how to build a nerdistan: workforce development strategies for tech clusters

By

Applied Research Project

Submitted to the Department of Political ScienceTexas State University-San Marcos

In Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree ofMaster of Public Administration

Faculty Approval:

_______________________________________.

1

Lauren Ann Pacek

Thomas Longoria, Ph.D.

How to Build a Nerdistan:

Workforce Development Strategies for Tech

Fall 2014

[email protected]

_______________________________________

2

Jayce Farmer, Ph.D.

Abstract

A major issue facing high-tech companies is the lack of

qualified workers for open positions (Austin Tech Council 2013).

This problem is more severe in emerging tech centers such as

Austin, Texas. Local governments have a role in promoting a

strong, stable and qualified workforce exists to support a high-

tech cluster. In order to do so, the city needs to grow the

skills of three distinct groups of people: (1) the current

workforce; (2) the future workforce; and (3) workers in the

public sector.

A bachelor’s degree in computers is not a requirement for an

entry-level job in the high-tech cluster. However, some

formalized training is needed. Successful adult education

training programs must have the following: stakeholder

collaboration, and integration of soft-skills and hard-skills, a

goal direct pathway. Also, the program should act as a workforce

intermediary to assist program graduates in securing jobs. These

workers can fulfill immediate need for qualified high-tech

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employees within a few months of training provided at a fairly

low cost by Austin Community College (ACC). Enrollment numbers in

the program are not as high as they could be; there are many

empty seats. ACC needs to demystify tech and prove to prospective

students who are weary of computers that they are truly qualified

for their tech training program.

Once the immediate need for entry-level tech workers is

filled, Austin needs to work on ensuring that future workers are

trained for tech clusters. Austin has one program, Girlstart

After-School that meets the requirements for a successful

outside-school-time (OST) science, technology, engineering and

mathematics (STEM) program. The program is only available to

elementary school girls. That is a great start, but it is

recommended that Austin immediately work on adding programs for

middle and high school students as well. OST STEM programs are

needed for older students (middle and high school). Additionally,

STEM career preparation programs can be very valuable for high

school students as they near graduation and start thinking about

their college coursework and eventual careers.

4

While private sector continues to be an engine of growth for

the country, public employment is decreasing contributing to

unemployment. Public employees participate in some employer-

based training (EBT). Program offerings vary from technical

training specific to their particular position (hard-skills) to

leadership and communication training (soft-skills). What if

public employees receive training in high-tech skills that could

be easily transferable to the private sector, particularly the

tech cluster? This solution would likely bring up several

objections regarding the use of public money to fund tech

training that is not directly related to an individual’s job. One

possible solution is to ease the financial burden and partner

with tech training companies.

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CHAPTER 1 -

INTRODUCTION

The U.S. economy is in transition from a traditional,

industrial economy to the new knowledge economy. The "New"

Economy is, actually, not entirely new concept. Time Magazine

featured an article, "The New Economy" (Alexander et al 1983), on

its May 30, 1983 cover. Knowledge economy and new economy are

used interchangeability in many instances. Famed business

consultant Peter Drucker, in 1969. Drucker coined the term

“knowledge worker.” Knowledge workers are required to think on

their own, approach problems in different ways and exercise

judgment (Florida 2012). These changes in the economy are related

to changes in the workforce, which is being reflected in cities

across America.

Noted urban theorist, Richard Florida’s main argument behind

most of his research is, “the economic landscape is being

reshaped around two kinds of hub-centers of knowledge and ideas,

and clusters of energy production” (Florida 2013). Data shows

that a handful of knowledge metros have an overwhelming lead in 6

generating the high-wage jobs (those paying more than $21 an

hour) (Florida 2013; Economic Modeling Specialists International

2013). A high tech cluster is one example of a hub-center of

knowledge. A “Nerdistan” is simply a catchy term for such a

knowledge hub.

Nerdistans and Tech Clusters

The term “Nerdistan” was originally coined by Joel Kotkin a

1997 Washington Post piece titled, “Escape from Nerdistan”:

Today's most rapidly expanding economic regions remain those that

reflect the values and cultural preferences of the nerdish culture — as

epitomized by the technology-dominated, culturally undernourished

environs of Silicon Valley. In the coming decade, we are likely to see the

continued migration of traditional high-tech firms to new nerdistans in

places like Orange County, Calif., north Dallas, Northern Virginia, Raleigh-

Durham and around Redmond, Wash., home base for Microsoft. (Kotkin

1997).

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Ten years ago, Nerdistans were limited to suburban areas

filled with many large office parks. Since then “there has been a

substantial shift to what [Florida calls] urban tech” (Florida

2012). Nerdistans are not simply homes to computer companies, but

are hotbeds of creative activity as well. Florida argues that

this is because the people working for these companies want to

live in cities that are, for lack of a better word, “cool”. He

researched the top factors to determine what sets these areas

apart and created his Creativity Index. This index is an overall

measure of regional economic potential based on the 3Ts:

technology, talent and tolerance and argues that municipal

governments should try to implement strategies that seek to grow

technology, talent and tolerance in their city’s as tech

clusters are more likely to develop in areas that score high on

his index (Florida 2012).

Tech clusters can greatly benefit their home regions over

other industry clusters. Innovations in the tech industry "have

the potential to spawn companies capable of scaling to billions

of dollars in revenue and employing the next generation of high

wage earners" (Marchovich 2012). The National Governors 8

Association highly recommends that governments actively seek to

promote clusters in their respective jurisdictions through

targeted economic and workforce development activities (National

Governors Association 2002). Historically, workforce development

has focused on training laborers for industrial occupations.

Workforce development is needed in tech clusters. What attracts

the laborer to a location is not the same as a knowledge worker.

Economic and workforce development efforts need to change to

reflect the times.

Economic and Workforce Development

Economic development in the new, knowledge economy, where

the human brain is the "producer", must be less focused on

“construction of infrastructure” and more focused on education

(Stiglitz 1999; Garamise 2009, 212; Castells 1996). Garamise

argues that workforce development must be included in economic

development because companies are not going to be attracted to

areas without a strong and qualified labor force (Garamise 2009).

Workforce development and economic development share the same

end-goal, a strong and stable economy that benefits the

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community. "It's our job to develop the [workforce] these fast-

growing companies need so people from our schools and our

neighborhoods have a real shot at these [well-paying] jobs"

(McGeehan, 2004). Austin Texas will serve as a case study in this

paper and we will review the positive and negative effects of

decisions made years ago that today affect Austin’s ability to

attract and retain businesses in this knowledge economy.

Austin’s Tech Cluster

Austin’s tech cluster has gone through several iterations.

Austin originally had really only two industry sectors, the state

government and the University of Texas. The Austin business

community began recruiting the new electronics industry in the

1960s. In 2004 the Austin Chamber of Commerce started to

proactively recruit companies from the Upper-Midwest and Northern

States and California to replace the failed companies of the .com

bust. Dave Porter of the Austin Chamber of Commerce reports that

307 companies (100 from California alone) relocated from these

target areas (Carlyle 2014). Austin has played host to corporate

headquarters or major manufacturing operations of Dell,

10

Freescale, IBM, AMD, Samsung, 3M Applied Materials and UT spin-

off, National Instruments (Kotkin 2009). Currently, Austin has

4,000 tech companies and accounts for 35% of the area’s total

payroll (Carlyle 2014). These tech companies play a direct role

in Austin’s recent enormous economic growth.

Austin has been ranked number one on the Forbes’s Fastest-

Growing Cities List from 2010 through 2014. Forbes’s list is

based on six metrics: estimated population growth for the

previous year and current year; the year-over-year job growth;

the rate of gross metropolitan product growth; federal employment

data; and the median salaries of college educated workers

(Carlyle 2014). For 2014, Austin experienced the highest

population growth of all regions, 2.5%. Austin’s economy expanded

5.88% and is expected to grow by 6% per year through 2016, which

is more than double the nation-as-a-whole. Finally, Austin’s

population is expected to grow by 2.8% per year through 2016,

triple the national rate (Fisher 2012, Moody Analytics). Clearly,

Austin is doing something right.

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Why are so many people moving to or staying in Austin? “Few

places have received more accolades in recent years than Austin”

(Kotkin 2009). Austin is the state capitol of Texas and home to a

major research university, both of which offer fairly steady

employment prospects compared to other cities as government and

university jobs generally cannot be outsourced oversees. Also,

both industry sectors generally employ well-educated people; 38%

of Austin’s population is college-educated (Fisher 2012). But

that can’t be it? There are plenty of other state capitals and

college towns. What makes Austin special?

The Austin area is not a dense region. “The suburban areas

are the places most driving Austin’s economic success” because of

its affordability and livability (Kotkin 2009). Austin is a

“unique combination of both an appealing city center and

attractive suburbs” (Kotkin 2009). Young professionals can enjoy

living downtown and then move twenty minutes outside the city

center when they are ready and need room to grow. “Austin

residents may start off hip and cool but the city also

accommodates their often inevitable evolution to Ozzie and

Harriet” (Kotkin 2009). This keeps people in Austin. When 12

compared to other major tech centers, Austin is not a short-term

gig like the Bay-Area, Los Angeles, Boston or New York City.

Austin experienced on overall growth of 34% in the 2000s. Silicon

Valley lost 6% of its jobs, San Francisco lost 1.6% of its jobs

and Boston only gained 1.2% (Kotkin 2009). A key factor is

affordability of housing in major metro areas adjacent to tech

clusters. Forbes Magazine recently published a list of

“America’s Most Overpriced Cities” and noted that in the San

Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA, according to NAHB figures, only

26% of homes are affordable to families bringing home the median

income of $101,300. Housing affordability is even worse in San

Jose’s northern neighbor, San Francisco, where the median family

making $101,200 can afford only 14.1% of local homes (median

sales price for Q14 2013: $800,000) according to NAHB data. This

prices young graduating talent out of the market for those

wishing to start a family. This is a very important factor

because, “skills and skilled people are an incredibly mobile

factor of production; they flow” (Florida 2012). Florida sees

Austin as one of the top creative centers in the United States

and “has become a place where really innovative companies come to

13

get access to a phenomenal talent stream (Zaraguza 2010). These

knowledge workers are staying in Austin, not just because of its

strong state economy but also because of its strong local

economy, an attractive quality of life and interesting local

activities including Austin’s Live Music Capital of the World

reputation.

