Rural Dislocated Worker Action Agenda
Following the Rural Dislocated Worker Summit, the Rural Center convened an advisory committee and three working groups who agreed to pursue a unified, comprehensive agenda to improve North Carolina's response to economic dislocation. The dislocated worker advisory committee consisted of 18 top workforce, economic development and human services leaders in North Carolina. The working groups, which included more than 25 top policy and program staff in those fields, were divided into three areas: program and policy issues; education and retraining; and comprehensive and community-based services.
The working groups held a series of meetings between November 2004 and January 2005. With the working groups' preliminary recommendations as a jumping-off point, the Rural Center conducted four focus groups, two with dislocated workers and two with community representatives. The sessions, held in January 2005 in Wilson and Rockingham counties, provided a reality check for the recommendations and solicited additional ideas from those most affected. The working groups presented their final reports to the advisory committee then shaped 10 recommendations.
The agenda, with 10 specific action steps, was released April 26, 2005, in the report Gaining a Foothold — An Action Agenda to Aid North Carolina's Dislocated Workers. It includes policy recommendations and agency commitments to minimize the impact of job losses and to help dislocated workers build their skills and make the transition to new economy jobs. The action agenda has influenced state and federal policy, made the case for key initiatives and budget priorities, and spurred an ongoing dialogue about improving services for dislocated workers and employers at risk of closing or laying off workers.
The North Carolina Commission on Workforce Development established a Dislocated Worker Task Force to build on the foundation laid by the action agenda. The Rural Center serves as a member of the task force, which was led by staff of the N.C. Department of Commerce. Based on recommendations of the task force , completed in May 2006, the commission plans to implement workforce development and economic development strategies to address and, where possible, prevent worker dislocation in North Carolina.
To learn more about progress on the action agenda, click here.
