Report
Santa Fe Advance:
Designing a Workforce for economic success
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Published on March 2017
Prepared by Innovate+Educate Santa Fe Advance, one of the nine SFB2C Collaborative Work Groups and led by Innovate+Educate, recently released a report focused on building a workforce ecosystem for economic advancement. The report includes a comprehensive look at existing job trends and potential for Santa Feans and contains three core recommendations for creating an ecosystem for growth. Recommendation #1 – A Call for Skills Skills are measurable, trainable and validate job readiness. Close to 90% of all jobs require the same set of core skills for job success. These core skills are the “soft skills” employers say are critical for their jobs, such as communications, critical thinking, leadership, and customer service. These core skills are important not just in the targeted strategic industries such as Healthcare & Social Assistance and Professional, Scientific & Technical sectors but broad bases of Santa Fe economy providing large employments such as Accommodation and Food Services, Public Administration, Retail Trade, Educational Services and Construction. Santa Fe Advance seeks to create a new ecosystem based on foundational core skills that will improve the Return on Investment for both the jobseeker and the employer. Recommendation #2 – Add Skills-based Hiring The data suggests that Santa Fe is a highly skilled region, but not a highly degreed region especially for younger workforce whose educational attainment level falls behind older populations. There is a significant misalignment in job requirements by employers and workforce skills particularly in the middle-skills category. Employers must adopt a new way to train, advance and hire talent based on skills. Santa Fe Advance will develop an ecosystem led by employers, educators and citizens to allow this ecosystem to flourish. Recommendation #3 – A focus on Two Strategic Growth Industries Santa Fe has a unique opportunity to develop two fast growing areas with relatively high wages and opportunities for all skill levels (low, middle and high) as they build this new ecosystem: Healthcare & Social Assistance (i.e. Healthcare Sector) and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services (i.e. Innovation and Tech Sector). This report goes deeper into each sector and recommends strategies for focusing on these sectors, with a focus on credentials and skills for roles, while also developing a “technology and innovation” hub for Santa Fe economic growth. |
