27 Jun Public-Private Partnerships: Powerful Potential
In the United States, Jobs & Workforce efforts have historically been conducted in silos, with limited collaboration and innovation across sectors and stakeholder groups. Hope Street Group believes that the best way to foster high-quality solutions to Jobs & Workforce issues is to improve information-sharing and collaboration among stakeholders. We envision a U.S. workforce and education system in which programs are enhanced through partnerships across the public and private sectors, resulting in a more efficient and effective path to prosperity for all.
There are already a number of successful public-private partnerships, in a variety of contexts. Two such efforts, profiled below, demonstrate the immense potential of employers collaborating with partners in workforce and education. More of these collaborative endeavors would amplify the effects of pre-existing workforce programs and, through innovation, would allow for more high-quality solutions to America’s workforce needs.
Streamlined recruitment for Siemens Energy in Charlotte, NC
In order to help Siemens Energy to identify qualified candidates in the Charlotte, North Carolina area, the company worked with Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC), Centralina Workforce Development Board, and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Workforce Development Board to create an online screening tool for applicants Siemens has been able to screen candidates in a more streamlined fashion, and the tool can be adapted to meet the needs of other employers. There is now a pool of over 10,000 candidates available to regional partners, who can match the candidates’ skill sets to open jobs Siemens has hired 250 hourly workers exclusively through the system.
The system integrates CPCC’s Work Keys assessment scheduling, which allows candidates to attain a Career Reading Certificate (CRC), a Siemens requirement for employment Once candidates pass the assessment and obtain the CRC, they move to additional levels of assessment. Candidates who do not pass are referred to regional workforce services for assistance with their job search, and are given other information on training and education in the area. The ultimate goal of the partnership is to implement the tool across 16 counties in North and South Carolina.
The BMW Group Information Technology Research Center at Clemson University
At the Information Technology Research Center (ITRC), located within the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville, South Carolina, students work with engineers from BMW, the IT industry, and universities to develop projects in which IT innovations help to move automotive solutions forward.
This open innovation model is part of a larger collaboration between BMW, the State of South Carolina, and Clemson University. The ITRC is an important part of BMW’s research and development network, and it also allows students to apply their classroom learning through experiential learning. It provides leading IT companies with the opportunity to innovate in concert with BMW and the next generation of engineers. The proofs of concept and pilot projects from ITRC show the potential to revolutionize IT applications and manufacturing processes in the automotive industry.