. On May 9, the chamber will host the “Workforce Solutions Forum: Growing through Hidden Talent and Automation.” This half-day program will help employers tap the underutilized segments of our workforce and delve into how automation impacts all levels of production, and adapts how business is done to stay efficient with a shrinking workforce.

RealTime Talent is a public-private collaborative with a goal of increasing workforce alignment in Minnesota. We introduce tools and innovation to address labor force needs and support our higher education and workforce systems.  Our partners provide services to employers, job-seekers, planner and educators, using the tools and research we provide.  In January of 2018, RealTime Talent became a program of the Minnesota Chamber Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that shares in the mission of driving workforce solutions. For more information, contact Phil Arellano, RealTime Talent Training & Communication Specialist
651-201-1774 or email phil@realtimetalentmn.org

Big Data Speaks Up for Soft Skills

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Ask employers what they seek in new hires and “soft skills” rise to the top. Yes, it is a squishy buzz word but it covers a lot of what matters, including communication, teamwork, creativity and problem solving. For the new grads from our colleges, this is good news — they can show that they’ve got what today’s hiring managers want.

Don’t buy it? Start with the hard data. Sara Johnson, employer and alumni relations manager at Concordia College, has looked at full-time job postings from the last two years for new bachelor’s degree holders in our five-state area. Using TalentNeuron Recruit, a big-data tool that pulls together and analyzes job postings, Johnson’s search identified more than 390,000 postings in that period. She looked specifically at the skills required.

“When you look at the most listed skills, both hard and soft ones, almost all are soft skills,” she said. “These are really people skills. Employers are looking for a good quality candidate with problem solving abilities who can be creative, who can be analytical and who can take that information and articulate it.”

The top sought skill was oral and written communication. “That’s always number one. Looking at our data from job postings, we see demand for communications skills is two times more in demand than any other skill,” Johnson said. “It is about that ability to articulate ideas and information; it is extremely useful across all industries. If you dive in to what it means, it gets at expressing yourself in all sorts of ways.”

Ten of the top skills sought in new hires with bachelor’s degrees

Skill
 # of postings that mentioned skill
Oral and written communications 148,238
Marketing 68,820
Detail-oriented 57,632
Problem solving 57,192
Integrity 43,938
Organizational skills 43,486
Creativity 40,049
Work independently 35,847
Self-starting / self-motivated 34,784
Team-oriented 33,721
Source: TalentNeuron Recruit

Data for period from May 31, 2015 to May 31, 2017 for full-time, entry-level positions for those with bachelor’s degrees in Minnesota and bordering states

Good news for grads

For college students who’ve been immersed in coursework and campus experiences and apprehensive about moving into the job market, this is a rare view into what employers are seeking. “For a student, they often don’t give themselves enough credit for those skill sets that they bring,” Johnson said. “So it is important to see the value of those skill sets — ones like integrity, working independently and working in a team.”

From Johnson’s perspective, students at Concordia College and Minnesota’s other private colleges have benefitted from educations focused on the liberal arts with opportunities for invaluable hands-on experiences, from internships to undergraduate research.

“The liberal arts colleges really have an advantage in helping students develop these high demand skill sets and preparing them for the workforce,” she said. “There’s always a transition — when you’re a new employee. These soft skills, they’re people skills and they give an advantage to liberal arts students, helping them be productive sooner. That’s a huge value to an employer, they’re a quick learner.”

And looking down the road, with the labor force expecting significant changes as more Baby Boomer retirements happen, the importance of these soft skills will only grow, Johnson predicts. With her analysis of the recent job postings for new college graduates, she also looked for where expectations are changing. The strongest increase was in management and leadership skills.

When employers hire new grads they worry about what soft skills are missing, as research has shown. Hiring managers were most concerned about a lack of critical thinking skills in recent grads. Next up was attention to detail and then communication. So as students apply for those first post-graduation positions, these data about the importance of soft skills can help them prepare. Johnson recommends students highlight these skills on their resumes and prepare to speak up during interviews about their experiences using these skills.

