R2019-181 Resolution Approving and Adopting the 2019-2021 Strategic Priorities

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PRIORITY GOAL #2: GROW, ENHANCE AND BETTER PREPARE THE LOCAL WORKFORCE TO MEET CURRENT & FUTURE DEMANDS Summary of Goal #2: There is an urgent need to develop a more effective approach to preparing the local workforce to meet the needs of local employers, and,if necessary,to import into the Decatur/Macon County region sufficient numbers of workers to ensure that future manufacturing,transportation and healthcare expansions and developments will have all the workers they need; otherwise the city's future economic viability will be at risk. Discussion. There are numerous agencies in Decatur and Macon County already providing assistance in the area of workforce development. These include: Workforce Investment Solutions,the State of Illinois' Department of Employment Security,the State of Illinois' Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), Richland Community College's workforce development office, OASIS, Good Samaritan,the local Salvation Army,the Trades &Labor Council,the Old King's Orchard Co-op, Homework Hangout, Decatur Public Schools and others. Despite this multi-agency commitment to workforce development,good paying jobs in the manufacturing,transportation logistics and healthcare fields go unfilled due to lack of sufficiently qualified and prepared applicants.We need to help employers find the labor and the skills they need to be successful. Since larger employers often make expansion and new development decisions principally based on the availability of a reliable labor force,this is a troubling situation. So the city wants to take a leadership position helping these existing and future employers build and strengthen their workforces,and have greater confidence in the future depth and quality of the regional workforce. To change the current available workforce trajectory,the Decatur City Council is prepared to become more directly involved in new collaborations to: 1) more effectively prepare the existing Macon County work force to gain and retain good paying jobs, and 2) market Decatur and its major employers to persons in living in other, carefully selected metropolitan areas by recruiting them into more rigorous training programs that,upon successful completion,would carry with them the promise of a good full-time job. Development of the Crossings Campus,its proximity to unused low&moderate income housing at Wabash Crossing,the potential launch of a small business incubator (in collaboration with Richland, Millikin,the public schools, CICD other private partners and the SBDC), and adjacent availability of additional workforce training and childcare, presents possibilities for synergies to add significantly to the Decatur and Macon County workforce. The city should take a leadership role in this endeavor because a larger qualified labor pool will result in more economic development and benefit Decatur citizens—some of whom are either unemployed or under-employed.