Julian Alssid of the New-York-based Workforce Strategy Center has written an incisive op-ed in the Christian Science Monitor regarding the status and future of America’s workers. Alssid argues that we have plenty of workers to fill tomorrow’s jobs, but our workers lack the advanced skills and knowledge that those jobs require.

As of 2006, nearly half of adults over the age of 25 – approximately 90 million Americans – had no more than a high school diploma or GED. Yet 65 percent of the country’s fastest growing occupations require postsecondary education. In short, it’s not that the US doesn’t have enough jobs to go around. It’s that it doesn’t have a workforce trained to fill them. The US could close this gap if the nation made a commitment to help workers obtain two key credentials: postsecondary education and technical aptitude.

Alssid goes on to lay out seven steps for bridging the skills gap: Promote access, support students, improve transitions, involve employers, build capacity through innovation, measure results, and lead from the top.

Read the full op-ed here.

Clusters are one of the hottest topics in economic and workforce development. The concept of industry cluster analysis, however, can be somewhat ambiguous. This document walks through the industry and industry cluster gap analysis reports available in EMSI’s Strategic Advantage (specifically the Economic Impact module). These tools allow economic development professionals to identify “missing links” in a regional economy so that they can target recruitment efforts on businesses that will complement existing industries and clusters, thus maximizing return on investment.

Read the full document (PDF): Introduction to the Industry and Cluster Gap Analysis Tools in Strategic Advantage

In this document, an EMSI economist and data specialist evaluate the RaDiUS database of federal R&D grants as a potential source of regional economic indicators.

RaDiUS (Research and Development in the U.S.) is a database developed by a subsidiary of the Rand Corporation. It’s primary focus is the tracking of federal grants given to research and development. The grants are primarily awarded by the USDA, DoC, DoD, DoE, HHS, DoI, DoT, EPA, NASA, and NSF. RaDiUS’s main uses are “(1) exploring the overall scope of federal R&D activities across all agencies and (2) comparing R&D activities in specific areas of science and technology among the various federal agencies.”

Download the full document (PDF): An Evaluation of the RaDiUS R&D Database as a Resource for Regional Development

Read the full release.

VICTORIA, Sept. 19 /CNW/ - The B.C. economy creates $7.7 billion in income each year due to BC colleges and their past students, an amount that equals over four per cent of the provincial economy.

A government-sponsored study conducted for BC colleges by CCbenefits Inc. reported these findings today in the largest analysis of its kind in British Columbia.

The analysis of 13 colleges and institutes located in more than 50 campuses throughout BC concludes that BC colleges and institutes are engines of economic growth for the province, returning 14 per cent on taxpayers’ investments in the colleges.

“This study confirms the importance of BC colleges and institutes in contributing to a skilled workforce and to the vitality of both the local and provincial economies,” said Jim Reed, President of the BC College Presidents.

“The results show that rural colleges as well as urban colleges contribute a significant financial return to governments, students and communities,” said Lou Dryden, Chair of the BC College Presidents and president of North Island College in Campbell River.

CCbenefits Inc. reports a benefit/cost ratio of 3.8, meaning that every dollar of taxpayer money invested in BC colleges returns $3.80 to the provincial and local governments.

The Institute for a Competitive Workforce (a part of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) is having its annual summit on Sept. 24-26 in Washington, D.C. The event includes a keynote speech by Fed chief Ben Bernanke.

The Summit is part of a national effort to promote effective and sustainable business and education partnerships. Now, more than ever, the future of business in the United States depends on our education and training systems and their ability to adapt to changes in technology, demographics, globalization, and other forces affecting our society and our economy.

Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW): This Michigan-based nonprofit specializes in “helping stakeholders across the country in business, government, education, economic development, human services and philanthropy find ways to adapt and thrive.”

Upcoming symposium on entrepreneurship sponsored by the U.S. Economic Development Administration: September 26th in Kansas City. This is just one of several regional symposia of the same kind.

Nonemployer Statistics (Census): A major source of data on non-covered workers, particularly proprietors.

The 2002 Economic Census is a key supplemental source for industry data, although it is somewhat outdated. The 2007 Economic Census begins data collection in December 2007.

County Business Patterns (Census) provides the number of establishments and employee ranges by industry.