New graduates have what employers are seeking — now’s the time to be sure they let the decision makers know.

By John Manning

John Manning is the Director of Marketing and Communications for the Minnesota Private Colleges Council, a partner of RealTime Talent.

Successes of 2017

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RealTime Talent closed 2017 with a large and growing impact on Minnesota’s education-workforce ecosystem. Here are a few of the accomplishments from 2017 that we are proud of:

  • Created a movement to align talent development, workforce services and Minnesota’s labor market
    • RealTime Talent developed 21 career pathway guidance reports in Agriculture, Food & Natural Resources, Finance, and Business, Finance, & Administration for Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Perkins Consortia, rolling new demand-oriented approaches to career decision making across Minnesota State and CTE secondary programs. Over 2,000 students in Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources career pathways across Minnesota State, in secondary CTE tracks, and participating in Future Farmers of America received reports filled with data from TalentNeuron Recruit to be used in career planning; 80% of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources educators across Minnesota State received the same CTE reports to use in their classrooms and were connected with local, trained TalentNeuron Recruit users.
  • Established RTT as a recognized leader and resource for driving the use of real-time data analytics to align talent development and workforce services with Minnesota’s labor market
    • 98 organizations and institutions of higher education that work with students, job-seekers, or employers received access to TalentNeuron Recruit and training.
    • Between 345-415 people currently use TalentNeuron Recruit regularly in service to students, job-seekers, or employers.  Broader reach of potential license use is estimated at about 800-900 people.
    • Over 75 unique training sessions in the TalentNeuron Recruit data tool have been held this year to date, with over 240 people participating.
  • Ensured the daily decisions and services of education and workforce providers are guided by current data and comparative analysis
    • Working with Job Seekers
      • 100% of workforce centers and employment services providers that shared data with us in our recent survey said that they use TalentNeuron Recruit data directly with job-seekers in the past 6 months.
      • Between 1,385 and 2,015 job-seekers statewide received job search assistance that included data from TalentNeuron Recruit in the past 6 months.
    • Working with Students
      • In the past 6 months, about 715 students (10% of all students served by partners sharing their usage) directly received career or academic advice from TalentNeuron Recruit data over the past 6 months.
    • Research, Curriculum, Program, and Economic Development
      • 68% of partners using TalentNeuron Recruit for research and workforce analytics found that it led to greater knowledge of local or regional workforce needs over the past 6 months.
      • 57% of users that are involved in curriculum development said use of TNR “increased alignment of curriculum to employer needs” over the past 6 months.
  • Improved the results and longevity of sector-based collaborations in meeting employer demand by integrating RTT tools and outreach
    • Working with Job Seekers
      • A reported 356 job-seekers developed an improved understanding of how to express their skills, experience, and education as a result of advice based in data from TalentNeuron Recruit in the past 6 months.
    • Working with Students
      • A reported 605 students developed an improved understanding of how to express their skills, experience, and education as a result of advice based in data from TalentNeuron Recruit over the past 6 months.
      • 66% of users working directly with students said use of TalentNeuron Recruit “increased student awareness of opportunities” over the past 6 months.
      • 53% of users working directly with students said use of TNR “increased the frequency of use of labor market data with students” over the past 6 months.
    • Research, Curriculum, Program, and Economic Development
      • 80% of partners in economic development said use of new labor market data “increased knowledge of current workforce trends” over the past 6 months.
      • 50% of partners in economic development said use of new labor market data led to “increased total number of employers engaged” over the past 6 months.
      • 56% of partners in economic development said use of new labor market data led to “improved knowledge of hiring needs of employers” over the past 6 months.

New Year, New Location, Same Mission

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The new year marks several exciting new beginnings for RealTime Talent.

