Understanding the Unserviced Workforce

Today's post is a guest post from Stuart Mease, of Connecting People. Stuart will be leading a FREE webinar for the Economic Development Division on Understanding the Unserviced Workforce on June 25th. Visit https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/209130811 to register for the webinar.

With the start to any new year, resolutions are made and are either kept or broken. Many will make resolutions to find a new job or become employed again. As one starts their job search process, ask yourself which one of the three segments of the workforce fits you – white collar, blue collar, or are you like me, a member of the unserviced workforce? Let’s define each segment.

White collar professional workers are being serviced by private third-party groups (headhunters). Typically their skill sets are in high demand and companies are paying a premium for their services. Professions such as health care, engineering, information technology, accounting, architecture are all in high demand, regardless of region. These workers are coveted because they will most likely drive the regional economy forward.

The blue collar skilled workers are being serviced by public third-party agencies (community colleges, workforce investment boards, employment commissions, etc.). Typically their skill sets are in high demand and companies try to create a pool of candidates to become trained to perform these jobs. Professions such as manufacturing, trades, technicians are all in high demand. These workers are coveted because they can stall the regional economy from moving forward.

The unserviced workforce is caught in the middle. Neither the public nor private sector is serving this group. This segment of the workforce can be characterized as: younger with potential or upside; has some form of higher education; has good skill sets, but not billable skill sets, which are in demand; and are looking for a “professional” job paying a salary between $30-$60k. This is the critical mass of knowledge workers who are underemployed, overeducated and are job hunting.

Members of the unserviced workforce will be forced to do one of these seven things:
1. Acquire new skills through formal education and move up in the workforce ladder
2. Humble themselves and take a job or jobs lower in the workforce ladder
3. Start a business
4. Continue to stay in the unserviced workforce by looking and finding lateral jobs
5. Remain unemployed for an extended amount of time
6. Leave the region for opportunities in others areas
7. Retire, if able

Those who complete their job resolutions in 2010 will pick options 1, 2 or 3. Those who come short will pick options 4 thru 7. Our region and economy need these job seekers to successfully achieve their resolutions. Get out of the unserviced workforce in 2010. For more help getting out of the unserviced workforce, go to http://www.unservicedworkforce.com.

Member Profie: Dr. Terry Holzheimer, FAICP

Our inaugural member profile features, Dr. Terry Holzehimer, FAICP, Director of Arlington Economic Development and former Chair of EDD and current chair of the American Planning Association's Division's Council. Dr. Holzheimer also serves as an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Tech's graduate program in Urban Affairs and Planning where he teaches Urban Economy and Public Policy and Economic Analysis Methods.

To visit the website of Arlington Economic Development click here. To read Dr. Holzheimer's Virginia Tech biography click here.


What attracted you to the field of economic development planning?
I worked my way through college as a draftsman in the Highway Design Section of a public works department while majoring in economics. I was destined to put economics and city building together as a career. I don’t see how the two can be separated.

What do you do in your job? What aspects of your job are the most meaningful and exciting? What aspects of your job do you enjoy the least?
I head an economic development program with a very broad mandate. We do the traditional recruitment/retention/small business activities, but also run the tourism program and we operate as a quasi-redevelopment authority. I love it all! Nothing gets the blood flowing like competition for a major employer; it may be old fashioned, but elephant hunting is alive and well in economic development. Building cities is a passion of our staff, and turning obsolete sites into exciting projects is incredibly rewarding. We are also heavily involved in the planning process where development economics is a fundamental part of our plans. So, there is the instantaneous gratification of winning a deal; the three to five year effort of developing a great project; and the 30 year horizon of good planning – what’s not to like? I am a planner but not a regulator and I tend to see rules and regulations as obstacles. My favorite book is First Break All the Rules. No one will ever think of me as planning director material, I have found my calling.

