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By
Jim Baer
Twenty years ago, Blair Forlaw and her husband relocated to
St. Louis from Atlanta for a new job opportunity. For 15 years,
Forlaw was director of Public Policy for the East-West Gateway
Council, working primarily in the public sector. Now, she is
director of Workforce St. Louis 2.0, an employee training initiative.
Her projects were things like “Welfare to Work” and “Moving
Up the Career Ladder.”
Forlaw has traded her public hat for a private one, and works
with the private sector of the local business community.
This is the ‘Show-Me State’ and business leaders want to be
shown.
Working under a generous grant from the Missouri Department
of Economic Develop-ment, her charge is getting CEO’s from Fortune
500 companies with staffing of 1,000 or more to buy into regional
training planning. In essence, training among several companies
is of more value than training individually.
This is a relatively new initiative, formed to create regional
learning opportunities from company to company. “Our niche is
learning in the work force,” says Forlaw, distinguishing from
the learning that goes on by under- graduates in the traditional
campus environment. Clearly, Workforce St. Louis 2.0 is not
the facilitator, they are the marriage maker. They bring parties
to the table and expose them to all kinds of collaborative approaches
to human capital development.
St. Louis competes with other metro areas in a global marketplace,
where human capital (people with skills, motivations, and competencies
necessary to do their best) is even more important than physical
or natural capital. Companies and job-seekers considering locating
in St. Louis look at how we value and encourage learning.
The metro economic engine runs on complex interactions between
and among firms. Employees who are sharp, and performing at
their best, add value along the production and distribution
chain, ensuring benefits to each of the linked companies and
to the regional economy as a whole.
Job churning is a reality of the global economy. It involves
risks for workers and firms—but is actually a major driver of
regional economic innovation. If we take the big picture view
of churning, we can use it to our advantage—keeping skills in
play in the local market.
Advances in workplace learning are spectacular. Anheuser-Busch
has satellite teaching institutes on-line 24/7. Other companies
are reaching out to learning across the global expanse. MBA
classes are now being offered at corporate headquarters, and
not just on college campuses. “Human capital is very important.
Workforces need to stay agile and sharp,” says the local project
director.
Workforce St. Louis 2.0 is affiliated with the Center for Adult
and Experimental Learning (CAEL), based in Chicago with the
only other affiliate in Philadelphia. These three major cities
are working around-the-clock to incubate business and to bring
new and existing companies to St. Louis. This represents push
and pull. The large companies might push, and pull the little
ones along.
All this effort gets a strong nod from the Regional Chamber
and Growth Association (RCGA). “We work closely with the RCGA,
their senior leaders are extremely encouraging, but we are not
an arm of the RCGA,” Forlaw states, matter-of-factly.
Steve Johnson, senior vice president for Economic Development
for the RCGA meets regularly with Forlaw. “The primary objective
of her firm is to increase resources locally through education
and training among company employees. As the labor market tightens,
we see companies investing more in training and retention of
their employees,” says Johnson. “Successful companies realize
there is a direct payoff for long-term training,” he indicates.
Forlaw bubbles over with the knowledge that a national institution
the Saratoga Group (owned by PricewaterhouseCoopers), will be
releasing the first metrix for 15 major St. Louis based companies
in late February. Those companies in the first ever local study
group are, by category:
— Architecture/Design/Construction
HOK Group, McCarthy Building Cos
— Education
Saint Louis University
St. Louis Community College
— Financial Services
AG Edwards, Commerce Bank, Scottrade
— Healthcare
BJC HealthCare
— Manufacturing
Brown Shoe, Purina PetCare
— PlantSciences/Research/Innovation
Monsanto
— Transportation/Distribution
Graybar, UniGroup
— Utility/Energy
Ameren UE
— Other
Federal Reserve Bank
That’s where Forlaw’s energies have been focused since last
fall. She’s been busy rallying cooperative support from majors
like Anheuser-Busch, Nestlé, Monsanto, UniGroup, BJC and other
major corporate giants and large hiring groups. Today’s partners
in planning might be tomorrow’s investors in this regional approach
to learning.
Workforce St. Louis 2.0 has identified nine key components of
exemplary practice in employee learning and development, and
they are:
| 1. |
Leadership
Vision and Commitment. The CEO and senior management
are the driving forces in elevating the importance of learning
and development. |
| 2. |
Aligning
Business Goals with Employee Learning. Top leadership
adopts clear goals and communicates them throughout the
organization and ensures that learning and development activities
are aligned with the goals. |
| 3. |
Learning
and Development is Strategically Positioned Within Senior
Management. Human Resources leader or the Chief
Learning Officer is part of the executive management team.
|
| 4. |
Leadership
Development is Emphasized at All Levels of the Organization.
Management recognizes that leadership skills are essential
for employees at all levels and efforts are made to develop
talent from within the organization. |
| 5. |
Commitment
to Expanding Skills and Knowledge Beyond Job-Related or
Technical Skills. Investments are made to develop
well-rounded, versatile employees through tuition assistance
programs, customized on-site training, and personal development
options. |
| 6. |
Informal
Learning Opportunities Structured at the Workplace. Investments
are made to intentionally integrate work and learning through
team projects, cross training, rotational assignments, and
problem-solving exercises. |
| 7. |
Strategic
Use of Technology for Meeting Learning Objectives. Innovative
technologies are used to support and reinforce learning
and to manage the firm’s education and training offerings.
|
| 8. |
Alliances
with Educational Institutions are Central to Learning Strategy.
Customized degree, certification and non-credit programs
are developed collaboratively to meet business and employee
needs. |
| 9. |
Emphasis
on Assessment of Impact. Mixture of measurement
strategies is used to assess the impact of training and
development investments. |
Forlaw’s efforts focus in several areas. She is identifying
regional leaders and shining the spotlight on them. “What we
need to do is build on the strengths of the key
St. Louis companies who have successful strategies working for
them already. Once we have a critical mass of companies in the
region following the lead of larger companies and investing
strategically in their work force, then we will have created
a regional culture of learning and development and we will then
know we’ve achieved our goals. We need an attractive and productive
work force that is well educated and that ‘all get it,’ and
then we know we are there,” says Forlaw in summation.
If national companies are considering relocating to St. Louis,
they need to count on a well-educated and well-motivated work
force. Workforce St. Louis 2.0’s goal is to make sure that is
taken care of now, and in the future.
Click here
to learn more about the strong workforce in the St. Louis region.
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