We are pleased to announce that we completed our transition and are now operating as a public-private collaborative program within the Minnesota Chamber Foundation. We are thankful for the generosity and support of The Saint Paul and Minnesota Community Foundations that we have called home for the first two years of RealTime Talent’s existence.  The Saint Paul and Minnesota Community Foundations have provided a firm platform for our work to advance workforce alignment across Minnesota.  We look forward to continuing this important work with the MN Chamber Foundation, driving a statewide strategy to bring businesses, education providers, workforce planning, and economic development efforts together to better align education and training pathways to meet Minnesota’s workforce needs.

We also welcome our new Executive Director, Deb Broberg, to the RealTime Talent team.  Deb comes to RealTime Talent from a successful 25+ year career with Northwest Airlines and Wells Fargo where she held positions with responsibility for Inflight Operations, Talent Acquisition, Learning & Development, and Talent Management.  During her tenure with Wells Fargo she gained a keen appreciation for the importance of talent management and workforce planning.

Deb received her MA from the University of Minnesota’s HRIR program and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Macalester College.  She serves on the board of the Human Resources Executive Council and has had a longstanding interest in education and the critical need to plan for future market needs when considering options for post-secondary education and training.  Deb is active on the Alumni Board for Macalester College as co-chair of the career development committee, and served on the Carlson School of Management Undergraduate Advisory Board for nine years, where she gained insight on the early Itasca Project research which fueled her interest in workforce readiness for the state of Minnesota.

Deb brings a strong sense of community, commitment, and collaboration to RealTime Talent.  Deb is originally from Minnesota and spent her youth in multiple geographies as the daughter of a military family.

You can reach us at our new address at the MN Chamber is 400 Robert Street N, #1500, Saint Paul, MN 55101, or www.realtimetalent.org.   We look forward to working with you in the new year and beyond!

As Labor Shortage Looms, Metro Workforce Planning Ramps Up

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The 7-county Minneapolis-Saint Paul region faces a worker shortage of over 62,000 by 2020. RealTime Talent and MSP Win are bringing new research to the table to help workforce planners mobilize around our current and future needs, an essential step if we are to maintain our region’s growth and competitiveness.

Workforce development professionals must be able to quickly support each jobseeker to identify and train for the career they aspire to; using data analytics on a regular basis creates stronger coordination between organizations and the best results for both jobseekers and employers.
In the last few years, a range of online analytical tools have enabled a clear view of our dynamic and constantly changing labor market. For the first time, this data is available to job counselors not just as information for reflection, but as a real-time action tool to direct jobseekers to the best opportunities.

We have developed a series of Sector Analysis Reports – a regional overview document and its one-page profiles of IT, manufacturing, construction, healthcare, business and financial services, and government – to provide an analytical methodology to know and react to demand, supply, and training program outcomes. In other words, these tools can help us more efficiently close the worker gap. We hope that you see value in this data and decide to replicate this kind of analysis in your own sectors and communities.

We believe workforce development must now be based on a real-time feedback loop. If you don’t know the analytics and if you can’t easily answer the top two jobseeker questions in an informed way, you can’t advise jobseekers well and you can’t help close the gap. So let’s start doing things differently.

Read, download, or print the full reports here, or take a look at the Information Technology sector overview report here.

Hispanics and Latinos in the Workforce

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September 15th through October 15th is National Hispanic Heritage Month.  Hispanic and Latino people began to arrive to Minnesota in significant numbers in the early 1900’s.  Currently, over 280,000 Hispanic and Latinos reside in Minnesota.  This infographic details the impact our Hispanic and Latino population has on our state and the workforce.

 

 

To download a PDF copy of this graphic, click here.

IT Jobs Continue in High Demand Across Industries

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Our newest infographic highlights some of the latest trends in Information Technology–including the top soft skills, character traits, and computer skills that employers are looking for in new candidates.  Take a look to see what employers are demanding from today’s Minnesota job seekers and get a sense of how much this field is expected to grow by 2024.