Economic and Workforce Development

High-road economic and workforce development is a high priority at COWS. By high-road economic development, we mean economic growth at the local, regional, and state level that is creates quality jobs, protects the environment, and ensures that taxpayers get their money's worth from public investments. Similarly, workforce development is "high-road" when it meets the needs of both workers and employers – by promoting job training, plant modernization, and other programs that not only help firms remain competitive (by meeting skill shortages, improving productivity, etc.) but also prepare workers for employment that offers higher wages, better benefits, and opportunities to advance into satisfying careers.

To help move these efforts forward, COWS has been a key player in designing and implementing policy experiments in Wisconsin's major metropolitan areas. These include the Milwaukee-based Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) and Jobs With a Future (JWF) of South Central Wisconsin. In addition, COWS spearheaded the Milwaukee Jobs Initiative (1997-2004), which provided training, mentoring, and other services to help low-income, central-city residents connect to family-supporting jobs. Each of these efforts has attracted national attention from public officials and community, business, and labor leaders. With these experiments, COWS and partners are proving that workforce and economic development systems can be aligned and integrated, with better results for workers, firms, communities, and the public sector.

The success of these experiments rests on partnership – among employers, unions, community-based organizations, and public-sector institutions – that are committed to creating strong local and regional economies and high-quality jobs.

COWS has also been active in joint efforts to understand and strengthen our economy regionally and nationwide. We are part of the Advanced Manufacturing Project, a research consortium that investigates how suppliers of large equipment producers can stay competitive and preserve quality manufacturing jobs in the upper Midwest. COWS also co-founded and helps lead the Apollo Alliance, a national campaign of labor, environmental, and civil rights organizations to create jobs through energy efficiency in communities across the country.