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3.3 Local Hiring

Jul 27, 2021 | Strategy 3 | 0 comments

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3.3. LOCAL HIRING. Promote local hiring for entry-level and middle-skill positions by facilitating the discovery of high quality candidates

RESPONSIBLITY:

  • Industry Partnerships (Lead)
  • Education & Training (Lead)
  • Policy & Systems Change (Support)
  • Backbone (Advisory)
  • Communications (Advisory)
  • Data & Evaluation (Advisory)

3.3.1. Encourage employers to seek local talent first to fill their entry-level and middle-skill talent needs

  • Make the case for hiring local in interactions with and outreach to businesses
  • Recognize employers who are deliberate about hiring local and successful in local talent recruitment

THE BUSINESS CASE

4 Reasons to Hire Local:

  1. Decreased hiring costs:
    • No need to pay relocation expenses
    • Candidates are readily available for in-person interviews
    • Vetting local candidate references is easier
  2. Reduced start-date time lags due to relocation
  3. Lower turnover due to improved cultural fit
  4. Put money back into the local economy, including locally-owned businesses

Sources: U.S. News & World Report, 2014; Forbes, 2016; LCStaffing

3.3.2. Develop a cross-organizational platform for local candidate searches to facilitate local hiring for entry-level and middle-skill positions

  • Create a consortium of community-based organizations who work together to ensure hiring needs of employers are fulfilled with high-quality, work-ready clients and that suitable wrap-around services are provided to clients as they settle into employment
  • Create a communications protocol for distributing requests for qualified candidates and submitting resumes of work-ready clients
  • Market the service to employers via industry sector partnership meetings, LinkedIn and social media

CASE STUDY

Skillful:

SKILLFUL is an initiative that provides tools to connect middle-skill job seekers with employers, educators, and community coaches so that they can to advance their skills.

For job seekers, SKILLFUL provides information on which companies are hiring, what kinds of jobs are available, the skills required, and where to find training to acquire those skills. Through SKILLFUL, job seekers have access to career navigators and coaches.

For employers, SKILLFUL provides a larger talent pool to fill their open middle-skill positions. For educators, SKILLFUL makes it easier to tailor their programs to meet current and future industry demand.

The Markle Foundation teamed up with LinkedIn, Arizona State University, and edX to launch SKILLFUL. The model has been launched in Phoenix and Colorado.

For more info, visit skillful.com

3.3.3. Assist community-based organization clients and local students to be more competitive for entry-level and middle-skill jobs in the local labor market

  • Provide a common set of resources to distribute through education and training programs for local talent to use to find opportunities to connect with employers
  • Help local talent access assessment tools and workshops that help them strengthen their basic hard and soft skills (see Strategy 2.3.4)
  • Train clients to create effective online profiles through websites such as LinkedIn and Indeed and to adopt the best strategies to search for local jobs online
  • Create clear referral pathways between training providers and WFS to maximize all available work search resources upon graduation.

Give your input: Enter comments below (please also note the organization you represent).

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