Austin – The Live Music Capitol of the World

A recent UK newspaper article said:

That a city in Texas might sell itself as the global epicenter of any sort of

cultural activity may seem like a bit of a stretch: this is, after all the state

that gave the world tycoon in cowboy boots and George W. Bush

(Telegraph 2014).

Austin did not embrace a specific music style like Chicago’s

Blues, New Orleans Jazz, Nashville’s Country, and Seattle’s

Grunge” but rather set itself up as a greenhouse in which

musicians of every stripe thrive” (Telegraph 2014). This is

evident in the many music festivals that take place every year

including Austin City Limits (ACL) and South by Southwest (SXSW).

Austin has a full music schedule with a festival almost every

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month featuring almost various music genre, Carnival Brasilero,

Rodeo Austin, Urban Music Festival, Swamp Thing and Crawfish

Fest, Old Settlers Music Festival, Austin Reggae Festival, Austin

Psychedelic Festival, plus the many musical acts that take place

almost every night in the 250 live music venues (Morthland 2014).

Purpose Statement

The purpose of this research is to develop a practical ideal

type for workforce development strategies that will increase the

skilled labor force for tech clusters and then to gauge the city

of Austin Texas against that ideal type.

How this Paper is Organized

Chapter One – Introduction presents some basic economic

terms plus the notion of the creative class and why cities should

want to play host to tech clusters. Also in chapter one is a

basic background on Austin and its tech scene. Chapter Two –

Literature Review is a synthesis of the existing literature on

workforce development and high tech clusters. Literature was

sourced from several fields including economic development,

continuing education, STEM (science, technology, engineering and

15

math) education, workforce development and employee training to

create the conceptual or theoretical framework. Chapter Three –

Methodology lays out the methodology behind the conceptual

framework, the various data collection methods and introduces the

Nerdistan Checklist, the tool that will be used to gauge the city

of Austin against a practical ideal type created by an

operationalization of the literature review in chapter two.

Finally, Chapter Four – Results and Recommendations presents the

research findings and corresponding recommendations on how Austin

can improve. Also in this chapter, Austin’s efforts at workforce

development for tech clusters will be gauged against the

Nerdistan Checklist that was guided by the conceptual framework

developed from the literature review presented in chapter two and

operationalized in chapter three.

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CHAPTER 2 -

LITERATURE REVIEW

The purpose of this chapter is to present a summary of the

existing research on workforce development. “A literature review

is a summary of what is currently known about some issue or field

on the basis of research evidence” and shows how the new study

fits into the existing literature (Hammersley 1998). The

literature to create this framework comes from various

disciplines including business management, economic development,

economic theory, education, human resources, public

administration, and training.

Conceptual Framework

Table 2.1 Conceptual Framework Table

Practical Ideal Categories

Literature

Retraining the Current Workforce

Programs for Displaced Workers

Programs for Workers in Communities with Multiple

(ATC, 2013), (Goldstein et al 2013) (Chapple, 2006), (Howell and Wieler, 1998), (Jacoby and Goldschmidt, 1998), (Autor et al, 2003), (McGeehan, 2013), (Cohen, 2008), (Brint and Karabel, 1989), (Osterman and Batt, 1993), (Rosenfeld, 1995), (Jurmo 2011), (Lowe, 2007), (Cocorean

17

Industry Clusters

Programs for Incumbent Workers

et al, 1980), (Campbell & Rosenfeld, 1998), (Granovetter, 1995), (Lin et al, 1981), (Goldstein et al, 2012), (About NCBiowork), (ICT-DM, 2014), (Wright, 2014), (Washington AerospacePartnership, 2014), (Platt, 2013), (SBCTC, 2013)

Training the Future Workforce

Elementary School Outside-School-Time STEM Programs

Middle and High School Outside-School-Time STEM Programs

STEM Career Preparation Programs

(Cover et al 2011), (Duran et al, 2013), (Friedman and Quinn, 2006), (Kliman et al, 2013), (Guberman, 2004) (Harris Interactive, 2011), (Masir, Hand and Taylor, 2008), (Donner and Wang, 2013), (Laursen et al, 2013), (Laursen et al, 2013), (Newman and Celano, 2006), (Public Agenda, 2006), (NASA, 2013)

Training Public Sector Employees

Employer-based Hard-Skills Training Programs

Employer-bases Soft-Skills Training Programs

Mentoring Programs for Public Sector Employees

(Giusti, 2011), (Flinders, 2013), (# Public to private in the US), (Cowen 2012), (Murphy et al 2008), (Thomas and Qui, 2011), (Jenkins et al, 2002), (Dolton et al 2005), (Arulampalam, et al, 2004), (Oosterbeek, 1998), (O'Connell and Jungblut, 2008), (Sfard, 1998), (Hagar, 2004), (Lave and Wenger, 1991), (Eraut, 2007), (Kuwan et al 2003), (Muller and Jacob, 2008), (DfES, 2003), (Department of Health, 2004), (City of Dallas, YYYY), (Haggar et al, 2011), (St-Jean, 2012), (Paul, 2004), (Gartner et al 1999), (Johnson et al 1997), (St-Jeanand Audet, 2012), (Adams 2013), (Carlozo 2013), (Score.org), (OPM,

18

2008), (Ehrich and Hansford, 2008)

High tech clusters are geographic concentrations of well-

paying and economically stable tech companies. This places an

impetus upon cities to ensure their own best interests by

supporting the cluster with a strong, stable and qualified

workforce. Municipalities need to prepare three distinct groups

of people. To meet the current need, they need to start by

retraining workers displaced from other industries for entry-

level tech jobs. Next, they need to make sure that future workers

are already trained for careers in the tech cluster by engaging

children in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)

education. Finally, they need to consider an often over-looked

group of workers, their own employees. Governments are being

forced to layoff many workers, adding to the economic strain

caused by unemployment. Many of these workers have already

participated in employer-based training- yet are not qualified

for tech industry jobs. Municipalities should consider adding

elements to their existing training programs, where appropriate,

19

to give these workers a leg-up if indeed, they lose their jobs in

the public sector.


Corporations need to be located close to a strong and stable

workforce. "Without a deep pool of requisite labor skills, many

firms will shun locating in these regions" (Goldstein et al 2013,

106). Many cities lack an adequate high tech workforce (ATC

2013). Even cities assumed to have a strong high-tech workforce

struggle with having insufficiently trained workforces (ATC

2013). It is not enough to have an abundance of talent in a

metro market. It is also important to have a diversity of

available skills and experience in order to attract new

technologies or industries.

Three pools of existing workers in any metropolitan area can

be re-trained for the high tech industry:

1. Displaced workers,

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2. Workers in related industries, and

3. Workers in need of a skills upgrade.

Even cities like Austin, which has weathered the recent economic

downturn better than the most of the nation, still have

significant levels of unemployed or underemployed workers.

Community colleges are the primary provider of workforce training

providers. Community colleges provide custom training that would

tackle both the shortage of qualified employees and a large

population of displaced workers. The fact that most displaced

workers lack college degrees is not an issue as “research

suggests that working in the knowledge economy is not correlated

strongly with formal education” (Goldstein et al 2013; Chapple

2006, 550; Howell and Wiele 1998; Jacoby and Goldschmidt 1998;

Autor et al 2003).

A recent study by McGeehan (2013) established that of the

more than 300,000 high-tech jobs in New York City (at high-tech

companies and lower-tech companies performing high-tech

functions), almost half of the employees have no college degree.

That is not to say, however, that displaced workers from another

21

industry are already qualified for entry-level tech jobs. They

are not. A bachelor's degree might not be needed, but some

education and training certainly is a requirement and

participating in a well-developed adult education program can

provide displaced workers with the experience they need to

succeed.

For an adult education program to be successful it must have

the following: stakeholder collaboration of employers, unions,

educators/ training providers, social services and community

organizations; “accelerated learning strategies focused on

clearly defined skills, knowledge and credentials needed for

jobs”; integrated basic skills with technical instruction;

student supports (tutoring, counselors); and “structured multi-

level, goal-directed pathway with clear benchmarks” so the

student does not have to figure it out on his or her own (Jurno

2011).


Workers displaced from the agriculture and manufacturing

industries could fill some of those positions, albeit with

22

significant industry-specific training. The local business

community needs to have an active role along with the training

providers to make sure that the students are receiving the most

relevant and useful training. They can do this by donating

training equipment and regularly visiting with students and

college instructors as well as with the college’s career center

(Lowe 2007, 345).

It is not enough for colleges to offer training programs.

What happens when the student completes the program and is

searching for a job in a new industry? The student probably does

not have any experience or contacts in the new industry. Fifty

percent of jobs are obtained through a job-seeker’s contacts.

(Chapple 2006 548; Cocorean et al 1980; Campbell & Rosenfeld

1998; Granovetter 1995). Without experience in the new industry,

it is likely that the displaced worker will not have access to

these new opportunities. Community colleges must act as workforce

intermediaries with a "dual-customer” approach, brokering the

relationship between employers and their prospective employees

(Goldstein et al 2012, 106). They do this by making connections

with employers, identifying open job leads and preparing students23

for job interviews. About ninety percent of respondents in a 2006

study reported that they got their first job with the help of

their training program (Chapple 2006, 554). Unfortunately, there

are too few metro areas that have established an outstanding

relationship between community colleges and industry to allow

this training and networking activity to flourish. A significant

positive example is in North Carolina.

North Carolina provides a good example of a well-developed

displaced worker program. North Carolina is a major producer of

tobacco. As the number of smokers decreases, so does the demand

for the product. Coupled with increased automation in tobacco

farming and cigarette production, fewer workers are needed.

Recognizing this shift, the State of North Carolina actively

recruited industry (Pharma, Medical Devices, etc.) to relocate to

what is now called the “Research Triangle” near

Winston/Salem/Durham and as a result, has experienced a boom.

Illustration - NC BioWork

In order to better illustrate various workforce development

solutions, this paper will include an example program for each

24

part. NC BioWork is an example of a community college program

geared to retraining displaced workers from declining industries

such as textiles, furniture and food processing manufacturing,

for a growing industry cluster, specifically the life sciences.

Between 1996 and 2006, North Carolina's manufacturing industry

cut over 200,000 jobs. Most of these jobs did not require a

college degree (Goldstein et al 2012, 108).

NC BioWork is a "network of specialized community colleges

that deliver hands-on training in biotechnology, pharmaceutical

and bio-manufacturing in a simulated environment". It was created

in 2004 to support the state's life sciences industry through

education and training, in response to the large number of

displaced workers from the tobacco industry (About NCBioWork).

