Our Work

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 work opportunities 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.

See Sector Approach in our resource section for more information.

Sector initiatives are designed to help workers find jobs, keep jobs, and advance in their jobs.  At the same time, they work to 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. Low-income workers and individuals who face significant barriers to employment are key constituents of sector programs.  But, importantly, 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 of 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.

While initiatives that target manufacturing and the acute and long-term healthcare industries are most common, the range of industries targeted by sector initiatives is broad.  Initiatives target logistics and transportation, hospitality, automobile repair, information technology, construction, and day care, among other industries. Industry focus in a particular region can be influenced by factors such as:

• availability and accessibility of quality jobs and career ladders
• opportunities to influence and improve job quality
• an industry-relevant issue that brings business stakeholders to the table
• existing relationships and institutional competencies of the lead driver of the sector initiative
• funding opportunities
• the characteristics and interests of an initiative’s worker constituency

See Industry Specific in our resource section for more information.

Many sector initiatives are nonprofit-based, but a large and growing number involve community colleges, business associations, local Workforce Investment Boards and labor-management partnerships. In many cases, sector initiatives involve a range of partners of different institutional types working collaboratively. It is the function—not the institutional home—that defines a sector initiative. See Sector and Community College resources for more information.

A number of studies have documented very promising employment outcomes achieved by participants of sector initiatives.Public/Private Ventures’ Sectoral Employment Impact Study, a random assignment study of three initiatives, found that program participants earned about $4,500 more (18 percent) than a control group of similar individuals over the course of the two-year study period.    In the second year following their programs, participants earned 29 percent more than control group members.  Study participants were also more likely to find employment, work more consistently, work in jobs that paid higher wages, and work in jobs that offered benefits.The Aspen Institute’s Sectoral Employment Development Learning Project (SEDLP), based on a study of six initiatives, found that participants reported an average increase of more than $7,000 in annual earnings one year after training and $10,000 two years after training (compared to the year prior to training). 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 at the job they held one year after training (compared with 50 percent the year prior to training). For more information see SEDLP Research Report No. 3: Gaining Ground.AspenWSI documented outcomes of students participating in training for employment in automobile manufacturing, nursing and allied healthcare, bus operator, and office administration, provided by community college-nonprofit partnerships.  Across these studies, which occurred during the height of the economic recession, we documented large numbers of participants earning college credits, certificates and degrees, obtaining quality employment, increasing earnings and retaining employment. See Worker Outcomes in our resource section for more information.

Businesses report benefiting from the work of sector initiatives in ways that vary depending on the workplace challenge a service was designed to address.  We’ve seen businesses report higher retention, improvements in productivity, reduced costs associated with vacancy and turnover, greater workforce diversity, reduced accidents, and improved soft skills among their workforce. A growing number of sector initiatives are trying to identify and document the business outcomes of their work.  AspenWSI’s Business Value Assessment tools and publications provide a useful place to start understanding and using this approach.  See Value to Business Resources for more information.

Sector initiatives’ systems change strategies generally seek to influence industry practices, the education and training system, and/or public regulatory and fiscal policy. A systems change can be very small or large in scope.  Simply put, systems change involves observing obstacles that hinder a sector initiative achieving its mission, and then identifying strategies for lessening, removing or working around those obstacles.  93 percent of 227 sector initiative leaders responding to a 2006 AspenWSI survey said that systems change activities are a priority.  For more information about systems change, please see Sectoral Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the Field and Systems Change: A Survey of Program Activities

While skills training that prepares individuals for available jobs is the bread and butter of sector initiatives, most also provide a range of supports to mitigate the wide variety of barriers that can keep low-income workers from succeeding in training and on the job.  Many initiatives employ case managers to coordinate public and private resources such as transportation assistance, childcare, and emergency financial resources.  Initiatives also provide counseling and encourage participants to form peer support networks or actively manage and provide staff support for these types of networks.  Of 227 sector initiative leaders responding to a 2006 AspenWSI survey (Systems Change: A Survey of Program Activities), 86 percent reported providing or coordinating access to case management and social services for their participants. See Sector Approach in our resource section for more information.

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