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Regional Workforce Competitiveness

We are at a critical point in our economy, one where we can continue down the same path and expect the same outcomes, or we change course and realize a more sustainable, productive, and competitive workforce. COG's initiative on workforce competitiveness marks the first time that the National Capital Region has addressed the issue at the regional level. In the report, Closing the Gaps to Build the Future, we took the first step to understand the needs and challenges of both our workforce and our employers and have identified best practices and potential models for replication.

Closing the Gaps began the dialogue and drew a good deal of attention, including stories on CNN and in The Washington Post. COG is now working to continue this important discussion and make sure leaders in the political, educational, business, and civic communities develop a strategic and comprehensive, regional approach to our workforce needs. The jobs of the new economy are going to be filled; we want to make sure they are filled by residents of the National Capital Region.

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United for Jobs: A Regional Forum on Careers in Health




On June 3, 2010, COG hosted United for Jobs: A Forum on Careers in Health for a diverse group of over 100 area officials and stakeholders at the Washington Convention Center. COG focused on health care because it is one of the fastest growing job sectors in the economy. According to a panel at the forum, metropolitan Washington lags slightly behind the national average in developing new jobs in health care, even though the region has produced jobs in other sectors at twice the national rate.

The event built on existing health‐related workforce initiatives across the region and provided participants with a chance to cultivate relationships, develop a more comprehensive understanding of the unique opportunities and challenges facing the health workforce, and make recommendations for enhanced collaboration, future action, and COG’s role in helping meet those goals.

For the forum recommendations, which were presented at the June 2010 COG Board of Directors meeting, click here.

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Closing the Gaps to Build the Future Report

The COG Board of Directors is committed to ensuring that this region is competitive both nationally and globally and has set Regional Workforce Competiveness as a policy priority. In 2009, the COG Board commissioned a Workforce Competitiveness Task Force to develop a better understanding of how the region's workforce preparation and related systems perform and to identify strategies to better prepare, retain and retrain workers. In January 2010, Closing the Gaps to Build the Future was released and approved by the COG Board.

To download the report, click here.

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Media Highlights

• Washington Post Commentary by COG Chair Kwame Brown on COG's Workforce Initiative and upcoming forum, United for Jobs.


• Washington Post article on Closing the Gaps to Build the Future, COG's
  Workforce Development report.


• The COG Podcast episode, "Building a Stronger, More Resilient Workforce,"
  features Alexandria Mayor and Chair of COG's Workforce Development Task Force Bill Euille, and Martha Ross, Deputy Director of Greater Washington Research at Brookings, discussing workforce development in the metropolitan Washington region.
  
  

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Contact

Nicole Hange, COG's Policy Coordinator
202.962.3231 / nhange@mwcog.org