The program is a 128-hour, one semester introductory course

combining basic manufacturing technology and biological science

to prepare the student for an entry-level technical job in

biotechnology, pharmaceutical, and chemical products

manufacturing (Goldstein et al 2013, 109).

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Students are not required to have any college education or

industry experience (Goldstein et al 2013, 110). NC BioWork is

offered at 12 community colleges with seven of the schools being

spatially clustered following the pattern of North Carolina's

life sciences industry cluster (Goldstein et al 2013, 111).

Nerdistan Checklist Items

Cities wishing to create or retain a high-tech workforce

need to have a successful displaced worker program that re-trains

displaced workers for entry-level high tech jobs. A successful

displaced worker-training program should incorporate the

following:

Stakeholder collaboration (employers, unions, social

services, community groups);

Hard-skills training;

Soft-skills training integrated with hard-skills training;

and

A goal-directed pathway with benchmarks.

26

This first section discussed training programs for displaced

workers for new jobs in the tech cluster. Some areas have more

than one cluster. It is important to support multiple clusters if

they exist. The state of California is such an area. California

is very large and economically diverse with several large

metropolitan areas along the coast along with agriculture-based

communities inland.

Programs for Workers in Communities with Multiple Industry

Clusters

California is geographically large with a very diverse

industrial base. California is home to many industry clusters

including the entertainment cluster in Hollywood, the wine

cluster in Napa Valley, the high-tech cluster in Silicon Valley

and San Francisco, travel and vacation clusters in San Diego and

Orange County, and many thriving inland agricultural communities

in the San Joaquin Valley (California State Assembly 2014). Since

community college systems provide the actual training of workers,

the system needs to provide for the diverse industry sectors.

Illustration - California Doing What Matters Initiative

27

The California community college system, after receiving

input from stakeholders created the California Doing What Matters

Initiative. Program administrators collaborate with stakeholders

(employers, organized labor, local communities and community

colleges). As the program name states, the focus is to direct

resources to programs that are more likely to make a positive

difference in California’s economy. "The opportunity exists for

community colleges to become catalysts in California's economic

recovery and jobs creation at the local, regional and state

levels" (ICT-DM 2014). The California Doing What Matters

Initiative has four main goals:

1. Supply in-demand skills for employers;

2. Create relevant pathways and stackable credentials;

3. Get Californians into open jobs; and

4. Promote student success (ICT-DM 2014).

Because of California’s size and diversity the California

Doing What Matters Initiative has broken out the state into seven

"Macro Regions", A-G, divided out further into 15 regions.

California is home to many industries. The initiative has ten

28

sector priorities: advanced manufacturing, advanced

transportation, agriculture, water and environmental

technologies; energy (efficiency) and utilities; global trade and

logistics; health; information and communication technologies

(ICT)/ digital media; life sciences/ biotechnology;

retail/hospitality/tourism; and small business (ICT-DM 2014). The

initiative's Information Communication Technologies and Digital

Media (ICT-DM) sector program, for example, is at 112 local

community colleges across all ten macro regions. Participating

employers include AT&T, Disney, Fremantlemedia, Adobe, Google,

Lynda.com, Robert Half, PGE, So. CAL Edison, and Qualcomm (Wright

2014).


States with multiple industry clusters need to ensure that

the clusters that support the overall economy are provided with a

strong, stable and qualified workforce by selecting community

college courses that train workers for those specific industries.

Successful training programs should include all area clusters and

be inclusive of the major industries that reside within the

29

community and importantly, those industries the community is

trying to attract.


People who are already employed (incumbent workers) and are

working in a strong and stable industry cannot afford to stay

still. Technology is always advancing and workers need to be up-

to-date on current technology and industry trends. The 2013 Kelly

Global Workforce Index found that fifty-seven percent of study

respondents pursued upskilling not to get another job but in

hopes that it would lead to a promotion with their current

employer (Kelly 2014). It is important that people who are

already employed stay current on the latest trends and

technology.

Because of Boeing, the state of Washington has been home to

a major aerospace industry since the early part of the 20th

century and is home to 650 aerospace companies- the largest

concentration of aerospace companies in the world (Washington

Aerospace Partnership 2014). Much like the previous two

illustrations, NC BioWork and the California Doing What Matter’s

30

Initiative, the Job Skills Program (JSP) for Seattle’s Aerospace

Sector seeks to ensure that the industry cluster has a strong,

stable and qualified workforce by creating local community

colleges training programs. This illustration differs from the

previous two because the training programs are targeted towards

incumbent workers (those already employed in the industry

cluster) needing upskilling or training on new trends and

technology.

Illustration - Job Skills Program (JSP) for Seattle’s Aerospace

Sector

The Washington State Legislature created the JSP because:

It is in the public interest of the state to encourage and facilities the

formation of cooperative relationships between businesses and industry

and educational institutions which [sic] provide for the development and

expansion of skills training and education consistent with employment

needs (SBCTC 2013, 1).

The program "serves to develop the skills of new or existing

workers, retain and grow living wage jobs, and help companies

improve competitiveness to strengthen Washington's economy" and

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whenever possible, to support industry clusters (SBCTC 2013, 2).

Funding for the JSP comes from a dollar-to-dollar matching grant.

(SBCTC 2013, 2). Grants for JSP programs can be awarded to

eligible post-secondary institutions including community and

technical colleges, public and private universities and regional

colleges and universities, and licensed private career schools.

(SBCTC 2013, 6). These schools then work with local business to

create specific training projects. In FY 2012-2013, JSP awards

went to projects supporting 40 different companies with the

aerospace industry being the most well represented (SBCTC 2013,

6). The following are of highest priority when deciding what

projects to fund:

“Where there is a shortage of skilled labor to meet

business' needs;

Where upgrading employee skills is necessary to avoid

layoffs;

Where training incumbent workers for advancement creates new

vacancies;

Where businesses or industry clusters need a skilled labor

pool; and32

In economically disadvantaged communities with high

unemployment” (SBCTC 2013, 2).

For example, in FY 2012/2013, Aerospace manufacturing company,

Skills Inc., located in the Seattle/King County aerospace

cluster, received a $73,900 matching grant for Green River

Community College to retrain 107 employees in anticipation of

massive production increases.


Workforce training does not end at onboarding but continues

throughout the employee lifecycle. Now more than ever, workers

need to stay current on trends and technology at the risk of

being left behind. Additionally, as people retire or are

promoted, new vacancies arise. Qualified workers are needed to

fill these vacancies and it is in the best interest of a metro

region that an existing local worker be hired as opposed to the

firm hiring a new employee from another location.

NCBioWork, the California Doing What Matters Initiative and

the Washington JSP are all well-coordinated strategic

33

partnerships of businesses, government agencies and businesses

with the main goal to provide occupational training to strengthen

the regional workforce. The JSP is different from North

Carolina’s and California's programs in that it is not a

traditional college program. A project is funded by a grant,

awarded to a single company or a consortium of companies that

apply for the grant with a local community college providing the

actual training. Projects have specific end goals (i.e. cross-

train 25 employees to work in multiple departments; train seven

employees on Six-Sigma; teach 40 employees Excel).

Training workers who are unemployed or underemployed will

only treat the current problem. We need to also focus our efforts

on ensuring that the future workforce be qualified for the high-

tech cluster. The future workforce will be made up of the school

children of the present.


Many experts point out that America has fallen behind other

countries in regards to science and engineering even though

34

careers in the STEM fields, generally pay better than the current

US average (Cover et al 2011, 3). This is due in no small part to

the lack of solid STEM education in the United States. In 2007,

the National Governor's Association and Council for

Competitiveness declared that in order for the United States to

remain competitive in the new, more global market, program

featuring K-12 research projects that focus on inquiry-based and

hands on STEM are needed in order to "transform the region from

'brute-force' to 'brain-force'" (Duran et al 2013, 117). We need

to actively engage children to spark their interest in science.

Friedman and Quinn (2006) point out that 75 percent of science

Nobel Prize winners' interest in science was peaked outside of

school. Children need to be exposed to STEM programs at all

educational levels.

Elementary School OST STEM Programs

Education policy is generally established at the state

level, so municipalities have little direct influence over the

public education curriculum. There is a lot that local

governments can do to support outside-school-time (OST) Science,

35

technology, engineering and math (STEM) programs in the form of

after school and school break programs. These programs seek to

encourage and prepare students for STEM higher education

coursework and careers by bolstering children's skill

development, appreciation of the relevance of STEM (Kliman et al

2013, 10; Guberman 2004; Harris Interactive 2011; Masir, Hand and

Taylor 2008). Because OST offer many advantages to a community

wishing to invest in education. They can be customized to local

requirements including technology.

OST programs are also good for STEM projects because of the

low student-to-staff ratio, an informal environment that lends

itself to hands-on activities and timeframes that are longer than

what would be allowed during a regular school day (Donner and

Wang 2013). OST programs are organized by many different

organizations including: aquariums, zoos and planetariums;

museums or science centers; nonprofit community organizations;

national youth organizations; universities or colleges; K-12

school districts; private organizations; government labs (Laursen

et al 2013, 40) and public libraries (Kliman et al 2013). About

half of all programs are organized by nonprofit organizations or 36

universities. Most programs are free to participants, relying on

a combination of public and private funding and informal

educators to lead the students in their STEM activities (Laursen

2013, 43).

Many informal educators (such as librarians and others who

lead OST programs) are apprehensive, at first, to incorporate

science and math into OST programs because they may not be

comfortable with the subject matter and think they need years of

formal STEM education to be qualified to "teach" science and math

to children (Donner and Wang 2013; Kliman et al 2013). As we will

see in the next illustration, there is at least one organization

that seeks to dispel that myth.

Illustration - Frontiers in Urban Science Exploration (FUSE)

The Collaborative for Building After-School Systems' (CBASS)

Frontiers in Urban Science Exploration (FUSE) is "a two-fold

(grasstops and grassroots) systemic approach to bring about the

culture shift and shape practice (Donner and Wang 2013). CBASS is

not running actual OST programs but seeks to increase

availability of quality OST STEM programs for children by

37

training staff with the ultimate goal "to prepare all children

for post-secondary success and a lifetime of science-based

learning" (Donner and Wang 2013). For an OST program to be

successful it must:

Be easy to implement for staff with no science background;

Address national STEM standards;

Include a staff training component; and

Provide appropriate content for a diverse urban audience

(Donner and Wang 2013).

