In this paper I examine workforce intermediation as a tool for regional economic transition. While most studies of workforce intermediation in the United States focus on targeted programs that work with less-advantaged socioeconomic groups, I examine strategies adopted by state-funded community colleges that have a more encompassing or universalistic mandate. Through a case study of North Carolina's BioWork initiative I examine college-level strategies for assisting two distinct groups of job seekers in biopharmaceuticals—those with less education and traditional manufacturing backgrounds and those with college degrees and considerable technology experience. In documenting these strategies I suggest lessons for other regions seeking to influence local labor-market conditions and, in turn, balance the employment needs of diverse socioeconomic groups.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
BarrowB S, 1993, “Thirty years of changing federal, state and local relationships in employment training programs”Publius2375–94.
2.
BermanEBoundJGrilichesZ, 1994, “Changes in the demand for skilled labor within US manufacturing: Evidence from the annual survey of manufacturers”Quarterly Journal of Economics109367–397.
3.
BrintSKarabelJ, 1989The Diverted Dream: Community Colleges and the Promise of Educational Opportunity in America, 1900–1985 (Oxford University Press, New York).
4.
ChappieKZookM A, 2002, “Why some IT jobs stay: The rise of job training in information technology”Journal of Urban Technology957–83.
5.
ConwayMLokerS, 1999The Garment Industry Development Corporation: A Case Study of a Sectoral Employment Development Approach (The Aspen Institute, Washington, DC).
FitzgeraldJ, 2004, “Moving the workforce intermediary agenda forward”Economic Development Quarterly183–9.
8.
FitzgeraldJ, 2006Moving Up in the New Economy: Career Ladders for US Workers (ILR Press, Ithaca, NY).
9.
FligsteinNShinT, 2004, “The shareholder value society: A review of the changes in working conditions and inequality in the United States, 1976 to 2000”, in Social Inequality Ed. NeckermanK, (Russell Sage Foundation, New York) pp 401–432.
10.
GilothR P, 2000, “Learning from the field: Economic growth and workforce development in the 1990s”Economic Development Quarterly14340–359.
11.
GilothR P, 2004, “Introduction: A case for workforce intermediaries”, in Workforce Intermediaries for the Twenty-First Century Ed. GilothR P, (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA) pp 1–30.
12.
GlasmeierA K, 2000, “Economic geography in practice: Local economic development policy”, in The Oxford Handbook of Economic Geography Eds ClackG LFeldmanM PGertlerM S, (Oxford University Press, Oxford) pp 559–584.
13.
GoldsteinHLoweNDoneganM, forthcoming, “Transitioning to the new economy: Individual, institutional, and regional factors in explaining outcomes of retraining programs”Regional Studies.
14.
GreensteinR, 1991, “Universal and targeted approaches to relieving poverty: An alternative view”, in Urban Underclass Eds JencksCPetersonP E, (The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC) pp 437–459.
15.
HowellD, 1994, “The skills myth”American Prospect518.
16.
KatzL FAutorD H, 1999, “Changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality”, in Handbook of Labor Economics, Volume 3 Eds AshenfelterOCardD, (Elsevier, Amsterdam) pp 1463–1555.
17.
LautschBOstermanP, 1998, “Changing the constraints: A successful employment and training strategy”, in Jobs and Economic Development Ed. GilothR, (Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA) pp 213–233.
18.
LevyF STeminP, 2007, “Inequality and institutions in 20th century America”, WP 07–17, Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA.
19.
LoweN, 2007, “Job creation and the knowledge economy”Economic Development Quarterly21339–353.
20.
LynchL, 2005, “Development intermediaries and the training of low-wage workers”, in Emerging Labor Market Institutions for the Twenty-first Century Eds FreemanR BHerschJMishelL, (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, IL) pp 293–314.
21.
North Carolina Biotechnology Center, 2005, “Resource center”, North Carolina Biotechnology Center, Research Triangle Park, NC, available at http://www.ncbiotech.org.
22.
OstermanP, 1999Security Prosperity (Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ).
23.
OstermanP, 2005, “Making bad jobs good: Strategies for the service sector”, in Job Quality and Employer Behaviour Eds BazenSLuciforaCSalverdaW, (Palgrave Macmillan, New York) pp 237–252.
24.
OstermanP, 2007, “Employment and training policies: New directions for less skilled adults”, in Reshaping the American Workforce in a Changing Economy Eds HolzerH JNightingale-SmithyD, (The Urban Institute, Washington, DC) pp 119–154.
25.
OstermanPBattR, 1993, “Employer centered training for international competitiveness: Lessons from state programs”Journal of Policy Analysis and Management12456–477.
26.
PoppeNStrawnJMartinsonK, 2004, “Whose job is it? Creating opportunities for advancement”, in Workforce Intermediaries for the 21st Century Ed. GilothR P, (Temple University Press, Philadelphia, PA) pp 31–69.
27.
RothmanH, 2003Neon Metropolis: How Las Vegas Started the 21st Century (Routledge, New York).
28.
SchwekeB, 1999, “Linking incentives and employment programs”Accountability: The Newsletter of the Business Incentives Clearinghouse1(3) 1–8.
29.
SkocpolT, 1991, “Targeting within universalism: Politically viable policies to combat poverty in the United States”, in Urban Underclass Eds JencksCPetersonP E, (The Brookings Institution, Washington, DC) pp 411–436.