You are currently Chair of APA’s Division’s Council. What other APA leadership roles have you held in the past, and how have you seen APA grow over the years?
I really became active in APA about 15 years ago, presenting at conferences and doing various tasks for the Economic Development Division. I ran for Chair-elect and lost and then was nominated again two years later and was elected. The leadership track does keep you involved for awhile: two years as Chair-Elect, two years as Chair, and then two years on the Executive Committee as Past Chair. I then served as Vice Chair of the Divisions Council and now Chair. I believe that the Divisions are a great way to build both knowledge and a network in a specialty like economic development. We have worked hard to create opportunities for greater member participation in a way that is relevant and adds value to the membership. This blog is a great example.

In your role as an adjunct faculty member of Virginia Tech’s graduate program in Urban and Regional Planning you play a role in educating future planners. Is there anything you wish was incorporated in planning education that currently is not?
Putting my bias to the fore, I do not think that planners have enough grounding in development economics. I am not sure that planning students also get enough training in basic land use and plans review. There is a tendency to promote topics that are engaging at the expense of the basics. After all, graduates need to be able to get jobs as planners when they leave school. The current recession has had a severe impact on the capacity of state and local governments.

How do you see the economic development planners aiding jurisdictions in riding out the recession? Are there any other current or future challenges that should be of particular importance to economic development planners?
Planners can play an essential role in providing for the economic sustainability of their communities. Good plans beget great communities. Short term actions guided by a long term plan and strategy are the best bet for building a city.

Do you have any after hours hobbies that you want to share?
After my job in economic development, my teaching, and my work with APA, I try to find time for an occasional dinner with my wife and an even more occasional hockey game with my daughter. Go CAPS.

Donald Hunter Economic Development Planning Award

Economic Development Planning pioneer, EDD volunteer and founder of Hunter Interests, Don E. Hunter, died peacefully December 30, 2009, in Annapolis, Md., after losing a valiant battle with a rare form of leukemia. Don was president of Hunter Interests Inc., an award-winning real estate development and consulting firm based in Annapolis, whose clients included local governments, public development organizations and large and small developers. Formerly co-owner of Zuchelli, Hunter & Associates Inc., Don founded Hunter Interests in 1986 and conducted independent consulting assignments nationwide for over 38 years. His firm' s combined experience as developer and economic consultant was unique in business and commanded respect from development companies and financial institutions throughout the country. Active for two decades in several national professional organizations. You can read his full obituary here. 


The Economic Development Division has named our Economic Development Planning Award after Don Hunter to honor him for his long career in economic development planning. Don served as our Chair and was a great friend and colleague to many of us over many years. He will be fondly remembered.

The deadline for award nomination submissions is February 12, 2010. For more information the award visit the Division's website.

One Example of Creative BID Programming

Its no surprise that New York City is home to the largest collection of BIDs in the nation. Nearly $100 million dollars worth of services are generated by the city’s 64 BIDs. While many of these BIDs offer typical services such as trash collection, lighting infrastructure, security and beautification projects, one NYC BID is working hard to go beyond the traditional call of duty. The Alliance for Downtown New York offers creative and cooperative programing aimed to serve local businesses, the local underprivelaged population, and even the New York City police force.

The Alliance, founded in the mid 1990’s, is located in lower Manhattan’s financial center. Situated in Manhattan’s Central Business District, The Alliance takes care to provide amenities fitting to members of the bustling business community. Current initiatives funded by BID assessments include the creation of an internet wireless network, as well as the establishment of commercial hotspots such as Winter Garden and 60 Wall Street. The Alliance boasts: “we have also been working with different levels of government to create a Wireless Redundancy communications network throughout all of Lower Manhattan – a system that will make Lower Manhattan the place to be for business continuity”. The BID also helps businesses aspiring to locate in this commercial epicenter to find appropriate property and to network with property owners. The BID puts potential downtown businesses in touch with local potential funders and with local organizations providing technical business assistance. The Alliance has taken an approach that would behoove all BIDs nationwide; to adapt the projects of the BID, and the spending of the assessment on projects and initiatives in-line with the character of the area. It is important for BIDs to understand the intrinsic character of the area, and thus understand what elements of the area should be built upon. A one-size-fits-all approach to BIDs will not work as well as a tailored, area-specific and creative allocation of assessment funds.