STEM shouldn't be seen as a one-time event but as something

that is part of everyday life. Children should build on learning

from previous activities. Children should be exposed to STEM

three or more hours per week and participate in activities that

are relevant to the participants, inquiry-based and hands-on to

send the message that science is everywhere (Donner and Wang

2013). Libraries are also good places to institute OST STEM

programs. Kliman et al state that in the absence of other after-

school childcare, families are relying on public libraries as

38

safe places for children (Donner and Wang 2013, 10; Newman and

Celano 2006; Public Agenda 2006).


The first step in ensuring children are exposed to STEM is

establishing OST STEM programs for elementary-aged children.

Successful OST STEM programs for elementary school children

should train staff that may not be comfortable with STEM topics;

align itself with national STEM education standards; and involve

materials and locations that are easily accessible to a diverse

urban audience.

OST STEM programs should not be viewed solely as a grade

school program. The framework is easily adaptable to higher

education at all levels. High school OST STEM programs feature a

few more elements.

High School OST STEM Programs

OST environments are best suited for high school STEM

learning, just like their elementary school counterparts because

"the narrow conception of academic achievement" like grades and

39

standardized tests do not apply in OST programs. Students'

experiences and perceptions are given equal merit (Friedman and

Quinn 2006). Activities at the high school level can include

constructing robots, rockets, video games, molecular models

(Friedman and Quinn 2006 117). The learning environment may be

more important than the activities themselves. Mishra et al

(2006) explain that a "Community of Designers" is essential.

Groups of students collaborate to develop solutions to real-world

problems sometimes with the help of local businesses and other

organizations (Friendman and Quinn 2006, 118). Colleges and

universities plus business and industry must play a role (Duran

et al 2013, 117). This next program will better illustrate the

concept of OST STEM programs for high school students.

Illustration - The FI3T Project

The FI3T Project was created to increase opportunities for

high school students, primarily from historically

underrepresented urban areas, in Southeastern Michigan "to learn,

experience and more importantly use IT within the context of

STEM" (Duran et al 2013, 117).

40

FI3T requires the participation of many outside groups and

include: the University of Michigan-Dearborn's College of

Engineering, College of Arts, Sciences and Letters and the School

of Education; the US Army's Tank Automotive Research Development

and Engineering Center (TARDEC); the Society of Manufacturing

Engineers (SME); several development departments of the Ford

Motor Company; SIEMANS; plus other local businesses (Duran et al

2013, 119). The program lasts 18 months divided into two, nine-

month phases. In Phase 1, students learn skills specific to STEM

fields. Phase 2 focuses on activities where the students

participate in more hands-on research and design their own

inquiry-based projects based on real-world problems (Duran et al

2013, 120). A third aspect of the FI3T program, the summer

externship, will be discussed in the next section of this paper

with a summer program.


High school-level OST STEM programs are important so older

students can experience more hands-on, real-world scenarios.

Successful high-school OST STEM should have all the elements of

41

the elementary school programs (be free for students, be easy to

implement for staff without strong STEM backgrounds, address

national standards, use easily accessible and familiar materials;

build on previous activities) and also involve local tech cluster

companies and organizations as well as local universities.

Many high school students enter college with at least an

idea of what career they want to pursue. In addition to OST STEM

programs, high school students can also participate in career

preparation programs to prepare them for further study in STEM

and ultimately, careers in STEM fields.


Another option for intense OST STEM learning is the summer

program. Many young children attend summer camps that feature

hands-on, science-based projects. The summer program is a natural

progression from those summer camps. The summer program portion

of the illustration in the previous section, FI3T, took place

over two separate weeks (one in June and the other in August).

Local businesses, government agencies, and university departments

hosted participating students giving them the opportunity to

42

observe scientists and other professionals working in their

respective fields (Duran et al 2013, 121). NASA’s Texas High

School Aerospace Scholar (HAS) serves a good example of a high

school career preparation program.

Illustration - Texas High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS)

To illustrate the STEM career preparation program further,

we will look at another high school OST STEM program. The

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offers

middle and high school student programs throughout the country at

its various locations. For the purposes of this research, the

focus will be on the Texas High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS)

program.

HAS' students participate in online activities over the

school year and include space exploration studies on lunar

exploration, virtual reality models and interactive tutorials and

online communications with actual NASA scientists (NASA 2013).

NASA scientists and engineers serve as mentors to student

participants throughout the program by offering guidance on

specific projects as well as by offering career guidance for

43

possible future careers in STEM fields (NASA 2013). The

culmination of the HAS program is the six-day in-residence summer

experience. Participants receive briefings from NASA personnel,

tour the Johnson Space Center, and participate in hands-on

engineering activities directed by NASA engineers and scientists

(NASA 2013). The NASA HAS program is free for students and is

funded by the State of Texas, the Houston Livestock Show and

Rodeo, and Rotary Texas (NASA 2013)


STEM career preparation programs are important in fostering

high school students’ interest in STEM degrees required for high-

tech careers. Successful STEM career preparation programs should

be free for students, include a summer in-residence or externship

program and include a mentoring aspect.

OST STEM programs for all levels of school age children

engages students in science and also prepares them for additional

STEM study later in careers that may take them to a variety of

career changes in both private and public sector employment.

44

Public-sector employment has decreased by more than 580,000

jobs between July 2009 and August 2012. This drop was one of the

largest contributions to unemployment since the end of the recent

Great Recession (Greenstone and Looney 2012). While the private

sector continues to be an engine of growth for the United States

(Greenstone and Looney 2012), reducing the number of government

employees adds workers to the unemployment numbers. Additionally,

fewer workers mean fewer people consuming goods and stimulating

the economy (Greenstone and Looney 2012).

Training of Public Sector Employees

Up until now, this research has focused on programs for

workers in the private sector. Public and private sectors are

similar in many respects. As budgets are cut, public employees

must be terminated creating a personal and community economic

burden. If public employees receive valuable training in skills

that are easily transferable to the private sector we will all

benefit. However, municipalities cannot waste scarce resources

and need to be efficient in how they train their workers.

45

There is little literature in Western economies regarding

public workers entering the private sector. What is available is

found in the UK and Australia. That said, this paper will feature

research mostly on the training that public sector employees

receive and its transferability to jobs in the private sector.

The Business Journals (G. Scott Thomas) reported using numbers

from the Bureau of Labor and Statistics in 2012 that Public

Sector workers (at the federal, state and local levels) comprised

16.7% (22.2 million) of the total US workforce total of 132.7

million workers. This is an enormous and increasing subset of

the US workforce that must be treated seriously by both industry

and the public sector regarding worker skill sets.

Public sector employees can generally be categorized into

the following categories: communications (customer service),

economics and finance, and legal and management (Voronchuck and

Starineca 2014, 172). The differences between the public and

private sector are significant. In order to successfully

transition into the private sector, the public employee must be

aware of these differences between public and private sectors.

Some examples include:46

Private companies are more attentive to success or

competitive failure;

Private companies tend to operate with project teams that

are rewarded for success;

Job skills may be more easily transferable within private

industry; and

Ambition, risk taking and work ethic may be more prized

within private industry than public employers (Voronchuck

and Starineca 2014, 171).

Employer based training (EBT) programs train workers in two

different areas: hard-skills and soft-skills. The two types must

be approached differently because they transfer differently

(Laker and Powell, 2011 112). Training transfer is defined as

“the extent to which what is learned in training is applied on

the job (Cromwell and Kolb 2004; Laker 1990a, 1990b; Wexley and

Lathan 1981. Laker and Powell 2011, 112).

Employer-based Hard-skills Training Programs

Hard-skills are technical skills that are needed to perform

specific job-related tasks and include working with equipment,

47

data and software, while soft-skills (which will be discussed in

more detail in the next section) are basic skills like

communication and leadership. Both types of skills are of equal

import, however, they cannot be taught in the same manner.

There are two types of learning. First, learning as

acquisition, which "emphasizes content and the individual

accumulation of knowledge and skills" (Thomas and Qui 2011, 159;

Sfard, 1998). Second, learning through participation, which

"stresses the participative, active and situated nature of

learning" (Thomas and Qui 2011, 159; Hagar 2004; Lave and Wenger

1991). Both types are incorporated in workplace training.

Fleming’s VARK model of learning is based on people’s individual

perceptions of the world: visual; auditory; reading-writing; and

kinesthetic (Voronchuck and Starineca 2014, 172). Training

programs should consist of a set of learning methods to be able

to “provide for all four groups according to their learning

styles” (Voronchuck and Starineca 2014, 172).

A UK study reported that employees rank "self-learning in

the workplace and experiences from former workplaces" as the most

48

important. Second, "instructions by and learning from colleagues

and supervisors at the workplace." Third, "formal further

training provided in firm or by outside suppliers" (Thomas and

Qui 2011, 159; Eraut 2007, Kuwan et al 2003, 302; Muller and

Jacob 2008). Government organizations should follow three

guidelines when designing employee-training programs:

Incorporate continuing education and training into the

entire employee lifecycle not just at the initial hire and

promotion;

Conduct annual assessments to determine training needs and

knowledge gaps of the organization; and

Incorporate the different learning styles and preferences in

to the program to make it accessible to the most people.

England’s National Health Service (NHS) is an example of a

national program that over the years has been effectively

establishing and following guidelines such as these.

Illustration - England’s National Health Service

49

The National Health Service (NHS) is "the government funded

and provided health sector in England and the country's largest

employer" (Thomas and Qui 2011, 157). England has a national

public health care system while the American health care system

is private. This fact does not mean that American cities cannot

learn from the NHS WRECT system. The healthcare industry has some

of the most educated and highly trained workers (physicians and

researchers) as well as some of the least educated workers

(orderlies and housekeeping staff) (Thomas and Qui 2011, 157) so

comprehensive training programs at all levels are important.


Technical training of public sector employees is crucial,

not only for the government organization for which the employee

works but also to ensure the transferability of hard-skills to

private sector careers. Successful hard-skill training programs

should incorporate the diverse learning abilities of employees;

provide training opportunities at different times during the

employee lifecycle, and ensure the employee applies his or her

newly acquired skills as soon as possible.

50

EBT hard-skills training programs focus on training

employees for their current job and possibly provide specific

technical skills training for jobs further up the skills

elevator. Soft-skills are “critical thinking/ problem solving;

leadership; professionalism/ work ethic; teamwork/ collaboration;

adaptability/ flexibility” (The Skills to Pay the Bills 2014).

