Workforce innovations 2008

Most EDPros know more about the water pressure in their industrial parks than they do about the brainpower in their schools. That stands to reason: economic development, as a profession, started out with a relatively simple model (first applied in Mississippi in the 1930's): recruitment.

Now, however, times have changed.
The key to building wealth for companies in the U.S. is not low cost land or even cheap labor, or incentives. It's brainpower.

But if you are like I was a few years ago, you are reluctant to get into education and workforce issues. They seem so complex and confusing.

My word of advice: Get over it.

(In my case, I have a hard-nosed superintendent from Sabine Parish, Louisiana to thank. After a presentation in about 1997, he chastised me for not including any mention of education and workforce issues. His criticism got me to thinking. It took me a while, but, eventually, I figured out he was right.)

EDPros who do not develop brainpower strategies for their regions will, sadly, become largely irrelevant over the next decade.Workforce considerations will drive investment decisions over the next decade.

One way to start is to attend Workforce Innovations 2008 in New Orleans in mid July. You'll get a sweep of the leading workforce issues. I'll be there making a couple of presentations. Over the past couple of years, I have been working more closely with workforce development professionals, learning how innovations in workforce development are starting to pop up everywhere. 

If you are interested in coming to New Orleans and acelerating your education about workforce issues, visit the Workforce Innovations web site.