Guv looking for businesses willing to 'partner with and invest in' education

Gov. Gary Herbert is hoping to create more ties among companies, state government and education in an effort to better prepare the state’s future workforce.

During the “State of the State” address, the governor announced a program called “Talent Ready Utah” aimed at filling 40,000 new, high-skilled, high-paying jobs in Utah over the next four years. Talent Ready Utah “will recruit hundreds of businesses across Utah to partner with and invest in local education,” he said.

The effort will be led by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) and Herbert’s education advisor, Tami Pyfer, in partnership with the State Board of Education.

Business leaders and organizations have been emphasizing the need for more partnerships to align the workforce needs of Utah’s businesses with opportunities available at Utah’s K-12 and higher education institutions. Among the pressing needs are highly skilled workers in the state’s tech sector.

“We need to be at the top of the nation in student achievement and align our training with marketplace demands,” Herbert said.

In his address, the governor noted that business leaders, parents and educators from across the state were very close to uniting on a 10-year plan for kindergarten through post-high school “that will take education in Utah from where we are — which is pretty darn good — to where we need to go — which is to be at the very top.”

He promised to “continue to do all that I can to push for support of our frontline educators, for appropriate accountable funding and for innovative alignment between our classrooms and our diverse and dynamic marketplace.”

One important element of Talent Ready Utah will be “pathways” programs. The first such program was organized in 2015. The Utah Aerospace Pathways provides high school students with early training, internships and a head start in entering the workforce with aerospace companies in Utah, such as Boeing, Hexcel and Orbital ATK. Follow-on pathways programs have been established for diesel and medical innovations, with a computer science pathways initiative pending.

“The pathways model assures parents that their children will find meaningful employment here in Utah,” Herbert said. “It gives confidence to Utah businesses that they will have a qualified workforce, and it supports our schools by optimizing engagement between business and education.”

Such models are also known as “work-based learning.” The Talent Ready Utah website, talentreadyutah.com, says the program will support businesses as they become involved with education in activities such as job shadows, internships, donations, industry tours and in-classroom presentations. Talent Ready Utah will also promote programs that provide unemployed and underemployed adults greater opportunities to receive training and certification in high-demand occupations, it says.

During the recent “Tech Day on the Hill” at the Utah State Capitol, several tech leaders and legislators showed support for collaboration among industry, government and education. GOED, the Women Tech Council and Silicon Slopes announced a partnership to unite tech workforce development efforts. GOED will partner with Silicon Slopes to form the Governor’s Tech Cooperative, directly involving Herbert and other key stakeholders in discussion, promotion and action around technology workforce needs. The Women Tech Council will help lead Talent Ready Utah initiatives by leveraging and building programs that increase student STEM (science, math, engineering and math) activation and technology career development, and attract and retain C-level and board-level female talent to Utah.

“Silicon Slopes exists to empower Utah’s tech community to learn, connect and serve,” said Clint Betts, executive director of Silicon Slopes. “We believe entrepreneurship is about giving as many chances as you take. We’re excited to continue working with GOED and Women Tech Council to grow Utah’s tech talent base and give every member of our community a chance to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill.”

“Economic growth in Utah and beyond requires successful programs that build the technology talent pool, create a more inclusive tech community and help make our workforce ready for the increasing number of technology jobs,” said Cydni Tetro, president of the Women Tech Council. “This partnership will enable these and other important programs to broaden and expand their impact, and help support a sustainable technology ecosystem to grow the industry, state and economy.”

Val Hale, GOED’s executive director said partnerships with the council and Silicon Slopes “are an investment in the tech industry’s sustainable growth. We are grateful for their support and for our industry partners statewide.”