Hard-skills and soft-skills are of equal import but need to be

taught differently because the different types of skills transfer

differently.

Employer-based Soft-skills Training Programs

“Anecdotal evidence has routinely shown that soft-skills

training is significantly less likely to transfer to the job than

hard-skills training” (Foxon 1993; Georgenson 1982; Kupritz,

2002; Larker and Powell 2011, 112). Also, soft-skills are easier

to learn when integrated into a job-specific training program

(Isbell et al 1997 and Mikulecky 1989). Many city governments

offer leadership training to their employees with the purpose to

develop general and soft-skills like leadership and how to

conduct interviews (City of Dallas).

51

Illustration - City of Dallas Piloting the Flight

The City of Dallas, Texas, through its City University

operates The School of Leadership and Professional Development

which “is centered on preparing the City of Dallas’ Supervisors

and Managers with increased leadership skills and implementing

effective behaviors that coach, support, encourage, and develop

today’s employees resulting in Performance Improvement” (Human

Resources – City University 2014). One such offering is

“Piloting the Flight”, a leadership training program consisting

of a series of five modules taught over five months. Each module

focuses on one leadership topic: Leading People; Driving for

Results; Building Coalitions; Leading Change; and Business Acumen

(Human Resources – City University 2014).

Cities need to use their limited resources wisely but still

ensure that their employees are properly trained to perform their

current jobs. Successful soft-skills training programs should be

integrated into the hard-skills training program but taught

differently than hard-skills.


52

Cities should implement hard-skills training programs for

their employees that incorporate soft-skills training and take

place at various times during the employee lifecycle. These

programs should be strategically planned and evaluated on a

regular basis. Mentoring programs are also important elements in

employee training programs and are part of a successful training

program.


Mentoring is defined as “usually a formal or informal

relationship between two people- a senior mentor and a junior

protégé” with the mentor typically being outside of the protégé’s

chain of supervision (OPM 2008, 2). Mentoring programs had their

start in the American private sector (Collins and Scott 1978:

Edwards 1995). Shortly thereafter, the public sector began to

introduce their own mentoring programs (Klaus 1981, Ehrich and

Hansford 2008, 2).

There are two ways to view the purpose of mentoring

programs. First, as development intervention for both the mentor

and mentee; and second, “from an organizational point of view, it

53

can be viewed as a ‘transfer’ or socialization process whereby

individuals such as managers and socialized and inculcated, into

the norms and values of the organization which they uphold”

(Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 4).

Mentoring is an important influence in both the public and

private sector (Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 2) but since the two

sectors are fundamentally different, mentoring programs need to

be conceptualized differently (Bhatta and Washington 2003;

Ritchie and Connolly 1993; Samier 2000, 5). The private sector is

focused on profitability while the public sector is focused on

service (Samier 2000, 5). Public managers are not only

accountable to their supervisors in the organization but also to

politicians and the general public (Davies 1997; Samier 2000, 5).

Ehrich and Hansford (2008) examined 25 research-based papers

on public sector mentoring programs in the US, Canada, the UK,

Australia, New Zealand and Singapore (Ehrich and Hansford 2008,

2, 7). They concluded that the positive outcomes far outweigh the

negative. The positive outcomes being “improved skill, knowledge

and or opportunity to engage in challenging work” and “induction/

54

socialization/ reduced isolation; and networking” (Ehrich and

Hansford 2008, 8, 9) for mentees and mentors. The organizations

saw improved culture/ dynamics/ communication and lower

absenteeism and retention of staff (Ehrich and Hansford 2008,

14).

The authors reported negative outcomes being lack of time,

lack of support from management and lack of mentor training and

understanding of goals (Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 10). They note

that, however, “negative outcomes can be minimized by time and

effort directed to its planning and implementation (Ehrich and

Hansford 2008, 14).

The Federal Workforce Flexibility Act of 2004 requires that

federal agencies now train supervisors on mentoring employees

(Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 2). The US Office of Personnel

Management (OPM) created a best-practices guide for federal

agencies to use when creating and implementing mentoring programs

with input from the following agencies with model mentoring

programs: Department of State, Department of Energy, Nuclear

55

Regulatory Commission, EPA, NASA, ATF and the Corporation for

National and Community Service (2).

Stage 1: Developing a Mentoring Program - Public agencies

should develop a program roadmap that includes: the goal(s) of

the mentoring program; success factors and desired outcomes;

targeted population; duration of the program; how the agency

plans to market and recruit mentors and protégés; benefits to

mentors and protégés; benefits to the agency; budget; matching

process; outline of the orientation session; types of materials

provided to mentors, protégés, and supervisors; and potential

mentoring and career development activities (7). Additionally,

get commitment from management. The OPM advises that agencies ask

a senior leadership to act as mentors thereby setting an example

to staff and showing leadership support of the program (Ehrich

and Hansford 2008, 7).

Stage 2: Program Implementation - Public agencies should

create a recruitment strategy. One of the biggest hurdles is

recruiting mentors. Here are some strategies that have proven

successful: create and distribute brochures, flyers, and posters

56

to distribute around the agency; send an email from an agency

head asking for program participants; market the program on the

agency’s intranet site; hold “brown bags” or career development

sessions regarding mentoring; ask that supervisors encourage

participation from their employees; work with leaders to set a

target number of three to five mentees for every mentor; report

program results organization-wide; and provide ongoing

recognition of mentors. (Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 9). Public

agencies should also create an instruction guide and a mentoring

agreement that: define the mentoring relationship and time

commitment; makes clear the roles and expectations of mentors and

mentees; and recommend topics and activities for mentoring

sessions.


As with any successful program, regular evaluation is key

(Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 13). Finally, the agency should hold

an end-of-program recognition (graduation) ceremony. Mentoring is

an important aspect of professional development for private and

public sector employees alike. Cities would be best served to

57

implement mentoring programs. As budgets are cut, public

employees are laid off which creates an economic burden. If

public employees receive valuable training in skills that are

easily transferable to the private sector we will all better off.

58

CHAPTER 3 -

METHODOLOGY

The purpose of this chapter is to explain how the research

was conducted and what data collection techniques were used to

compare Austin’s workforce development programs against the

practical ideal type created from the literature review and its

conceptual framework in chapter two. This chapter will also

present the operationalization table and in it, the necessary

elements of successful programs.

Methodology

All empirical research needs to include a discussion of

research methodology (Sage Publications 2008 ).A research

methodology is the guiding blueprint that directs research, and

consists of the guiding paradigms, research design aspects

(community, population, sampling and analysis units), data

collection methods and analysis and dissemination (Sage

Publications 2008). Empirical research is the concept that

reality can be measured to generate truth about the world through

59

direct observation with the goal of “generating universal

explanations and predictions of social phenomena” (Sage

Publications 2008). There are many different methods of

conducting empirical research – narrative, phenomenological,

grounded-theory, ethnographic and case study (Sage Publications

2008). This research uses a narrative research method. Also,

there are many different types of data collection methods such as

direct observation, interviews, analysis of records, visual

methods, and focused groups (Sage Publications 2008). The data

for this research was collected using content analysis and semi-

structured interviews. These two methods will be discussed in

detail later in this chapter.

Research Design

In order to determine the appropriate research design, the

researcher must first define the question. “Qualitative research

questions are usually framed as explorations of factors

accounting for behaviors, the meanings associated with behaviors

and contexts in which meanings, behaviors and other factors

occur” (Sage Publications 2008). The question driving this

60

particular research is how Austin can address the number one

concern of tech CEOs, specifically, the lack of a qualified

workforce to fill open positions.

A good study should also provide a sound reason for why the

particular study group was chosen (Sage Publications 2008). The

study group and the sampling unit for this research are workforce

development program providers at the municipal level since they

were the organizations responsible for the planning and execution

of said programs. Specific reasoning behind each of the three

program providers and why they, in particular were chosen will be

discussed later in this chapter.

During this research, sampling problems did arise mostly due

to the very narrow field of study. Most workforce training

programs in which a municipality has influence are located at the

local community college. The community college system that serves

the Austin area is Austin Community College (ACC). There are

multiple locations, but only one system. For the purposes of this

research, it is representation that was the important factor, not

randomization (Sage Publications 2008).

61

The Ideal-Type Conceptual Framework

The purpose of this research is to address the problem that

Austin does not have an adequate workforce for the local tech

cluster. To find solutions to the problem, an ideal type was used

to direct the research. For clarity’s sake, it is important to

note that “ideal” is not being used in the normative sense. An

ideal type is not a perfect model (Sage Publications 2008). An

ideal type is a construct originally created by sociologist Max

Webber for multi-case study research and causal analysis. The

ideal type methodology was introduced to qualitative research

fairly recently, in 1985, by Uta Gerhardt. The ideal type’s

purpose is to measure relationships between cases, not present a

perfect model (Sage Publications 2008). Webber said of his

method,

Such concepts are constructs in terms of which we formulate relationships

by the application of the category of objective possibility. By means of this

62

category, the adequacy of our imagination, oriented and disciplined by

reality is ‘judged’ (Webber 1949, 93; Sage Publications 2008).

Following Weber’s methodology, the literature review and case

study research were used to formulate the construct of a

workforce development for tech clusters ideal type in which to

gauge Austin.

Operationalization of the Conceptual Framework

Operationalization is how a researcher measures a concept by

translating the conceptual variable into specific procedures or

operations. (Sage Publications 2007). Operationalization links

theory to methods (Sage Publications 2007). This process takes

the elements of the conceptual framework and organizes them in a

way to easily create a checklist of items.

Research Methods

Research methods are the ways researchers collect data.

There are many different techniques. The two most common in

qualitative research are observation and interviews. This

63

research used content analysis and semi-structured interviews to

operationalize the conceptual framework.

Content analysis was used for background information and

details about specific programs in order to guide the interview

questions asked of program representatives. Content analysis is

the process of identifying patterns in textual data by

categorizing the data and is a useful method to analyzing large

amount of textual data (Sage Publications 2008). Content analysis

is a very flexible analytic method and of textual data. This

research recorded the outcomes in the operationalization table

and the Nerdistan Checklist.

After the content analysis was concluded, individuals were

contacted for interviews. A semi-structured interview is a

qualitative data collection method where a researcher asks

individuals several predetermined but open-ended questions (Sage

Publications 2008). The researcher develops a guide in advance,

based on the research question and conceptual framework that

directs the research. Semi-structured interviews are “useful in

research questions where the concepts and relationships among

64

them are relatively well and understood” (Sage Publications

2008). Securing a time for in-person interviews proved to be too

difficult for the interviewees so interview question were sent

via email along with follow-up questions when needed.


