Goals of Sector Initiatives
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. Taking a systems approach to labor market intervention, sectoral employment development initiatives adopt strategies that seek to influence the way in which employers, educational and training institutions or public policy operate with respect to the workforce. Sector initiatives work on the “supply side” of the labor market by preparing workers for the basics of work, helping them acquire the skills they need to obtain and retain good jobs, and to advance within target industries, and by supporting them in their struggle to overcome a range of personal and systemic obstacles to economic advancement. On the “demand side,” sector programs seek to influence norms and practices that affect the ability of disadvantaged workers to gain training and employment, succeed on the job, and advance in the labor market.

To accomplish these goals, sector initiatives engage in a range of strategies aimed at:

• closing a “skills gap” so that employers can find the workers they need, and individual workers can obtain the skills they need to be successful in the labor market.
  
  
• improving job quality by addressing issues such as the number of hours an employee can work, access to employment benefits, the timing of shifts, management quality, staff development opportunities, safe working conditions, and other aspects of the employment experience,
  
  
and/or

• increasing access to jobs and advancement opportunities for low-income adults who belong to a labor pool that, for reasons of skill, racial and/or gender bias, geography, etc., are not typically hired or promoted by the target industry.

For more on sectoral employment development goals, strategies and practices, see Publications/THE SECTOR FIELD on this Web site.

Sector Tactics
Sector initiatives do not rely on any one particular approach, instead they utilize a variety of tactics that are developed in response to the specific characteristics and demands of the local employment system (industry, worker population, education and training system, etc.) in which they operate. Nevertheless, high-quality training and other employee supports almost always are an essential element of any successful sectoral strategy. Likewise, sector initiatives always have some means of engaging employers and developing credibility and expertise in the industry sector they target.

• High-quality pre-employment training;
• High-quality incumbent worker training;
• Counseling/case management;
• Transportation, child care and other supports for workers;
• Industrial development strategies and technical assistance to employers;
• Organizing workers, conducting advocacy campaigns and lobbying for policy change;
• Operating social enterprises/alternative business models;
• Mapping career ladders and lattices;
• Including business leaders in the management and decision-making structure of the initiative.

Systems Change
Sectoral employment initiatives work to create change within a variety of systems that affect employment experiences for the low-income workers who face particular challenges in today’s labor market. 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. A broader discussion of systems change is provided in two publications: Sectoral Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the Field and Funding Systems Change.

Core Competencies of Sectoral Initiatives
Successful implementation of sectoral strategies requires a broad range of institutional competencies. Of course, the specific skills needed to make the initiative work vary depending upon the types of tactics used. In most communities, no single institution holds the complete set of organizational capacities needed to implement the sectoral project, and so, partnerships among a variety of stakeholders may develop to provide access to diverse networks, sources of information, skills, and staff capabilities, among other resources. Click here to view a list of competencies that illustrates the broad range of organizational and program capacities typically needed to implement a successful sectoral initiative.

Sector Case Studies and Profiles
To broaden understanding of the sector approach, WSI has produced a series of program case studies and profiles of leading sectoral initiatives.

Case Studies

• Cooperative Home Care Associates
• Project Quest
• Jane Addams Resource Corporation
• Focus: HOPE
• Asian Neighborhood Design
• Garment Industry Development Corporation

• Capital IDEA – Program Overview
• Capital IDEA – Health Care Occupations
• Capital IDEA – Electric Utility Sector Work
• Capital IDEA – Teacher Pipeline Project
• Central Arizona Shelter Services – Temporary Employment Services
• Central Piedmont Community College – Pathways to Employment and ESL Pathways
• Flint Healthcare Employment Opportunities Project
• Instituto del Progreso Latino – ManufacturingWorks
• Shoreline Community College – Auto Sales and Service Training Pathways Program
• Valley Initiative for Development and Advancement
• Workforce Boards of Metropolitan Chicago – Health Care Sector Strategies
• Workforce Development, Inc.