We love all things big, bold and creative. We especially love when big, bold and creative things from the (local) public sector. While much of the time such “plans” rely on perfect world scenarios, represent wishful thinking, or are just pander in PowerPoint, the contents are usually goal-setting and push our thinking in a progressive direction. We enjoyed reading the Pittsburgh 2070 Mobility Vision Plan that was revealed by the city’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI). DOMI presents well-thought out set of guiding principles, metrics of success, policy frameworks and projects to be implemented. We immediately saw DOMI’s presentation as a pretty good, relatively actionable skills development plan for those in the city and regional workforce ecosystem (i.e., everyone). DOMI does us a really great public service by articulating here - in respectable detail and documentation- the policies and projects that are to deliver the Mobility Vision Plan. The 2070 Mobility Vision Plan is an opportunity for bold and proactive thinking about the future of Pittsburgh to identify the connections and policies we need to ensure that, in a growing city, all residents will have the physical mobility they need to reach the economic mobility they seek. Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) 2070 Vision Mobility Plan We were particularly interested in skills that they identified as skills to develop today for jobs and careers of the future. While not a skills and workforce development plan per se, we read it with an eye to decoding the skills that city and county employees, industry, community colleges and community leaders will need to deliver so that workforces are able to implement this Plan - if even only 10% of the Plan - in next few years, over the next decade, and through to 2070. These principles and projects frame the need for developing and deploying new types of skills development to see that all workers and young people are sufficiently skilled and at the ready. The foundation for Pittsburgh’s economic future rests on our workforce being able to adapt quickly to global demands for product or service and innovations - either exporting it or implementing it into our region. And to be clear - there are other cities out there salivating at the chance at attracting these projects and talent away. We hear a lot today about a worker skills gap. A radically different approach to skills development is likely needed if the 2070 Vision Mobility Plan is to be implemented and impact realized. We think Turbine is one of those big, bold and creative techs that does skills development better. We quick launched a Vision Mobility 2070 skills course that we’ll build out as time progresses. We welcome collaborators and have some ideas cooking to use such a course as a internship or pre-apprenticeship framework and to involve a consortium of businesses and organizations. Breaking down the workforce skills needed for Pittsburgh’s mobility future Connecting to the World High-Capacity Transit Connection to the Airport Upgrade and Increase Frequency on Existing Intercity Rail Corridors High-Speed, Intercity Transit Vertical Takeoff and Landing Aircraft Corridors + Terminals National and Regional Urban Intermodal Terminal Connecting to the Region High-Capacity Transit Corridors Complete Regional Trail Network Park-n-Ride Park-n-Bike Highway Reclamation Congestion Management Freight Hubs Freight Villages New and Improved River Crossings The Return of Regional Commuter Rail Connecting Centers High-Frequency Transit Corridors Aerial Rapid Transit + Urban Escalators Completed Bike(+) Network Smart Street Operations Water Transit Network Connecting Within Districts Sidewalk and Pedestrian Infrastructure and Safety High quality Bike(+) Streets Local Circulators and Shuttles Multimodal Mobility Hubs Shared and Managed Parking Restored Public Steps New Pedestrian / Bicycle Connections Highway Transformations Managing the Street Ensuring Complete Streets Complete, Accessible Sidewalks Street Safety for All Climate Resiliency and Street Greening State of Good Repair Activated Streets for People Future-proofing with Smart Lighting, Electrification, and Communications Managing Change Proactive Policy-Making Ensure Innovation is Solving Real Problems Practice Human-Centered Design Standardize Testing, Demonstration and Reporting Embrace Iteration and Incrementalism

