The New York State future skills exchange website will provide professionals, employers, educators and policymakers with competency-based training and hiring resources.
In March, two nonprofits, Workforce Development Institute (WDI) and Innovate+Educate (I+E), announced a new collaboration to develop Future Skills Exchange, an online resource hub providing workforce professionals, economic developers, employers, educators, policymakers, and the public with a central and trusted source of competency-based training and hiring resources, strategies, reports, case studies, and more.
This effort will build on the already strong relationship between the two organizations as well as their unified vision of making quality resources available that support employer hiring, training, and advancement strategies that focus on the skills and competencies employers across New York State need.
Future Skills Exchange will be available at http://www.FutureSkillsX.org and is expected to launch in June of 2018. The resource will allow professionals to connect to one another, as well as find information about training, assessments, credentials, labor and demand information, and other resources supporting talent development, talent sourcing and promotion, and economic development initiatives across New York State.
“An online resource where people may not only find information but also connect with one another is critical to support New York State workforce and economic development strategies,” explains Lois Johnson, Director of Workforce Strategies at WDI. “As the world of work rapidly evolves, workers, employers, and others need the best, most accurate information to keep New York State’s talent and employers competitive in today’s global economy.”
“We applaud WDI-NY for their innovation in advancing new strategies for opening up access to employment for New York citizens. We believe that a shift to skills and competency-based hiring is imminent, and New York will lead the way in providing resources to assure resources and strategies are available for workforce professionals, educators, training providers, and employers,” said Jamai Blivin, CEO, Innovate+Educate. “Working with partners across New York State, Future Skills Exchange will allow people to find various resources that support competency-based talent management strategies. The resource will leverage the latest technologies to identify, understand, and publish information, with new content added continuously, keeping the resource updated, relevant, and making available the latest innovations and tools.”
About Workforce Development Institute (WDI):
The Workforce Development Institute (WDI) is a statewide nonprofit that works to grow and keep good jobs in NYS. We use a range of tools – including ground level information, workforce expertise, and funding – to facilitate projects that build skills and strengthen employers’ ability to hire and promote workers. Their work often fills gaps not covered by other organizations and is accomplished through partnerships and collaborations with businesses, unions, other non-profits, educational institutions, and government.
About Innovate+Educate:
I+E is a national nonprofit implementing evidence-based, employer-led strategies to drive competency- based training and hiring for in-demand jobs. Their vision is to create multiple pathways to employment, and their focus is on industry-driven solutions to education and employment.
