Founded in 2024, the Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium is a Next Generation Sector Partnership established by the District of Columbia Department of Employment Services and convened by Buildwithin. This initiative aims to create robust public-private partnerships focused on aligning local talent with market demands, ensuring job readiness across key industries.
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The Consortium primarily addresses workforce challenges in the technology and skilled trades sectors. In a city with abundant talent and numerous job opportunities, this initiative is crucial for channeling skilled labor into high-growth industries.
The Consortium Model
The Capital Workforce Innovation Consortium follows the Next Generation Partnership model that is an evolution of the initial sector partnership model and has proven to be effective across the U.S. in developing effective partnership activities for workforce and economic development. Sector Partnerships allow for building collaborations among employers within the same industry sector, along with other stakeholders like educational institutions and workforce development agencies. A recent paper by Lawrence Katz of Harvard University (Katz et al., 2020) reviewed several rigorous evaluations of effective sector based programs and the following characteristics:
Effective training of workers for high paying jobs and sectors
The transferable and stackable skills generated by the trainings and obtained by the learners
The reductions of employment barriers to highwage sectors for minorities and underserved individuals
This model allows for the Consortium to have systems thinking alignment by being:
- Industry led, driven by a committed group of employer champions
- An organizing vehicle for multiple program partners to respond to industry priorities together
- Local
- Action-oriented with specific outcomes for employers and residents
Activities of the Consortium include:
- Competency Mapping between skills and job functions
- Skills Architecture for local employers
- Talent Matching
- Relevant Training for DC residents
- Future of Work sessions for the public: Parents, counselors, educators, employers
- Training for Community Based Organizations and Training Providers