Among the best qualities of the people and institutions working in the workforce development space is the willingness to improve. Sure, it’s helpful to be that way when the Department of Labor more or less mandates it (and appropriately so). But nonetheless, the vast majority of the workforce practitioners who I’ve spoken with are generally open to new ideas and methods to improve local delivery, measurement and reporting. I was going through the WIOA Adult Performance Report PY 2019 and two figures that seem very low jumped out at me for the Wagner‐Peyser Performance Report. The New Deal era Wagner-Payser Act established public employment services offices throughout the country to connect job-seekers with employers seeking new hires. I’m curious about the two points found on page 9 of this DOL report: Repeat Business Customers Rate was 36% Employer Penetration at 7.7% Why such low repeat rate for business customers at an already low penetration rate? No doubt a lot going on on the ground that is not reflected in the data but I speculate there is like a breakdown of process and tactics to ‘renew the business’. At some level, employers are not getting a good product for their investment of time and resources to participate in the services. It stirs me to talk with people more to identify Turbine automations for administrative and reporting requirements that can reduce workload and time sink for employers to participate in workforce development programs. I welcome anyone to reach out and chat about it, or offer ideas on features that would make their jobs easier.

It goes without saying that it is important to understand what is happening with a workforce system at the local level and up. Collecting data for each partner helps everyone else do their jobs better. They will be able to make improvements that will benefit job seekers and employers. We’re keyed in on this at Turbine to automate data capture for the local delivery org and employers and aligned with local delivery requirements - from directives to the layouts and formats that reporting are to be submitted in. Here’s a nice embed of Workforce Performance Results from the DOL Employment and Training Administration: Source page

MSSC has selected a list of nine rapidly emerging, data-intensive, “Industry 4.0” technologies that will profoundly influence manufacturing production processes and quality control. These technologies include: 5G Artificial Intelligence (AI) Industrial Internet of Things (IIOT) Additive (3D) Manufacturing Autonomous Robots Augmented Reality Data Analytics Nanomanufacturing Advanced Materials

Turbine adds more scale and flexibility to CCAC’s courses for MSSC Certified Production Technician (CPT) for NCCRS credit and non-credit instruction. Turbine was chosen for its time-saving features and ability to manage both credit and non-credit students in one cohort, rather than need a course exclusive to NCCRS credit students. About MSSC Certifying over 100,000 candidates, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC)®, an industry-led 501(c)3 non-profit, is America’s leader in training and certifying foundational technical competencies for front-line technicians for in-demand, higher wage, higher skill jobs in advanced manufacturing and supply chain logistics. Technicians with MSSC Certifications are qualified for 11.3 million jobs in front-line production, material handling, and distribution. 84% of executives surveyed agree there is a talent shortage in U.S. manufacturing.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced the Community College of Allegheny County (CCAC) is an approved Test Administrator of the agency’s Recreational Unmanned Aircraft Systems Safety Test (TRUST) and certification for recreational drone flyers. CCAC chose Turbine as its preferred technology partner to deliver TRUST and deliver the unique user certificate token. Turbine was able to meet FAA requirements in platform functionality, user experience and accessibility. With Turbine, CCAC delivers a fast and scalable asynchronous course and exam experience with automated certificate creation. CCAC TRUST website Press Release – FAA Announces Approved Administrators for Recreational Drone Pilot Safety Test

Our great relationship with Mt. Lebanon Public Library continues to grow and we’re excited about working with Jeremy and the library on range of creative applications of Turbine Workforce. A white label experience for MLPL patrons will offer custom adult education courses built around library lectures, workshops and programming, and workforce development upskilling instruction. Turbine Workforce will power the library’s Virtual Learning Lab.

We were glad to talk with Julia Mericle with the Pittsburgh Business Times about Turbine, our awesome collaboration with the fantastic folks at CCAC Workforce Development, and where we’re going with the product. Upstream Coding finds new uses for its digital learning management system Pittsburgh-based Upstream Coding, a software development bootcamp, created its Turbine learning management system platform as a way to house curriculum and operate its programming. However, Upstream soon realized a target market for Turbine itself in supporting employee training and upskilling. Upstream started collaborating with the Community College of Allegheny County Workforce program in September and recently established a partnership with the college to run almost all professional development courses through the platform, according to Josh Studl, co-founder of Upstream. Now, Upstream and CCAC plan to launch a “joint tech-centric upskilling and training initiative” in January or February 2021. “We envision it as a regional workforce development and upskilling initiative to deliver job-ready technical programming and web development skills that are in-demand today,” Studl said. “We will be in-demand from the viable employers of the post-pandemic economy, and for the higher-wage jobs where these value-add skills can drive up productivity.” Read More