Ellen Scully-Russ

Human resource development and sustainability: beyond sustainable organizations

This conceptual paper draws upon the theory of the risk society to develop three propositions that argue that Human resource development (HRD) and sustainability lie in a mutually co-constructive relationship. While many have critiqued HRD for its scant attention to sustainably, this paper identifies how three models of HRD including strategic HRD, critical HRD, and holistic HRD currently respond to the ideologies that vie to define the sustainability project. It is argued here that if HRD scholars and practitioners are more deliberate in their relationship with sustainability, they will encounter new and powerful conceptual and ethical frameworks to address the long standing tension in the field. As HRD grapples with sustainability they will need to address its own developmental dilemmas, which may give rise to a new HRD; one that is more aligned with the dilemmas of todays complex, global society.

Are Green Jobs Career Pathways a Path to a 21st-Century Workforce Development System?

This article examines policy reports that advocate for new green jobs career pathways to help grow the green economy and create new opportunity structures in the green labor market. The reports are based on a series of propositions about the nature of green jobs and the existence of the political will to invest in new green education programs to support the green economy. The purpose of this article is to introduce educators and practitioners to the policy frameworks and propositions that shape their work to deliver effective green education and certification programs. It offers practical advice on how to understand and influence the basic premises on which green education policies and training resources are based.

The dual promise of green jobs: A qualitative study of federally funded energy training programmes in the USA

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to review the policy literature on green jobs and green jobs training in the USA and to present findings of a qualitative study on the start-up of two Energy Training Partnerships (ETP) funded by the US Department of Labour to train workers for green jobs. Design/methodology/approach – The paper includes a review of the policy literature, document reviews, and interviews with administrators, employers, educators, workforce officials. The literature presumes green jobs training will help create jobs and that these jobs will provide opportunities for the poor. This study examined these propositions within the context of the ETPs. Findings – Stakeholders faced challenges related to a misaligned infrastructure, lack of synchronization in the labour market, and workforce gaps. They responded by coordinating available resources in innovative ways. Though many policy propositions were confirmed, the premise that green jobs are a pathway of poverty was not. Entry requirements we...

Workforce planning and development in times of delivery system transformation

BackgroundAs implementation of the US Affordable Care Act (ACA) advances, many domestic health systems are considering major changes in how the healthcare workforce is organized. The purpose of this study is to explore the dynamic processes and interactions by which workforce planning and development (WFPD) is evolving in this new environment.MethodsInformed by the theory of loosely coupled systems (LCS), we use a case study design to examine how workforce changes are being managed in Kaiser Permanente and Montefiore Health System. We conducted site visits with in-depth interviews with 8 to 10 stakeholders in each organization.ResultsBoth systems demonstrate a concern for the impact of change on their workforce and have made commitments to avoid outsourcing and layoffs. Central workforce planning mechanisms have been replaced with strategies to integrate various stakeholders and units in alignment with strategic growth plans. Features of this new approach include early and continuous engagement of labor in innovation; the development of intermediary sense-making structures to garner resources, facilitate plans, and build consensus; and a whole system perspective, rather than a focus on single professions. We also identify seven principles underlying the WFPD processes in these two cases that can aid in development of a new and more adaptive workforce strategy in healthcare.ConclusionsSince passage of the ACA, healthcare systems are becoming larger and more complex. Insights from these case studies suggest that while organizational history and structure determined different areas of emphasis, our results indicate that large-scale system transformations in healthcare can be managed in ways that enhance the skills and capacities of the workforce. Our findings merit attention, not just by healthcare administrators and union leaders, but by policymakers and scholars interested in making WFPD policies at a state and national level more responsive.

The Dual Promise of Green Jobs: Sustainability and Economic Equity

Since a green economy is emerging, its structure, nature, and scope are malleable, offering an opportunity to improve the nature of work while also improving sustainability. This chapter reports on a case study of two green jobs training programs, one in Vermont and one in Pacific Northwest, to determine their effects on job creation and labor market functioning. The study showed that green jobs can both improve the environment and close the equity gap if policy makers leverage market dynamics and public investments to move green employers to adopt a work system based on high quality and skill standards. Results highlighted the need to bring efforts to scale, respect local conditions and relationships, be responsive to industry and worker needs, and develop new methods to synchronize labor market supply and demand.

Green Jobs: Job Training and Career Pathways

In recent years, the federal government has prioritized the development of green jobs as the future for many American workers. Part of the impetus for this comes from recognizing old job training models are not appropriate for the globalized economy. As manufacturing and other traditional middle-class jobs have dried up in the United States, planners have attempted to identify potential areas of job growth and to develop models for training. In response to mounting pressures to mitigate carbon emissions and to stimulate economic growth and recovery, recent worldwide government investment in the development and dissemination of clean technologies has been unprecedented. Indeed, when the 2007 recession hit, the U.S. government looked to the green economy as a source of innovation, economic growth, and skilled job creation. The current focus on green jobs came about as the United States tried to raise itself out of the recent economic crisis. There was a widespread fear that factory-based jobs would be left out of the recovery as better-educated workers eventually found new positions. Carnevale, Smith, and Strohl (2010) indicated the share of jobs that require a postsecondary credential has risen from 29% in 1973 to 59% in 2008. Thus, the green jobs initiative was part of an effort to integrate advanced job training and job stimulation. Policy makers recognized individual learning alone could not solve the problems of poverty and systemic unemployment. Community- and industry-wide efforts would be required to build new structural opportunities to provide individuals with access to education and work that will place them on a pathway out of poverty. This approach is multipronged. It is aimed first at job training, but it also emphasizes innovation in the workplace and green energy. Green jobs are sometimes portrayed as a wonderful innovation that will change the economy and be the savior for the American worker. A rare confluence of interests created this state of affairs, and it is beyond the scope of this issue to analyze it in-depth. Therefore, in this issue, we hope to start a discussion of the bigger picture through an examination of some of the ways that green jobs training have been implemented. In fact, serious questions can be raised about this search for green jobs. Most importantly, do these jobs exist? What are the skills needed for the current job offerings? What educational reforms are required to prepare adults and youth for emerging jobs? We begin with an analysis of some of the permutations of this process of job training--how it looks and some of the challenges. Then we identify some innovative programs, while critically analyzing this new paradigm of green jobs. Ellen Scully-Russ begins this discussion by presenting the three principal types of models of career pathways that form the basis for much of this thinking about the green jobs legislation and funding. The career pathway model emerged as an innovation in career and technical education. Career pathways systematically link a sequence of education and credentials to the occupational structures in industries. This allows workers to move in and out of education and work through a sequencing of knowledge acquisition and career advancement. Scully-Russ notes that for the model to work, educational reforms must be accompanied by a new opportunity structure in industry to provide workers with access to higher skilled, more secure, and better paying jobs. Her article goes on to lay out the three major types of career pathways models that appear in literature. Then, she notes the actual challenges facing development of a workforce within green industries. Finally, she advances a series of propositions about the reciprocal relationship between the emerging green labor markets and the education and workforce development system. Scully-Russ offers these propositions as the basis for a proposed research agenda on the developmental effects of the career pathways model in education and the labor market. …