The website for Austin Community College’s (ACC) Continuing

Education department contains basic information about ACC’s

Workforce Development programs and courses as well as ACC’s

Corporate Training solutions for local businesses. The ACC

website also provides information on the various student

services, such as academic advising and career planning.


Details about ACC Continuing Education Department’s

Workforce Development program in general as well as its different

program concentrations/ career paths were used to compare

Austin’s program offerings for displaced workers against the

practical ideal type created from the literature review.

65

A content analysis on the ACC website was conducted to

determine: what programs are available for displaced workers; how

easy is it for potential students to navigate? (Learn about

programs, find program contact information etc.); what businesses

are involved with the programs; how successful are the programs;

what community groups are involved; and what student supports

does ACC provide.

In order to determine the efficacy of ACC’s displaced worker

training program, the following questions were explored. How does

ACC Continuing Education’s Workforce Development training

collaborate with stakeholders (local businesses, unions, social

services, community groups)? How does ACC ensure that workforce

development programs focus on specific training/ credentials

necessary for cluster employment (specifically, the Computers and

Technology program)? How does ACC integrate basic or soft-skills

in with technical training? How is the Computers and Technology

program structured? Is it a goal-directed pathway with specific

benchmarks? Describe how tech cluster businesses are involved

with the Computers and Technology program. Are tech companies

involved in the program planning process? Do company 66

representatives meet with students? Do companies provide

equipment on which to train? How does ACC assist Computers and

Technology program participants with finding jobs upon

completion?

Programs for Workers in Communities with Multiple Industries

A content analysis of ACC Continuing Education website was

conducted to determine which industry clusters that ACC

Continuing Education supports.

In order to determine the efficacy of ACC’s multiple

industry-training program, the following questions were explored:

How does ACC decide which industries to support? How are local

businesses involved in the planning of cluster-based programs?

What businesses have contracted with ACC Continuing Education

Corporate Training?


A content analysis of ACC Continuing Education Corporate

Training website was conducted to determine which businesses have

contracted with ACC Continuing Education Corporate Training.

67

In order to determine the efficacy of ACC’s incumbent worker

training program, the following question was explored: Does ACC

receive any public or grant funding for corporate training

programs? For example, the Washington State Job Skills Program is

a matching-grant funded program that awards companies with funds

that are given to community colleges that provide the training.


OST STEM Elementary School Programs

Girlstart, a local Austin 503(c) non-profit organization

provides OST STEM programs for 4th grade girls at several Austin

area elementary schools. The Girlstart website has general

details about the organization and its OST STEM program,

Girlstart After School. In addition to basic program details, the

website features an in-depth impact report, Girlstart After

School: Analysis of Program Impact on Participants’ Academic

Achievement. The organization representative whom I interviewed

provided me with two sample lessons as well as the pre and post-

program student surveys for my review. A content analysis of

these documents and the website itself was conducted to determine

68

which activities are involved in Girlstart After School; How

successful is the program; and what outcomes has the program had

on student test scores?

In order to determine the efficacy of Austin-area elementary

school level OST STEM programs, the following questions were

asked. How is program staff, without science backgrounds, trained

to lead program activities? How the program addresses

national/state STEM standards? Describe some examples of program

activities. How program content is appropriate for a diverse

urban audience? How do activities build on previous activities?

How the activities are inquiry-based? What materials are used?

When is the program offered? How many hours per week is the

program offered? Are there any admission requirements? Is there a

fee to participate in the program? Are there any program

sponsors? How often does Girlstart conduct program evaluations?

High School OST STEM Programs and STEM Career Preparation

Programs

The representative from Girlstart whom I interviewed for

elementary-school level OST STEM programs backed-up my claim of

69

not finding any similar programs for older students. She did say

that Girlstart had such a program, Project IT Girl, which ran

from 2006-2009. This program was funded by a National Science

Foundation (NSF) grant. The organization chose to not continue

with the program but to focus on its program for younger

students.

Training Public Sector Workers

The City of Austin does not make details about its employee-

training program publicly available.

Employer-based Hard-skills Training

In order to determine the efficacy of the City of Austin’s

hard-skills training programs, the following questions were

asked: Describe how the city trains its new hires. How does the

city incorporate the different learning styles and preferences of

its employees? How does the city plan its training program? When

during the employee’s lifecycle does training take place? Can a

city employee receive upskilling training not directly tied to

hire or promotion? How soon after training is the employee able

70

to apply newly acquired skills? How does the city evaluate it

hard-skills training program?

Employer-based Soft-Skills Training


soft-skills training programs, the following questions were

asked: Explain the city’s soft-skills training program. How soft-

skills and hard-skills training is approached differently? What

soft-skills are taught?

Mentoring Programs for Public Employees


employee mentoring programs, the following questions will were

asked: Does the city have a mentoring program? Is mentoring party

of a larger leadership development program? Describe the

mentoring program? Does the city have a mentoring program roadmap

or similar document? Does the city senior management participate

in the program? Does the city have an official recruitment

strategy? Is there an end-of-program ceremony?

Table 3.1: Operationalization Table

71

Ideal Type Category

Research Method Evidence

Retraining theCurrent Workforce


Content Analysis:

ACC Website- Continuing Education WorkforceDevelopment

ACC Website- Student Services

Progress Toward Excellence: 2013 Report

2015-2015 Annual Planning Calendar

ACC Board of Trustees Agenda Item 8148: Summary of ACC Workforce Development Efforts, 2005

What programs are availablefor displaced workers?

How easy is it for potential students to navigate? (Learn about programs, find program contact information etc)

What businesses are involved with the programs?

How successful are the programs?

What community groups are involved?

What student supports does ACC provide?

How does ACC Continuing Education’s Workforce

Development training collaborate with stakeholders (local businesses, unions, social services, community groups)?

How does ACC ensure that workforce development programs focus on specific training/ credentials

72

ACC Master Plan FY 2013-2015

Glover et al 2012

necessary for cluster employment (specifically, the Computers and Technology program)?

How does ACC integrate basic or soft-skills in with technical training?

How is the Computers and Technology program structured?

Is it a goal-directed pathway with specific benchmarks?


Content Analysis:



2015-2015 Annual Planning Calendar

ACC Board of Trustees Agenda Item 8148: Summary of ACC Workforce Development Efforts, 2005

ACC Master Plan FY

How does ACC decide which industries to support?

How are local businesses involved in the planning ofcluster-based programs?

73

2013-2015

Glover et al 2012


Content Analysis:



What businesses have contracted with ACC Continuing Education Corporate Training?

Does ACC receive any publicor grant funding for corporate training programs? For example, the Washington State Job Skills Program is a matching-grant funded programthat awards companies with funds that are given to community collegesthat provide the training.



Content Analysis:

Sample activities

Pre and post-program student surveys

Impact Report

What activities are involved in Girlstart AfterSchool?

How successful is the program?

What outcomes has the program had on student testscores?

Semi-structured Interview

How is program staff, without science backgrounds, trained to

74

lead program activities?

How does the program addresses national/state STEM standards?

Describe some examples of program activities.

How is program content is appropriate for a diverse urban audience?

How do activities build on previous activities?

How are the activities are inquiry-based?

What materials are used?

When is the program offered?

How many hours per week is the program offered?

Are there any admission requirements?

Is there a fee to participate in the program?

Are there any program sponsors?

How often does Girlstart conduct program evaluations?

High School OST STEM

No programs found

75

Programs


No programs found

Training Public Sector Employees

Employer-based, Job-specific Training Programs

Content Analysis No information publicly available. City representative did not provide any documentation.

Semi-structure Interview

Describe how the city trains its new hires.

How does the city incorporate the different learning styles and preferences of its employees?

How does the city plan its training program?

When during the employee’s lifecycle does training take place?

Can a city employee receiveupskilling training not directly tied to hire or promotion?

How soon after training is the employee able to apply

76

newly acquired skills?

How does the city evaluate it hard-skills training program?

Employer-basedSoft-skills Training Programs



Explain the city’s soft-skills training program.

How is soft-skills and hard-skills training approached differently?

What soft-skills are taught?




Does the city have a mentoring program?

Is mentoring party of a larger leadership development program?

Describe the mentoring program?

Does the city have a mentoring program roadmap or similar document?

77

Does the city senior management participate in the program?

Does the city have an official recruitment strategy?

Is there an end-of-program ceremony?

Human Subjects Protection

Interviews will be conducted with municipal employees acting

in their professional capacity. No personally identifying

information will be included. IRB Exemption App #EXP2014W527813O

78

CHAPTER 4 -

RESULTS

“Data analysis is an integral part of qualitative research

and constitutes an essential stepping stone toward both gathering

data and linking one’s findings with higher order concepts” (Sage

Publications 2008). There are five steps involved in data

analysis. The first step is, of course, gathering the data. The

next step for qualitative methods is to use “memoing.” Memoing

is simply the act of the researcher “taking note personal,

conceptual or theoretical ideas or reflections that come to mind

as they collect and analyze the data.” This study relies on

memoing and the coding of this information to draw conclusions

about the extent that Austin is taking practical ideal type

actions to increase the number of qualified high-tech workers.


Table 4.1 summaries the extent that the programs to retrain

the current workforce in high-tech skills are present and the

characteristics of these programs. As can be seen in Table 4.1,

79

Austin does have programs that target displaced workers and

provide high-tech skills training for entry-level employment

opportunities in the tech cluster. The support for these

findings follows the table.

Table 4.1 – Nerdistan Checklist: Retraining the Current Workforce

Program Necessary Elements Austin Has?

Evidence

Displaced Workers

Stakeholder collaboration (employers, unions, social services, community groups)

Yes Agenda Item 8148

ACC Master Plan

Planning Calendar

Hard-skills training Yes Program websites

Soft-skills training integrated in program

Goal-directed pathway with benchmarks

Yes Program websites

Partnerships with localcluster businesses

Yes Agenda Item 8148

ACC Master Plan

Act as workforce intermediaries

Glover 2012

Workers inCommunities with Multiple Industries

Support all local clusters

Glover 2012

ACC Master Plan

80

Incumbent workers

Partnership with local employers

Glover 2012

Agenda Item 8148

If grant-funded; fund if:

Shortage of workers exists

Avoid potential layoffs

Advance workers thereby creating vacancies

Areas with high unemployment


This study asks the following question: Does ACC have

workforce development programs for displaced workers? Based on

the interviews and document review, this study findings evidence

of these programs but if these programs are targeted to displaced

workers is unclear. . Specifically, ACC, through its Continuing

Education Division operates a Workforce Development Center. The

Workforce Development Center is comprised of three industrial

institutes: the Health Professionals Institute; the High Tech

Institute; and the Business and Industry Institutes. Thus, there

81

is evidence for a high tech focus for worker training programs.

