Dramatic and fundamental changes in society and the economy have drawn new attention to the way workers in the U.S. relate to the labor market. WSI's work focuses specifically on how the “sectoral employment development” model helps low-income workers connect with employment and advancement opportunities.

Working typically on behalf of low-income individuals, sector strategies target a specific occupation or cluster of occupations within an industry; intervene through a credible organization, or set of organizations, crafting solutions tailored to that industry and its region; promote skills attainment and career advancement for workers, improving their employability; and create lasting changes in the labor market system that are positive for workers and employers.

Our Mission
The Workforce Strategies Initiative (WSI) develops projects that are designed to identify and advance strategies that help low-income Americans gain ground in today's labor market. WSI is a project of the Aspen Institute in Washington, D.C.

What we do
WSI conducts research and evaluation, develops tools and training, and convenes practitioners and investors to discuss and learn about issues that are relevant to the field. Over the years, WSI has employed a wide variety of methodologies to investigate sectoral program strategies and activities, as well as participant outcomes. In particular, WSI uses participatory learning evaluation techniques that involve program leaders and investors in determining evaluation questions that are of interest to them, data indicators that can inform those questions, and methodologies that balance rigor, practicality and purpose in an evaluation. WSI staff believes that collaboration with practitioners and participants, who actively participate in informing, reviewing and co-presenting the findings of this work to others, is key to the ability to understand how outcomes relate to real-life work and challenges present in the field. Over time, WSI has developed particular knowledge and expertise in the field of sectoral employment development. Our past and present work is grouped into the following categories:

The Sector Field. This work has focused on gaining a greater understanding of the sectoral employment development field throughout the country: to document common rationale and purpose underlying sector practice; to learn about effective strategies used; and to research trends that affect the field.

Tools & Training. This work has produced tools and training that support individuals working in the field.

Participant Research. This work has focused on documenting the labor-market experiences of sector program participants.

Sector & Higher Ed. This new area of work for WSI is exploring collaborations among community and technical colleges and community-based organizations to address barriers to training and employment for disadvantaged adults.

Examining Partnerships. This work looks at a variety of ways in which sector employment development initiatives bring diverse stakeholders together as partners.