Browsing by Subject "Workforce"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Final Program Evaluation: Supporting Workforce Training and Development for Deaf Youth in Jamaica
    (Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, 2014-05-02) Crosby, Brendan; Peterson, Ben; Silburn, Tashna; Thorstad, Amanda; Toosi, Kumars
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    Immigrants and Minnesota’s Workforce Report
    (2017-01) Allen, Ryan; Committee on Minnesota Workforce and Immigrants; Office of the Vice President for Research
    The purpose of this report is to describe a range of important factors in understanding the demographic changes underway in Minnesota, with particular attention to evolving trends related to immigrants and refugees, and what role these changes will have on the state’s workforce. Six broad themes related to population change and the workforce of Minnesota: 1. In the coming decades, the population of Minnesota will likely grow at a pace that is significantly slower than growth rates from previous years. 2. The population of Minnesota will grow older and more racially diverse in the future, but these changes in the population will not be equally distributed around the state. 3. It is probable that Minnesota will be dependent upon immigrants for future population growth. 4. The proportion of the foreign born in Minnesota’s population has changed dramatically over time, and currently represents a variety of racial and ethnic groups with varied human capital backgrounds. 5. Projected population changes in Minnesota will likely result in a substantial increase in the immigrant population in the state in the future, but the proportion of immigrants in Minnesota’s population will almost certainly lag the proportion of immigrants in the U.S. population by a significant margin. 6. Without a substantial increase of migration to Minnesota in the future, the state’s labor force will likely grow much slower than it has in recent years. This will make filling job vacancies more challenging in the future.
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    Student Readiness for Conservation Careers: Identifying critical skills needed for success in the 21st century natural resource conservation workforce
    (University of Minnesota Extension, 2018) Meyer, Rebecca; Meyer, Nathan; Kingery, Linda; Clarke, Rose
    There is a growing variety of research, management and innovation opportunities in conservation fields. Knowing what organizations will expect in terms of professional capabilities is important for directing the continued education, growth, and development of young adults and early career professionals. Unfortunately, these are not well known. Most existing inventories were developed through theoretical or retrospective analyses of pre-existing jobs and position descriptions. To guide preparation of successful next generation of professionals, we endeavored to pivot this perspective 180 degrees to explore how current new employee performance and future trends in conservation can inform a revised set of critical professional skills and abilities. An interdisciplinary research team synthesized a list of skills and abilities from existing research. We interviewed a purposeful sample of nine conservation professionals, representing a range of agencies, disciplines, and organization types about skills and mindsets that contributed to her/his success, experiences with new employee success, future trends in conservation work. From these interviews, we synthesized a group of four trends likely to influence next generation conservation career mindsets and skills, as well as a framework of eight critical skills and mindsets for early career development of 21st century conservation professionals.
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    A systems approach to identify skill needs for agrifood nanotechnology: a mixed methods study
    (2013-05) Yawson, Robert Mayfield
    The purpose of this study was to identify skill needs for the emerging agrifood nanotechnology sector and to determine how agricultural education can contribute to human resource and workforce development for this sector. As nanotechnology continues to advance in food and agriculture, there is the need for pragmatic decisions as to how to prepare the workforce. This mixed methods study incorporated disparate fields of systems and complexity theories; nanoscience and nanotechnology; science policy; agricultural education; human resource development and workforce education. The study followed a four-step process involving different methods and approaches. The first phase involved a comprehensive systematic evidence review (SER) and analysis of the literature. This phase of the study also helped to identify key experts and formulate questions for the in-depth and semi-structured interviews and also quantitative survey instruments. A comprehensive stakeholder analysis was done using primary data obtained from experts.The second phase of the study used multi-criteria approaches for value elicitation (which included qualitative and quantitative data) from key stakeholders and experts to identify current and future skill needs in the agrifood nanotechnology sector. The third phase of the study included quantitative analysis, Qualitative Systems Analysis (QSA) and Strategic Flexibility Analysis (SFA) of evidence from the literature review and the multi-criteria value elicitation of experts and stakeholders. The final phase of the study created a generic systems model from the quantitative analysis, QSA and SFA to describe holistically the current and future skill needs for agrifood nanotechnology workers as well as how educational practice and policy can meet these needs. The main conclusions from this study are that: (1) future shortages and skills gaps in agrifood nanotechnology are expected to increase but at the same time there is still quite a lot of uncertainty about future developments and impacts of nanotechnology in the agrifood sector to accurately determine future demand and supply of agrifood nanoskilled workforce. (2) Extra demands in high qualified workers with a background in sciences and engineering (PhD, MSc) will be needed. (3) STEM education at the K-12 levels is even more important than ever and that K-12 nanotechnology programs should be a seamless part of the overall STEM initiative. And most importantly STEM education should not be devoid of employability skills. (4) In addition to various types of technical skills that come with advances in any technology, and thus nanotechnology, employability skills and competencies such as problem solving and ability to work in an interdisciplinary context are considered very important.