This is not a surprise given the focus on the regional economy.

In terms of a focus on displaced workers, the picture is

less clear. For example, the Workforce Development Center

website says, “it is designed to provide a wide range of training

and education opportunities for individuals getting started in

the workplace, furthering their current careers, or working to

meet licensure/ certificate requirements” (Workforce

Development). It is noteworthy that the types of individuals

provided these opportunities goes undefined. The lack of an

explicit mention of displaced workers may make it less likely for

these nontraditional students to seek out programs at the

Workforce Development Center. In addition, While displaced

workers need these programs ideally the d the program and

delivery methods should be customized to the particular needs of

displaced workers (or have they?!?)

Recommendation - ACC should clearly state on its website and

in any program materials (brochures, flyers, ads, etc) that

unemployed individuals displaced from other industries should

82

consider enrolling in ACC’s High Tech Institute offered through

the college’s Continuing Education division’s Workforce

Development Center. The target population of workforce

development programs is unemployed individuals with little or no

higher education and few transferable hard-skills. These

individuals might hear “high tech institute” and think that they

are not qualified for such an educational endeavor. ACC needs to

demystify tech and show prospective students that they can learn

these skills. The WPP report did indicate that many courses are

under capacity. That finding aligns with the complaint of tech

company CEOs about there being a lack of qualified workers.

Based on this finding, ACC should seek to promote their workforce

development programs more.

This study also asks the following question: Does ACC

actively collaborate with stakeholders on its displaced workers

programs? This study finds that ACC does activity collaborate

with stakeholders. For example, the ACC Board of Trustees’

November, 2005, Agenda Item 8148 specifically included the

following item: “Proposed Action: That the Board of Trustees

Engage in a Discussion with Members of ACC Advisory Committees 83

for Workforce Programs and Presidents of Area Chambers of

Commerce to Discuss ACC’s Role in Regional Workforce Development

Efforts and Implications Related to the College’s Master Planning

Initiatives” (Agenda Item 8148 2005). The use of an advisory

community is one way to bring stakeholders directly into the

decision making process.

ACC submits a regular quarterly Continuing Education Student

Report to the State as per Texas Education Code 51.051 and

130.003 (2014-2015 Annual Planning Calendar/Expectations of

Supervisors). This reporting to stakeholders indicates ACC’s

intention to include the Austin community as a whole in the

planning process of displaced worker programs. In addition,

every two years, ACC collaborates with the Greater Austin Chamber

of Commerce to produce a document to report “Progress Towards

Excellence” (2014-2015 Annual Planning Calendar/Expectations of

Supervisors). The time and level of collaboration it takes to

produce these reports suggests close ties between ACC and key

stakeholders.

84

Do ACC’s programs for displaced workers teach students specific

hard-skills? Also, are these programs comprised of goal-directed

pathways?

Yes. ACC’s CE High Tech Institute has many programs

specifically designed to help students “jump on the fast track to

a new career in IT”. As an example, ACC’s Java Development

Program clearly lays out program information: estimated tuition

and time commitment; career information: average hourly wage and

current job market. Some programs have multiple tracks (with

different courses) that lead to different specific careers, for

example, ACC’s Cisco Cert Program, which is comprised of the

Cert. Cisco Entry Networking Technician, Cert. Cisco Network

Associate, and the Cert. Cisco CCUA Security. These programs are

designed to teach students the necessary hard-skills needed to

pass specific licensure/ certification tests.

Does ACC integrate soft-skills training into its displaced

workers programs?

85

Unknown. A content analysis was not able to determine this.

Ideally an interview would have been able to easily answer this

question.

Recommendation – If ACC does not already integrate soft-skills

into its displaced worker programs it should. As stated in

chapter two, soft-skills are easier to learn when integrated with

hard-skills. Hard-skills and soft-skills are both equally

important elements of any training program.

Does ACC partner with the local industry cluster on its displaced

workers programs?

Yes. ACC has “active partnerships with local healthcare

providers, electronics and semiconductor manufacturing tech, and

digital media businesses and industry sectors” (Glover et al

2012). ACC collaborates with local community organizations. Most

import to ACC’s Continuing Education Workforce Development

program is Workforce Solutions. These organizations “assist in

curriculum development and faculty training . . . and increasing

enrollment in various workforce training programs” (Rhodes 2012,

35). As stated in the ACC Master Plan for FY 2013-2015, “external

86

business industry representatives provide an invaluable service

to ACC’s workforce programs by serving on instr. program Advisory

Committees and helping to ensure that the curriculum and

equipment meet the industry standards” (Rhodes 2012, 33). These

committees are made up of “professionals from the respective

fields of study and work”.

Does ACC act as a workforce intermediary on behalf of its

displaced worker students?

Yes. ACC Computer Studies Department holds regular virtual

job fairs. Recent fairs have resulted in grads being placed at

National Instruments, Dell and others (Glover et al 2012).

Workforce Solutions has two one-stop career centers on ACC

campuses (Glover et al 2012). It was not clear in the documents

whether the Workforce Development Center conducted its own career

fairs or other workforce intermediary activities.

Recommendation – ACC need not duplicate its workforce

intermediary efforts by have a separate career center for its

displaced workers programs. However, these career centers should

differentiate between displaced workers and the other students

87

seeking career guidance. Recent workforce development program

graduates need a different kind of assistance compared to other

community college students (i.e. students transferring to four

year institutions).


All of the Nerdistan Checklist items for displaced workers

apply to programs in communities with multiple industry clusters.

Many cities have more than one major industry cluster. The

illustration used in chapter two was the California Doing What

Matters Initiative. Community colleges need to support all of its

local clusters by providing specific training for potential

cluster employees. A recent report by the Austin Area Research

Organization (AARO) and the Ray Marshall Center for the Study of

Human Resources at the University of Texas at Austin’s Lyndon B.

Johnson School of Public Affairs concluded that Austin also plays

host to a Health and Life Sciences industry cluster. This same

report also found that ACC does adequately provide training for

potential workers in both the high tech cluster and the health

and life sciences cluster (Glover 2012).

88

Recommendation – ACC should continue to monitor the Austin

businesses and note any changes in its composition. The city’s

business make up is always changing. Now, more than ever, new

companies are started, or relocate to the Austin area.

Eventually, new industries will take shape. The college needs to

adjust its program offerings to reflect any new clusters that may

take shape.


Does ACC contract with local tech cluster businesses to provider

employee training?

Yes. In addition to employees of local cluster businesses

sitting on advisory committees, ACC also provides training to

local business. These businesses contract with ACC and ACC

provides the instructor, materials and equipment. For example,

Samsung contracted with ACC to up-skill some workers via mini

courses that included lectures and short hands-on labs (Glover

2012).

Recommendation – If it does not already do so, ACC should

look into the possibility of grants to fund employee training

89

similar to Washington’s JSP illustration in Chapter Two. Public

money should only be used to train private employees if the

training opens up more opportunities for unemployed workers (i.e.

an entry-level employee receives grant-funded training and is

promoted leaving an open entry-level position).


Table 4.2 presents a summary of the Austin training programs

for future high-tech workers. The extent that the programs exist

and their elements are indicated in the table. Austin does have a

successful program for elementary school girls, however programs

for older students are not present.

Table 4.2 – Nerdistan Checklist: Training the Future Workforce


Evidence

OST STEM Elementary

Easy to implement for non-science staff and includes staff training component

Yes Interview with Girlstart representative and contentanalysis.

Address national STEM standards


90

Content appropriatefor diverse urban audience:

Easily found materials

Local areas


Build on previous learning


Inquiry based and hands-on


Free Yes Interview with Girlstart representative and contentanalysis.

Conduct regular program evaluations


OST STEM High School

Are there any OST STEM programs for high school students

No Internet research and confirmed by interviewee from OST STEM elementary section.

Easy to implement for non-science staff

N/A

Address national STEM standards

N/A

Include staff training component

N/A

Content appropriatefor diverse urban audience:

N/A

91

Easily found materials

Local areas

Build on previous learning

N/A

Inquiry based and hands-on

N/A

Free N/A

Include local tech businesses

N/A

Include local colleges

N/A

STEM Career Prep

Are there any STEM career prep programs?

No Internet research and confirmed by interviewee from OST STEM elementary section

Externship component

N/A

Mentoring component N/A

Free N/A


Does Austin have any organizations that provide OST STEM programs

for elementary school-age children?

92

Yes. Girlstart offers OST STEM education for Austin-area 4th

through 8th grade girls (with a focus on 4th and 5th grade) through

its Girlstart After-School program.

Is the Girlstart After-School program easy to implement for staff

without STEM backgrounds?

Yes. Girlstart After-School program leaders are referred to

as STEM CREW members. They are given a complete plan for each

lesson in advance with access to videos for reference. Girlstart

pairs new program leaders with veteran CREW members who serve as

mentors. The new member observes her mentors lessons before she

is given her own group of students.

Does the program align with national standards?

Yes. Girlstart activities align with Texas Essential

Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) math, science and technology

applications codified in chapters 111, 112 and 126 of the Texas

Administrative Code. Girlstart programs are also aligned with the

National Research Council’s (NRC) Next Generation Science

Standards.

93

Do program activities include content that is appropriate for a

diverse urban audience and use familiar materials?

Yes. Girlstart activities are designed to illustrate STEM’s

real-life applications. Examples include having students design

bike lanes for their neighborhood or building a robot to help a

grandparent be more mobile. Materials should be relevant and

readily available- not only to keep costs down, but to show that

STEM is everywhere and part of daily life; “you don’t need a

fancy lab full of expensive equipment to be a scientist”

(Interview with Girlstart Representative 2014).

Do program activities build on previous learning?

Yes. Girlstart engages students by building on what she

already knows. Activities are aligned with partner school’s

curriculum schedule but do not duplicate what was taught in

school. Programs should also be hands-on and inquiry-based in

order for the girl to get the most of the program. Girlstart

begins each activity by asking students to use the scientific

method by formulating a question and then poise a hypothesis.

They my answer their question with the provided materials.

94

Is the Girlstart After-School program free to participants?

