| The Allied Health Sector Strategy was formally
announced on Friday, June 15th, at the Symposium, "The
Impact of Health Care and the Allied Health Force on North Carolina's
Economy". The Request for Proposal (RFP) to apply
for planning grants for Allied Health Regional Skills Partnerships
was also released, and is attached to this message. The Symposium
was held at the William and Ida Friday Center for Continuing
Education in Chapel Hill, and was sponsored by the Council for
Allied Health in North Carolina, the North Carolina Area Health
Education Centers Program, The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health
Services Research, and the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Below is a message from Roger Shackleford, Executive Director,
of the North Carolina's Department of Commerce Commission on
Workforce Development.
According to The State of the North Carolina Workforce
Report recently issued by the North Carolina Commission
on Workforce Development, “our economy is undergoing a
critical economic transformation. For decades, the state depended
on agriculture and manufacturing industries for its middle-income,
family-sustaining jobs. Increasingly, North Carolinians are
finding those jobs subsumed by an economy that is much more
globally oriented, knowledge-driven, and service-based".
More than 200,000 North Carolinians have seen their jobs vanish
during the past five years, as manufacturers and other employers
have downsized or closed their doors forever. In order to impact
the state’s economic well-being and that of its citizens,
new policy strategies across education, workforce development,
human services and economic development must be created to successfully
transform the state’s economy.
While several of the state’s industry sectors have been
negatively impacted by the transformation to a global economy,
the healthcare sector has not. Data shows that this sector has
been a key driver in the recent economic recovery of the state.
Job growth and worker shortages are particularly pronounced
in the healthcare category of Allied Health. The state’s
initial statewide sector strategy initiative will target the
Allied Health sector, where opportunities abound for addressing
workforce issues in a specific industry sector with a dual purpose
of increasing that sector’s competitiveness while creating
employment and career advancement opportunities for workers.
The NC Department of Commerce, through its Division of Workforce
Development and in coordination with the Governor’s office,
is pleased to announce a planning grant opportunity to support
the foundational development of Regional Skills Partnerships
in the allied health industry sector. The development of Regional
Skills Partnerships will create a structure to encourage, develop
and implement allied health sector strategies that:
- Address the workforce needs of employers,
- Address workers’ needs for formal
career paths to good jobs through skill development and reduction
of barriers to employment,
- Influence regional economic competitiveness
by engaging economic development professionals in addressing
workforce issues; and,
- Encourage systemic change that leads to
long-term benefits for the industry, workers, and community.
Regionally-based partnerships are encouraged to apply for this
funding opportunity. A two-phase process applies as follows:
- A Letter of Intent due by close of business on July 16,
2006, and
- Full applications due by close of business on August 31,
2007.
The full guidelines and application are attached to this email
in PDF format
and can be found at www.nccommerce.com/workforce.
You may also contact Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com. |
