Page 47 - Innovation Delaware 2021

INNOVATION IN THE COVID AGE
By applying the state’s time-tested strategy Community College handled health care and the
of public-private collaboration, Delaware
stitched together a safety net to provide training in growing employment sectors — such as tech and health care — for workers who lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re dealing with individuals who are experiencing a life-shattering moment,” says Deputy Secretary of Labor Rachel Turney, whose department served as the focal point for the retraining initiative established when Gov. John Carney signed his Executive Order 43 last August, authorizing the use of federal CARES Act funds for new and expanded programming. The initiative, known as Forward Delaware, was formally launched in October.
By the time the governor’s pen inked that order, the Delaware Workforce Development Board (DWDB) was ready to spring into action.
“When it became apparent to us that the economy was going to go upside down, we started having these calls every Thursday morning at zero dark thirty with industry thinkers about what’s next,” says DWDB Executive Director BILL POTTER. “Then we were having calls at night to make decisions on contracts with trainers, and then we would do it all again at 6 a.m. to figure out the next steps. Nobody squawked or whined about it.”
In the end, DWDB recommended focusing training initiatives in five key areas: health care, information technology, hospitality, construction, and transportation and logistics.
“Hospitality and tourism had gotten beaten up pretty bad with the fluctuating capacity limits. IT is another big go-to for us, because technology crosses over with almost every industry at this point,” Potter says. “We try and sculpt the workforce by figuring out what’s needed.”
For each area, the department identified a partner to lead the training efforts. Delaware Technical
Tech Impact nonprofit managed the IT segment. The transportation and logistics and construction segments were divided among Delaware Tech and the three countywide vocational-technical school districts. A partnership between the University of Delaware and the Delaware Restaurant Association
BILL POTTER
handled the hospitality piece. The lead agencies in each sector would assign some of the work to subcontractors. Other partners in the operation included Delaware State University, training specialists like Career Team, the Precisionists and Dawn Career Institute, and niche IT operations
INNOVATION DELAWARE 45
BY LARRY NAGENGAST
DEVELOPING THE POST-COVID WORKFORCE
State government, nonprofits, colleges collaborated on massive retraining effort
MOONLOOP PHOTOGRAPHY