Inclusive cohort
MEET TALENT NEEDS THROUGH INTENTIONAL INCLUSIVE EMPLOYER STRATEGIES
From left : Ramsey County Commissioner Jim McDonough , Ling Becker ( WFS ), Mary Russell ( WIB Cohort Liaison ), Zac Kallas ( SkyWater Search Partners ) and Kurt Rakos ( SkyWater Search Partners ).
By Ling Becker
Director , Ramsey County Workforce Solutions
As our community continues to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and civil unrest from 2020 , there are ample opportunities to build back better . In 2019 , significant workforce shortages created great challenge for employers . At that time , there were massive demographic shifts on our horizon and severe talent shortages impacting our potential for future economic growth .
There were identified geographic misalignments between where talent and opportunities were located and skill misalignments . Ultimately , we simply did not have enough workers to fill all the roles open with Minnesota employers . In addition to an overall insufficient labor pool , we also had a very inefficient labor market , and unjust structures and processes that perpetuate privileges
for some over others . All this was part of our workforce challenge entering the age of the COVID pandemic .
This pandemic has accelerated many of the occupational and skill misalignments that we saw on our horizon , and accelerated labor force exits of our retirement-age population . Women , Black , Indigenous and people of color talent , and those who held jobs most vulnerable to pandemic impacts have exited the workforce in higher rates than other groups .
Today , the talent shortage remains one of our state ’ s most pressing economic challenges . The solutions require new thinking among numerous stakeholders to close the gap . Building a more inclusive workforce by recruiting , training and retaining workers who are left on the sidelines is one of the vital solutions . Employers have a central role to play in these inclusivity solutions .
Practical strategies to being a more inclusive employer include creating metrics for different parts of the employee life cycle to determine if efforts are making an impact . For instance , in recruitment , employers may want to gather information about the demographics of those who apply . This information must be kept separate from the application and reviewed only after the hire is made .
34 Northeast Metro Business