Latest Economicgrowth Podcast Episodes

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47 - Excellence in the Fusion of Economic and Workforce Development

Ready for Work - March 07, 2024 12:47 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Episode 47 features Tonia Saunders, who leads both workforce and economic development in Lucas County, Ohio. This Work Ready Community (WRC) integrated the two disciplines, emphasizing the role of collaboration with neighboring counties to enhance the region's competitiveness. Tonia shares insig...

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46 - Braided Funding and Alignment for Program Sustainability

Ready for Work - February 29, 2024 18:10 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Braided funding and alignment of partnerships are key when creating sustainable systems and programs for your community.  Lyndsie Gibbs and Alex Lovrien from Metropolitan Community College in Omaha join us on Episode 46 of Ready for Work. The partnerships across this Work Ready Community grew a ...

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45 - Skilled Through Alternative Routes - Why STARs Matter to the Workforce

Ready for Work - December 20, 2023 21:37 - 31 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Join us in Episode 45 to discover a groundbreaking partnership between ACT and Opportunity at Work. Georgia Gillette, VP of Strategic Alliances at Opportunity at Work, shares insights on STARs (Skilled Through Alternative Routes) and the Tear the Paper Ceiling campaign. Discover the challenges f...

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44 - Celebrating Manufacturing Month with ACT and MSSC

Ready for Work - October 11, 2023 17:46 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
In episode 44 of Ready for Work, LeeSa Page, a senior advisor with the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council, discusses the importance of Manufacturing Day and Manufacturing Month in October. She highlights the role of manufacturing in the American economy and the need to inspire various groups ...

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43 - High Tech Meets High Touch to Engage Working Learners

Ready for Work - September 28, 2023 15:00 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Change management enables working learners to acquire skills and adopt behaviors that maximize workforce and learning outcomes. On episode 43 of Ready for Work, guest Robert Feeney shares his personal journey that led him to develop Ringorang. Driven by overcoming severe mental health challenges...

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42 - What's Next for the Skills-First Movement

Ready for Work - September 26, 2023 17:10 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Two incredible champions in the field of competency-based education and the skills-first movement: Julian Alssid and Kaitlin Lemoine, join the conversation on Episode 42 of Ready for Work.  Through their pioneering work at College for America, the duo emphasizes the importance of transparently n...

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41 - Credentials As You Go Accelerates Career Pathways

Ready for Work - September 19, 2023 20:28 - 18 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
The current education system relies heavily on traditional degrees, limiting adult learners and disproportionately affecting people of color. Employers value 21st-century skills, but confusion persists due to the proliferation of diverse credentials. Guest Melissa Goldberg joins Episode 41 of Re...

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40 - Equity and Transparency for Education and Credentials

Ready for Work - July 05, 2023 17:15 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Credential Engine is revolutionizing workforce career learning ecosystems by providing accessible data on credentials. Learn how equity plays a crucial role in reshaping pathways and empowering individuals. Here in Episode 40 of Ready for Work, Credential Engine CEO Scott Cheney helps us uncover...

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39 - Innovations in Career Navigation and Workforce Ecosystem Impact

Ready for Work - June 09, 2023 19:38 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Discover how WorkBay®, a technology firm founded by CEO Mary Hayes and COO Alice Hayes, is making a difference in career navigation both regionally and nationally. WorkBay integrates the skills-first approach of the workforce ecosystem and their innovations in this area are revolutionizing caree...

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38 - Working to Solve Workforce Challenges in Longview

Ready for Work - May 31, 2023 16:27 - 12 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
As vice president of Longview Economic Development Corporation in Texas, Heather Malone shared her valuable insights on the workforce challenges that her community faces in a friendly and informative manner. One key point she highlighted was the importance of reliable transportation for workers ...

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37 - Boosting Career Pathways with College Credit through WorkKeys

Ready for Work - February 15, 2023 19:15 - 20 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Career Pathways are a special blend of training and job progression. When the training includes post-secondary learning, the WorkKeys National Career Readiness Certificate from ACT can translate to college credit that jumpstarts the learning journey. Awarding credit through Prior Learning Assess...

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36 - National Apprenticeship Week with Success at Roy O'Martin

Ready for Work - November 12, 2022 17:13 - 21 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
2022 marks the 8th annual National Apprenticeship Week and celebrations November 14th through the 20th to showcase the success and value of apprenticeship to rebuild the economy, advance equity, and support under-served communities. On Episode 36 of Ready for Work, we take you to the recent ACT ...

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35 - Closing Skill Gaps for Working Learners with Transit Support

Ready for Work - August 15, 2022 14:45 - 9 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
As workforce development typically focuses on skill and availability, other economic and community development practices can make or break those workforce efforts. Examples include housing, broadband internet, childcare, and today’s focus in Episode 35, transportation. Abigail Seldin from the Se...

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34 - Digital Badges Expand Reach and Impact of WorkKeys

Ready for Work - August 03, 2022 14:51 - 32 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
The release of episode 34 of Ready for Work marks a milestone at ACT® in the launch of Digital Badges for the WorkKeys® National Career Readiness Certificate® (NCRC®). Guests include Pat Leonard, the VP for Business Development at Credly®, and Neil Reddy, CEO of the Manufacturing Skill Standards...

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33 - The Role of Occupational Identity for Early Career Professionals

Ready for Work - April 16, 2022 14:39 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Personal journeys through education and career pathways are often filled with challenges and obstacles, making progress difficult and compromise frequent. Chelsea Williams of Reimagine Talent Co helps us discover the role of occupational identify for career pathway success with tips for job coun...

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32 - Preparing Workforce Ecosystems for Returning Citizen Success

Ready for Work - March 20, 2022 23:22 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Unprecedented skill shortages in labor markets across the U.S. often intersect with a desire for Justice System reform that provides pathways for Returning Citizens to thrive. When optimized in a regional workforce ecosystem, Returning Citizens are a high-performing group of working learners to ...