One such creative program of the Alliance is its Private Security Scholarship Program formed in conjunction with City University of New York's Borough of Manhattan Community College. Initiated in 2000, the aim of this scholarship is to allow those serving on the BIDs security team to pursue training, and eventually to become a New York Police Department officer. "'Our Private Security Scholarship Program is a win-win proposition,' says Eric Deutsch,President of the Alliance for Downtown New York". In addition to providing education to those who might not otherwise be able to afford college, this program helps the Downtown Alliance recruit and develop a more skilled and committed workforce and improve the quality of security services it provides throughout Lower Manhattan". BIDs are no strangers to claims of gentrification and of neglecting local low income residents, but this scholarship program speaks to the ability of BIDs to both serve businesses and local residents. The BID is also able to recruit top-notch, dedicated security officers who are looking to take advantage of the program. While this particular BID may have access to financial resources not easily accessible to other areas of the nation, this strategic partnership with the NYPD and local college shows just how innovative BIDs can be, and that creative thinking, as much as dollars can bring about real change.

Calling all Economic Prosperity Elements!

EDD is currently collecting Economic Prosperity Elements from Comprehensive Plans across the nation. EDD would like to form a repository of these plans as a reference for our members. If you would like to submit an Economic Prosperity Element url for EDD please e-mail me at shanaedd (at) gmail (dot) com or provide the url in the comments section following this post.

Economic Prosperity Elements differ from redevelopment or typical economic elements of comprehensive plans. The elements aim to align a jurisdiction's quality of life, growth and economic justice goals with their overall economic conditions and potential.

An excerpt from the City of San Diego's draft economic prosperity element explains the concept's usefulness, in that it "incorporates the relevant values, policy recommendations, and action items from the General Plan Strategic Framework Element and will replace the existing General Plan Industrial, Commercial and Redevelopment Elements. In the past, plans, policies, and municipal operations have separated land use planning and economic development disciplines. Often, the conflicting policies of each have resulted in inefficient efforts to achieve quality of life goals...the Economic Prosperity Element seeks to combine the efforts of each discipline to provide a more comprehensive approach to increasing the standard of living for San Diego residents."

The final City of San Diego General Plan Economic Prosperity Element provides a set of policies for industrial and commercial land uses, regional centers and sub-employment areas, education and workforce development, employment, business development, military installations, tourism, international trade and maritime trade, border relations, redevelopment, economic information monitoring/metrics and strategic planning, that are all based on this integrated vision of the economy with land use planning and a community's overall well-being.

City of San Diego City Planning and Community Investment Staff, recipients of the APA Daniel Burnham Award for a Comprehensive Plan for their work on the General Plan, which includes the Economic Prosperity Element.

Does your jurisdiction have an Economic Prosperity Element? Has your jurisdiction otherwise acted to integrate economic fundamentals with other areas of your comprehensive plans?

Recession Across the Country: Arlington, VA

This is the first in a series of blog posts about the impact of the recession in communities across the country. The current economic recession has had a severe impact on the nation as a whole, and every place has been impacted in some way. However, as economic development planners know, there isn't a single national economy, but rather the national economy that is comprised of a variety of regional economies, that drive the country. The nation's regions have been impacted by the recession to differing degrees, and in different ways. If you would like to spotlight your community in this series of blog posts please contact us.

