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TPM Case Study: Employers Know Best on Their Hiring Needs

We know there’s a skills gap in North Carolina, but how many jobs are going unfilled? Which industries are struggling the most? Do those numbers vary by region? North Carolina businesses know the answers to some of these questions, and our regional skills surveys like the State of Our Workforce: Western NC are providing insight for others.

But ultimately, it’s questions like these that Talent Pipeline Management was made to answer. The data-based curriculum provides a framework under which employers can convene, identify their specific employment needs and drive partnerships with education providers—all with the goal of solving an individual industry’s most pressing workforce need.

That’s exactly what’s happening in Vermont. After the Vermont Chamber of Commerce identified a workforce shortage of approximately 11,000 workers, they joined with the Vermont Business Roundtable to use the TPM curriculum to build a better talent supply chain for the construction industry. Within months, the operation expanded to include education providers and spread to other industries, including health care.

Interestingly, this is where the TPM curriculum really shines. Too often, workforce initiatives rely on a wide variety of labor market information from a number of different sources to determine the number of unfilled positions and the skills they need. But employers know their needs best – especially when it comes to specific roles and skills.

In Vermont, state labor data estimated that employers would need 3,900 registered nurses over a five-year period. But when employers utilized the TPM framework, they found that they would actually need 1,500 registered nurses and 3,900 nurses in the nursing career pathway as a whole—over two years, not five.

Education providers, hospitals and business organizations are now working together in Vermont to address this need using the next strategies in the TPM curriculum. We’re excited to see how TPM will help North Carolina businesses address their workforce needs and can’t wait for the TPM Academy to get started this fall. Learn more here.