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31 - Life-Changing Asset and Skill-Based Solutions in Alternative Sentencing

Ready for Work - March 20, 2022 23:19 - 15 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Episode 31 of Ready for Work is the first of a two-part episode on Preparing Workforce Ecosystems for Returning Citizen Success. Charles Elliot is the Presiding Circuit Judge in Morgan County, Alabama. Partnerships with the community college and economic development leaders across their Work Rea...

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30 - Linking WorkKeys to Adult Education College and Career Readiness Standards

Ready for Work - March 16, 2022 14:57 - 23 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Federally funded Adult Basic Education (ABE) helps more than a million and half adults each year earn a high school equivalency, increase basic and employability skills, or improve their English language proficiency. The National Reporting Service governs the College and Career Readiness Standar...

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29 - Nine Elements to Improve Apprenticeship Quality and Completion

Ready for Work - November 26, 2021 19:03 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
With increased investment in apprenticeship comes increased expectations. ACT joined forces with local apprenticeships successful in skills-based hiring and national thought leaders on what’s needed to boost quality and completions in apprenticeship. Coming out of this collaboration is a new too...

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28 - The Role of Humor in Workforce Development - How Roy's Job Fair Reaches Working Learners

Ready for Work - November 05, 2021 17:28 - 28 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
One part humor, one part inspiration! Episode 28 kicks off our third season of Ready for Work with a fun perspective on the role of humor in workforce development. Our guest is comedian Roy Wood Junior, a correspondent on Comedy Central's hit, The Daily Show, and host of Roy's Job Fair, a podcas...

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Joplin's Road to Recovery as a Work Ready Community - Ten Years After Devastating Tornado Disaster

Ready for Work - May 21, 2021 01:35 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
One of the nation's deadliest tornados struck Joplin, Missouri ten years ago this week. On episode 27 of Ready for Work, we take a closer look at Joplin's recovery through the lens of the workforce ecosystem and the nation's first ACT-certified Work Ready Community. A recurring theme is the pri...

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27 - Joplin's Road to Recovery as a Work Ready Community - Ten Years After Devastating Tornado Disaster

Ready for Work - May 21, 2021 01:35 - 29 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
One of the nation's deadliest tornados struck Joplin, Missouri ten years ago this week. On episode 27 of Ready for Work, we take a closer look at Joplin's recovery through the lens of the workforce ecosystem and the nation's first ACT-certified Work Ready Community. A recurring theme is the pri...

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26 - Training Workforce Ecosystem Leaders for Success

Ready for Work - March 20, 2021 20:38 - 13 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
The region's workforce ecosystem is only as strong as its leadership. Joining us on episode 25 of Ready for Work, author and consultant Dr. Anthony Edwards helps guide us from new book, Building a Winning Workforce: A Playbook for Employers, Government Entities; Colleges & Schools; Workforce Dev...

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25 - Rebooting Economic and Workforce Development for 2021

Ready for Work - February 03, 2021 00:39 - 17 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Keeping the future in mind is a necessary function for persisting through disaster recovery. As regions continue to overcome the pandemic, there is a balance in preparing for future opportunities and obstacles at the same time. Episode 25 features Chad Chancellor, Co-Founder and CEO of the Next ...

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24 - Deploy and Analyze Recovery and Resiliency Inititives

Ready for Work - September 30, 2020 21:06 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
In our third of three episodes dedicated to Skills-Based Recovery and Resiliency, episode 24 brings us to the Deploy and Analyze phases in the five-part ALEDA framework. Sean McCoy from Public Consulting Group shares some factors worth considering in the deployment of recovery services remotely...

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24 - Deploy and Analyze Recovery and Resiliency Initiatives

Ready for Work - September 30, 2020 21:06 - 19 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
In our third of three episodes dedicated to Skills-Based Recovery and Resiliency, episode 24 brings us to the Deploy and Analyze phases in the five-part ALEDA framework. Sean McCoy from Public Consulting Group shares some factors worth considering in the deployment of recovery services remotely....

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23 - Leading and Engaging Recovery and Resiliency

Ready for Work - September 29, 2020 20:10 - 24 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Workforce ecosystem leaders encounter plenty of challenging layers to disaster recovery and economic resiliency.  ACT curated a five-part toolkit with a framework we call ALEDA.  We covered the Adapt phase in Episode 22. In this installment, we explore the Lead and Engage phases.  We have an i...

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22 Adapting for Recovery with Data, Skills, and Systems

Ready for Work - September 28, 2020 18:31 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Ready for Work episode 22 is the first of three on the ALEDA Framework using Skills-Based Hiring for Disaster Recovery and Economic Resiliency. The five-part framework is Adapt, Lead, Engage, Deploy, and Analyze. We focus this episode on the Adapt phase in Data, Skills, and Systems. The Adapt p...

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21 Resilient Workforce Ecosystems Leading Skills-Based Economic Recovery

Ready for Work - April 24, 2020 21:29 - 26 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
As a pandemic impacts communities everywhere, regional workforce ecosystems must implement reemployment strategies to become more adaptable. Hear stories of resilience happening real-time. Join the Conversation Will Coppage: Twitter Washington County Economic Alliance: Twitter Mary LeFebvre ...

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20 Adult Education Success in Mississippi with Guest Bronwyn Robertson

Ready for Work - February 28, 2020 02:30 - 16 minutes ★★★★★ - 4 ratings
Bronwyn Robertson shares how Mississippi Community College Board’s Smart Start adult education equips adult learners with workforce credentials (including the WorkKeys NCRC) and ultimately them for success. What more can adult education programs be doing to prepare participants for career succe...

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