Engagement in State Workforce Councils Can Lead to Collaborations

Career Level: Basic-, intermediate-, and advanced-level career services and university relations and recruiting professionals
Competency: Building and managing advisory boards
Fee: $49 (member); $69 (nonmember);

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Summary
The University of Northern Colorado (UNC) has limited resources and needs to think creatively about how to expand their reach. UNC’s employer engagement team has maximized their employer engagement work by actively participating in state-wide and regional workforce sector partnerships which were created by Colorado’s Workforce Development Council. As UNC creates employer engagement strategies for campus communities, the focus typically goes directly to making connections with one specific organization or an alumnus, but there are additional ways to connect to industry that can make a broader positive impact.

Within the state of Colorado, workforce sector partnerships are led by industry, and the education and workforce partners role is to respond to industry needs. Throughout this model, industries across the healthcare and behavioral health region work together to address a gap in the talent pipeline and develop strategies to connect to students and the workforce.

Join this session to discuss the importance of being part of your state’s workforce councils and the value-add this approach can have on students, industry, and education. Presenters will explain the origins of the state-level sector partnership structure and further discuss the creation of the regional Behavioral Health Conference and how industry and education worked together to impact the labor market in their state. They will share the perspective of an industry partner and provide attendees with opportunities to share ways they are currently working with their state and local workforce councils.

Following this program, you will be able to:
- Learn about the employer engagement model, its evolution, and applicable resources;
- Review tips, tools, and examples of industries working together with educational partners through a sustained creation of a regional multi-college and university (two and four year) Behavioral Health Conference focused on exploring career pathways and making connections with regional behavioral health professionals; and
- Discuss the importance of being part of your state’s workforce councils and the value-add this approach can have on students, industry, and education.
Presenters

Crystal Smith, Associate Director, Career Services, [ARCHIVES]
Crystal Smith (she, her, hers) has been a career services professional for 11+ years and currently is the associate director of employer engagement within the Center for Career Readiness at UNC. She enjoys motivating individuals to make informed decisions about career and, in her current role, connects UNC students with employers in meaningful ways. Smith is passionate about helping students and believes that there is nothing better than to see a student you are working with experience their “ah ha” moment, gaining the confidence to set goals and move forward.