What is sectoral employment development?
A sectoral employment development strategy – or a “sector strategy” to use industry shorthand – is defined as a systems approach to workforce development – typically on behalf of low-income individuals – that:

• Targets a specific industry or cluster of occupations, working to develop a deep understanding of industry dynamics and the specific competitive situation and workforce needs of the industry’s employers within the region;
• Intervenes through a credible organization, or set of organizations, crafting solutions tailored to that industry and its region;
• Supports workers in improving their range of employment-related skills, improving the quality of opportunities for work available to them;
• Creates lasting changes in the labor market system that are positive for workers and employers. The “systems” that sectoral initiatives typically seek to change or influence include those related to industry practices, education and training, public regulations and/or fiscal policies.

Who do sector initiatives serve?
Sectoral employment development initiatives help workers find jobs, keep jobs, and improve their jobs, and, at the same time, improve the regional economy by addressing labor market needs in targeted industry sectors. Sector initiatives serve unemployed workers, as well as incumbent workers hoping to advance along a career ladder or lattice. Low-income workers and individuals who confront significant barriers to employment are key constituents of sector programs. Sector initiatives also aim to help businesses find or develop the skilled people they need to succeed in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Sector strategies simultaneously address these two sides to the employment equation – the “supply side” that must produce skilled, employment-ready labor (through training, job coaching, counseling, case management, etc.), and the “demand side” that must understand and anticipate the workforce needs of businesses in order to help them obtain appropriately skilled workers.

How many sector initiatives are there?
The National Network of Sector Partners estimates that there were more than 200 sector initiatives in operation as of 2003, and that the field is growing. Projects have been documented in 23 industry sectors in 41 states. (Source: "Sector Snapshot: A profile of sector practitioners in 2003," published by the National Network of Sector Partners)

Which industries are served by sector programs?
While strategies that work with manufacturing and the acute and long-term health care industries are most common, the range of industries served by sector initiatives is broad, including sectors such as logistics and transportation, hospitality, information technology, construction, day care, etc. The decision of which industry to target in a particular region typically depends on such factors as industry competitiveness, availability and accessibility of quality jobs and career ladders, opportunities to influence and improve job quality, presence of a critical and commonly shared business issue that brings stakeholders to the table, existing relationships and institutional competencies of the lead driver of the sector initiative, etc.

Can only nonprofit organizations run sector initiatives?
Although the majority of sector initiatives that have been documented are housed in nonprofit, community based organizations, a growing number of projects are initiated by community colleges, business associations, local Workforce Investment Boards and labor-management partnerships. In many cases, sector initiatives involve a range of partners of varying institutional types working together collaboratively. It is the function – not the form – that truly distinguishes a sector project.

What kinds of outcomes do sector initiatives produce for participants? Outcomes for participants have been documented in several studies and surveys in relation to employment, wages, benefits and advancement.

The Aspen Institute’s Sectoral Employment Development Learning Project found that sector training participants in six programs reported an average increase of more than $7,000 in their annual earnings one year after training and $10,000 two years after. Participants also reported that the quality of jobs they held improved significantly: 78 percent of trainees reported that they had access to employer-provided health insurance after one year (compared with 50 percent the year prior). (Download SEDLP Research Report No. 3: Gaining Ground to read more about these outcomes.)

The National Network of Sector Partners' 2003 survey of sector initiatives reported that 61 percent of initiatives were placing clients in jobs that paid more than $9.50 per hour.

What kinds of outcomes do sector initiatives produce for businesses?
Businesses report benefiting from sectoral employment development in a variety of ways, including improved retention and productivity, greater workforce diversity and improved soft skills among workers. For example, a manufacturer reported that employees trained by a local sector program were more likely to show flexibility, problem-solving ability and confidence, and to remain employed longer than employees who did not attend training; significant turnover costs were saved. A growing number of programs have expressed interest in using WSI’s Business Value Assessment Toolkit to begin to define and assess more systematically the outcomes that accrue to their business partners. Click here to access the Business Value Assessment Toolkit.

In what ways do sector initiatives intend to affect systemic change?
The essential practice of creating systems change fundamentally involves observing obstacles that hinder the achievement of a sector initiative’s mission, and then identifying strategies for lessening or removing those obstacles. Systems change strategies generally seek to influence: industry practices; the education and training systems; and/or public regulatory and fiscal policy; in order to help workers and employers overcome a skills gap, to address issues of job quality or to improve access to jobs for low-income adults. A broader discussion of systems change is provided in the publications: Sectoral Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the Field and Funding Systems Change.

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