Arlington, Virginia, located just outside the nation's capital, is a small urban county approximately 26 square miles. It is one of the most densely populated counties in the nation, with a population density of 8,140 persons per square. The county's current population, 210,000, represents a 10 percent increase over its 2000 population. Arlington is known nationally for its young, highly educated workforce, in 2007 approximately 68% of Arlington adults age 25 and older had a bachelor’s degree or higher and 38% had a graduate or professional degree. Arlington is also considered the premier national model for the successful Transit Oriented Development implementation. Given these strengths, it shouldn't be that surprising that Arlington has fared comparatively well during the current recession and past recessions. The following graphs were provided by Arlington Economic Development Regional Economist Isabelle Xu:

Arlington, VA Past Three Recessions

View more presentations from shanaj82.

In October 2009, Business Week magazine named Arlington as the best place in America to ride out a recession.

Arlington's knowledge-based workforce combined with its integrated urban development are what has given the county its competitive edge during economic downturns, according to an internet post by Arlington Economic Development director Terry Holzheimer:

"A strong federal government presence, a more recent diversification of the economic base, and location near the nation’s capital have been invaluable, however, they account for only part of the reason. The primary factor in our success has been to create an urban environment that is attractive to employers, residents and visitors alike. Placemaking in its broadest context is the key to our success. In our case, placemaking has meant incorporating into our planning processes attention to detail relative to a number of factors: density, product diversification, land use mix, transportation options, and a retail strategy. Each of these has supported our vision of high density, mixed use, transit-oriented urban villages."

What is your take? Is placemaking an integral part of economic resiliency? Or has Arlington's position at the center of a dynamic major metro what has primarily given the county its advantages? As reported in the Washington Post, Arlington is actually second in nation, behind nearby exurban Loudoun County, in the presence of individuals 25-34 with incomes over $100,000.

For more information on Arlington visit:

Arlington Economic Development
Arlington Planning Research and Analysis

Excellence in Economic Development Planning Award

Deadline: February 12, 2010

We invite you to submit an application for the annual Excellence in Economic Development Planning award from the APA Economic Development Division (EDD). This is a $1,000 award to a community that shows innovation and success with an economic development plan or project.

The formal presentation will be at the annual APA conference in New Orleans, late afternoon Monday, April 12th at the EDD Business Meeting. The Division will also help with preparing a press release for the winning community and for Planning magazine, and will announce the winner in the News & Views Division newsletter that is sent out to some 1,000 organizations throughout North America. If submitting hard copies, please send three copies of everything for distribution to the committee.

Applications can be submitted by e-mail to the Chair of the Award Committee:

Robert M. Lewis, AICP
Development Strategies, Inc.
10 South Broadway, Suite 1500
St. Louis, MO 63102
314-421-2800 ext 18
blewis@development-strategies.com

There is no formal application form. Please, however, follow these guidelines.

Narrative Description of the Plan or Project

Description (up to 250 words) of the plan or project showing that the project fits the following definitions:

• Economic Development: The creation of new employment and wealth-generating activities through the mobilization of human, financial, physical, and natural resources.
• Economic Development Planning: A series of deliberate activities leading to initiatives that enhance a locality's, state's, or region's economic opportunities and quality of life.

Attachment I: Nominee's Fulfillment of Award Criteria

For each of the following criteria, provide up to a 50 to 100-word description of the project. The entire attachment (all six criteria) should be no more than two pages (500 words).

• Originality: Unique concept or appreciable refinement of existing techniques or procedures.
• Transferability: Potential application to other areas or projects.
• Quality: Excellence of thought, analysis, writing, graphics, and professional character of the presentation.
• Implementation & Results: Effectiveness of work proposals that have been carried out or show the promise of being carried out.
• Comprehensiveness: Submittal demonstrates a thorough and in-depth approach.
• Contribution to Community: Demonstrates application to community needs and desires.

Attachment II (Optional): Supporting Materials

Applicants may provide news clippings, brochures, slides, videos, etc. If items need to be returned, please clearly mark them as such.

For information on past award winners: http://www.planning.org/divisions/economic/awards/