Report on SCHEV's Higher Education and Workforce Alignment Project

Overview & Synopsis

Efforts across higher education, economic development, workforce development and secondary education address alignment, which the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) Council defines as helping individuals prepare for and obtain meaningful careers while also meeting employer needs. Specifically, the relationship between workforce needs and higher education academic programs to reduce labor market imbalances. An evolving aspect of alignment focuses on deepening efforts related to specific skills and competencies needed across various industry sectors. In order for education and training to truly serve as an engine of growth in Virginia, the Commonwealth needs to develop a more robust understanding of the connections between education and the labor market, including supply/demand imbalances that can inhibit the growth of businesses or result in poor employment outcomes for individuals. Therefore, a coordinated, comprehensive workforce and higher education ecosystem can build capacity and inform student and policy decisions, academic programs, workforce development, economic development and other related efforts. Overall, stakeholders engaged as part of this project indicated the need and support for improved coordination of the various alignment initiatives and a consistent, routine source of labor supply, demand and shortage analysis and data translation to support such efforts. The higher education and workforce alignment project and resultant recommendations aim to fill in the gaps and connect these various ecosystem elements in an intentional manner resulting in comprehensive policy and program development via an incremental approach. The intent is to create the framework of connectivity organically through these recommendations.