Yes. Girlstart After School is offered at no cost with the

only admission requirements being that they are not failing math

or science. It is important that all programs conduct regular

evaluations. Girlstart conducts student evaluations of the

beginning and end of the semester to assess student progress.

These reports are released to stakeholders and the public twice a

year. Girlstart started a longitudinal study taking into account

grades and test scores as the student progresses through school.

Recommendation – Girlstart’s OST STEM program contained all

of the elements contained in the Nerdistan Checklist. The program

is only available for 4th through 8th grade girls and focuses

mostly on 4th and 5th grade girls. Austin should see that similar

programs be offered to all grades.

High School OST STEM Programs and STEM Career Preparation

Programs

An Internet search did not yield any results for high school

OST STEM programs in the Austin area. At one point Girlstart had

a program for high school girls, Project IT Girl. It was canceled

95

in 2009. A representative for Girlstart said it was much more

difficult to keep high schoolers engaged in STEM. Most high

schoolers only want and only have time for volunteer

opportunities. Girlstart does have volunteer opportunities for

high school girls as camp counselors at it summer camp. Project

IT Girl required many more resources than Girlstart After School.

Girlstart does hope to implement a workable program in the

future. The Girlstart representative explains possible reasons

for the lack of high school OST STEM programs:

We are learning that most high schoolers only want, and only have time

for, volunteer opportunities; we have not yet found a program model that

successfully engages high school students in STEM learning while being

programmatically and financially sustainable.

Recommendation – Austin should devote resources, or at the

very least research grant-funded opportunities to create and

implement OST STEM and STEM career preparation programs for high

school students. Girlstart’s Project IT Girl was a successful

program and was only canceled because it required more resources

that what Girlstart was able to dedicate. Austin could easily

96

start where Girlstart left off, or partner with the organization

and attempt to revive the program. A summer in-residence or

externship program with a strong mentoring component, similar to

the NASA HAS illustration from chapter two should also be added.

As the Girlstart representative indicated, programs for older

students require more resources (i.e. funding). A possible way to

overcome this significant hurdle is to partner with local

businesses to offset the costs. Local companies can provide many

of the supplies and equipment which can be quite expensive.


Table 4.3 summarizes the training programs for City of

Austin employees. The city does have an organized training

program. The program, however, does not include many of the

elements that are required to make it a successful training

program. Also, the city does not have a mentoring program.

Table 4.3 – Nerdistan Checklist: Training Public Sector Workers


Evidence

EB Hard-skills

Does the city have a hard-skills training

Unknown

97

program?

Does the city incorporate the different learning styles and preferences of its employees?

Yes Interview with City ofAustin, Human Resources representative

Does the city plan its training program?


Does training take place during the manytimes in the employeelifecycle?


Can a city employee receive upskilling training not directlytied to hire or promotion?


Are the newly acquired skills applied right away?


Does the city evaluate it hard-skills training program?

Unknown

EB Soft-skills

Does the city have a soft-skills training program


Are soft-skills taught differently

Unknown

98

than hard-skills?

Are these soft-skillstaught?

Interview with City ofAustin, Human Resources representative

Mentoring Does the city have a mentoring program?

No Interview with City ofAustin, Human Resources representative

Is mentoring party ofa larger leadership development program?

N/A

Does the city have a mentoring program roadmap or similar document?

N/A

Does the city senior management participate in the program?

N/A

Does the city have anofficial recruitment strategy?

N/A

Employer-based Hard-skills Training

Does the City of Austin have a hard-skills training program?

Unknown. This research was not able to determine exactly

what was covered in technical training- a drawback of the method.

99

When asked specifically about how employees are trained, the

human resources representative detailed the city’s orientation

program where the new employee learns about the organization but

not any training – hard or soft.

Recommendation – If the city does not have a hard-skills

training program, it should work on developing one. This would

require a minor shift in priorities; however, much of the cost

associated with the additional tech element could be offset by

partnering with companies that produce online-based tech

education. There are many such companies including Treehouse,

Code School and Code Academy. The city is already working on an

online-based employee training system (assumedly comprised of

multiple modules). The city could easily add tech training

modules like, HTML, CSS, Ruby, etc. to their pre-existing system.

Does the city incorporate different learning styles and

preferences into its training programs?

Yes. The city, it seems, does incorporate different styles

based on the subject and training environment, “for instance

leadership training is collaborative and interactive. Technical

100

trades maybe hands-on or kinesthetic, policies and procedures

maybe lecture-based”.

Does the city strategically plan its training programs?

Yes. The city does this by using a combination approach of

“corporate driven and decentralized”. It is good that the city

takes to the organization as a whole and the individual

department.

Does training take place at many instances during the employee’s

life cycle and not necessarily tied to hire or promotion?

No. The city does offer training but based on the business

need.

Recommendation – Employee training needs to take place

during different points of the employee lifecycle. Obvious times

are at hire and upon promotion. An employee should be able to

participate in optional training programs targeted to tech

skills.

Are the newly acquired skills applied right away?

101

Yes. The city seems to agree new skills “in most cases …

should be applied right away.

Does the city regularly evaluate its training programs?

Unknown. When asked how the city evaluates its hard-skills

program, the representative responded with, “not very well”. This

appears to be a misunderstanding but does indicate that the city

is not satisfied with its hard-skills training program.

Recommendation – Regular evaluation is necessary to ensure

that city resources are being used in an appropriate manor.

Evaluations also show weaknesses in the program.

Employer-based Soft-skills Training

Does the city also train employees on soft-skills?

Yes. The city offers four leadership programs for non-civil

service (sworn officers) that teach managerial, communication and

problem solving skills.

Are soft-skills taught differently than hard-skills?

Unknown.

102

Mentoring Programs

Does the city have a mentorship program?

No. The City of Austin does not have a formal mentoring

program for its employees. The City HR representative did

indicate that it has many informal discussions and sessions about

mentoring but “never a sustainable program.”

Recommendation – The city should consider implementing a

formal mentoring program for all levels of employee.

103

CHAPTER 5 -

CONCLUSION

High-tech clusters are geographic concentrations of well-

paying and economically stable tech companies. This places an

impetus upon cities to ensure their own best interests by

supporting the cluster with a strong, stable and qualified

workforce. Municipalities need to prepare three distinct groups

of people. To meet the current need, they need to start by

retraining workers displaced from other industries for entry-

level tech jobs. Next, they need to make sure that future workers

are already trained for careers in the tech cluster by engaging

children in STEM education. Finally, they need to consider an

often over-looked group of workers, their own employees.

Three pools of existing workers in any metropolitan area can

be re-trained for the high tech industry: one, displaced workers;

two, workers in related industries, and three, those workers in

need of a skills upgrade. Even cities like Austin, which has

weathered the recent economic downturn better than the most of

the nation, still have significant levels of unemployed or 104

underemployed workers. Effective programs for training displaced

workers include strategies that involve community college

partnerships with local businesses. The local business community

needs to have an active role along with the training providers to

make sure that the students are receiving the most relevant and

useful training. Community colleges must have a role beyond

training. They must act as workforce intermediaries with a dual-

customer approach brokering the relationship between employers

and their prospective employees. NC BioWork, the California Doing

What Matters Initiative and the Washington Job Skills Program are

all well-coordinated strategic partnerships of businesses,

government agencies and businesses with the main goal to provide

occupational training to strengthen the regional workforce.

Training workers who are unemployed or underemployed will

only treat the current problem. We need to also focus our efforts

on ensuring that the future workforce be qualified for the high-

tech cluster. Education policy is set primarily at the state

level, so municipalities have little direct influence over the

public education curriculum. There is a lot that local

governments can do to support OST STEM programs in the form of 105

after school and school break programs. OST programs are good for

STEM projects because of the low student-to-staff ration,

informal environment that lends itself to hands-on activities and

timeframes that are longer than that would be allowed during a

school day (Donner and Wang, 2013). OST programs are organized by

and held at aquariums, zoos, planetariums, museum or science

centers, nonprofit community organizations, national youth

organizations, universities, K-12 school districts, private

organizations, government labs and libraries (Laursen et al 2013,

40; Kliman et al, 2013). FUSE, FI3T and Texas HAS are all

programs that seek to provide STEM activities to the greatest

number of students as possible.

Public-sector employment decreased by more than 580,000 jobs

between July 2009 and August 2012. This drop was one of the

largest contributions to unemployment since the end of the Great

Recession (Greenstone and Looney 2012). While the private sector

continues to be an engine of growth for the United States,

reducing the number of government employees adds workers to the

unemployment numbers (Greenstone and Looney 2012). There is

little literature in Western economies regarding public workers 106

entering the private sector. Employer based training programs

train workers in two different areas: hard-skills and soft-

skills. The two types must be approached differently because the

transfer differently (Laker and Powell 2011, 112). Hard-skills

are technical skills that are needed to perform specific job-

related tasks and include working with sophisticated equipment,

data and software while soft-skills are basic skills like

communication, leadership etc. Cities need to use their limited

resources wisely but still ensure that their employees are

properly trained to perform their current jobs. “Mentoring has

been identified as an important influence in both the public and

private sector” (Ehrich and Hansford 2008, 2) but since the two

sectors are fundamentally different, mentoring programs need to

be conceptualized differently (Bhatta and Washington 2003;

Ritchie and Connolly 1993; Samier 2000, 5).

Training the Current Workforce

A bachelor’s degree is not a requirement for an entry-level

job in the high-tech cluster. However, some formalized training

is needed. Successful adult education training programs must have

107

the following: stakeholder collaboration, and integration of

soft-skills and hard-skills, a goal direct pathway. Also, the

program should act as a workforce intermediary to assist program

graduates in securing jobs. These workers can fulfill immediate

need for qualified high-tech employees within a few months of

training provided at a fairly low cost by Austin Community

College.


Once the immediate need for entry-level tech workers is

filled, Austin needs to work on ensuring that future workers are

trained for tech clusters. Austin has one program for elementary

girls. It is recommended that Austin immediately work on adding

programs for middle and high school students as well.


While private sector continues to be an engine of growth for

the country, public employment is decreasing contributing to

unemployment. If public employees receive training in tech skills

that are easily transferable to the private sector, we will all

benefit.

108

Limitations of the Research

During this research, sampling problems did arise mostly due

to the very small population. Most workforce training programs in

which a municipality has a hand in area located at the local

community college. The community college system that serves the

Austin area is Austin Community College (ACC). There are multiple

locations, but only one system.

109

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