Nevada's public workforce development system is comprised of a complex network of service agencies, public and private sector partners, and funding streams. This system interfaces with state and regional employment security, economic development, public education, apprenticeship, and other similar efforts. The Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) serves as the primary provider of workforce training and education as well as the "first responders" to emerging workforce development needs and issues.
NSHE institutions work within their regions to address workforce training and education needs and provide relevant programming in their regions, particularly with respect to in-demand industries and occupations to provide a skilled and diverse workforce that meets employer and economic development needs. These efforts, however, are often hindered by myriad challenges, including systemic barriers, lack of effective employer engagement, funding and resource requirements, or siloed design approaches. While there are numerous challenges, there are also unparalleled opportunities for statewide collaboration, system-level coordination, and improvement of workforce development outcomes.
NSHE has a unique role in exploring these opportunities and has taken steps toward developing a unified statewide framework to align its higher education, workforce development, and economic development efforts. This framework is driven in part by Nevada's 2021 Plan for Recovery and Resilience, developed by the Nevada Governor's Office of Economic Development, which states that "(Nevada's) entire workforce pipeline should be reworked so that workers from hospitality can be fed into public health and other needed fields, with an emphasis on competencies and skills rather than formal credentials." With this as a foundation, NSHE has developed or collaborated in the development of three strategic initiatives that will help develop a comprehensive, statewide workforce development program throughout 2021 and 2022.
NSHE's major strategic initiatives are as follows:
The Workforce & Talent Development Task Force is one of NSHE's seven System-led Initiatives underway for 2021 and 2022. This task force is made up of statewide leaders in economic and workforce development and is working to conduct an inventory of all of NSHE's workforce development programs in order to assess them for gaps and overlaps. This task force will complete a report and recommendations by May of 2022.
The Assembly Bill 450 Committee was established during the 81st Legislative Session. It requires the Chancellor to co-chair a committee on funding, coordination, and other aspects related to the community college workforce development mission. This Committee will benefit directly from the work completed by the Workforce & Talent Development Task Force as well as from its membership. The final report and recommendations of this committee must be submitted to the Governor, the Chair of the Board of Regents, and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau by August 1, 2022.
Finally, recommendations from both the Workforce & Talent Development Task Force and the Assembly Bill 450 Committee will inform NSHE's Strategic Planning Process. This process, which was unveiled at the quarterly meeting of the NSHE Board of Regents in September of 2021, will receive input from statewide stakeholders and will be completed by October of 2022. This plan will allow for alignment among all of NSHE's institutions with the Board of Regents' workforce development goals. These three strategic initiatives account for NSHE's strategic workforce development work. They are in addition to the many workforce development activities carried out by NSHE's eight institutions, which are each regularly engaged with employers, economic development, and workforce development partners to ensure they are meeting local and regional needs. These strategic efforts underway throughout 2021 and 2022 are intended to ensure all of these efforts are integrated, complementary, and comprehensive.