Abt Associates/Workforce Learning Strategies 1 

WORKING DRAFT 

NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT PROMISING PRACTICES SERIES:

ALIGNING NEG STRATEGIES WITH HIGH GROWTH SECTORS AND OCCUPATIONS

PREPARED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR BY:

ABT ASSOCIATES INC.    WORKFORCE LEARNING STRATEGIES

55 WHEELER STREET    5 TENNEY STREET

CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138   CAMBRIDGE, MA 02140

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Abt Associates/Workforce Learning Strategies

ABOUT THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY GRANT PROMISING PRACTICES SERIES 

States and local areas that administer National Emergency Grants (NEGs) have developed a

growing body of expertise in the effective management of these grants.  The National

Emergency Grant Promising Practices Series is a compilation of ten documents whose purpose

is to highlight and share some exemplary approaches that were instrumental in preparing

for, planning, and implementing a NEG.  The intent of disseminating these effective

methodologies on a broad, national level is to facilitate the continuous improvement of NEG

project operations and to promote peer‐to‐peer information‐sharing among practitioners.  

The information presented in the NEG Promising Practices Series was gleaned from a study,

which focused on the in‐depth review of fifteen NEG projects that varied in type, size, and

scope.  Collectively, these projects represent an investment of $282,377,589 made by the

Department of Labor (DOL) that helped states assist dislocated workers obtain

reemployment in the aftermath of a large layoff or disaster‐related event.  The insights

shared by these grantees were synthesized for dissemination, resulting in a set of promising

practices that build upon four broad themes:

Infrastructure and Readiness.  How grantees have organized state and local

delivery systems to ensure effective and efficient use of NEG resources;

Planning and Start‐Up.  How grantees have mobilized key resources and

stakeholders to facilitate effective grant planning and implementation;

Program Design and Implementation.  What specific interventions and services have

been implemented to support the unique reemployment needs of dislocated

workers; and

Institutional Results.  How NEG investments have directly or indirectly resulted

in an enhanced capacity to respond to unexpected economic events.  

Listed below are the ten documents, which comprise the National Emergency Grant Promising

Practices Series.  Each review addresses a specific area of NEG management and has been

written to emphasize the specific planning, design, and operational decisions that

contributed to successful retraining and reemployment strategies.   

Working Across Boundaries in Planning a Regional NEG Response

Expanding NEG Training Capacity Through Partnerships with Community Colleges

Aligning NEG Strategies with High Growth Sectors and Occupations

Peer Support Systems that Strengthen Outreach and Participation

Preparing for the Unexpected in Disaster Grants

Establishing and Managing a Temporary Jobs Program

Implementing Transition Teams to Lead the Dislocation Response

Partnering with Organized Labor to Support Reemployment

Coordinating Resources to Meet the Reemployment Challenge

Using Data Strategically to Align Job Seekers and Occupational Demand
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PREVIEW 

NEG training and reemployment strategies must align with opportunities in growing

industries that have potential for long‐term career paths.  Project operators should seek to

transition workers by matching the existing experience and skills of dislocated workers with

sectoral and occupational growth patterns.  This practice will result in better employment

outcomes for dislocated workers and will enhance NEG planning and implementation by

accomplishing the following:

Infrastructure and Readiness.  Readily tapping existing data sources and policies

that enable the targeting of growth occupations when a major layoff or other

NEG‐triggering event occurs.

Planning and Start‐up.  Quickly designing a program targeted to the needs of both

employers and impacted workers through an understanding of the demand side

requirements of the labor market.

Program Design and Implementation.  Implementing a more customized NEG

intervention allowing workers to transition to new career paths through

retraining and employment services.

Several States’ NEGs have used a variety of effective policies, planning strategies, and

incentives to better align their program response with high growth sectors or occupations

that enhance both current and future job opportunities for dislocated workers.  The specific

NEG strategies featured in this blueprint include:

Identifying training and employment opportunities to best align with the

unpredictable  redevelopment pattern that evolves in the aftermath of a natural

disaster;

Defining training and employment opportunities for highly mobile military

populations (including spouses) who are potentially operating in both regional

and national labor markets;

Developing tiered Individual Training Accounts (ITAs) as an incentive to fund

training in growth sectors; and

Emphasizing career pathways to ensure that workers have employment

opportunities with advancement potential.

Learning from NEG Grantees:  This blueprint discusses how NEG grantees adopted

practices that seek to integrate retraining and services with the demands and growth

patterns of their target labor markets.  Insights are drawn from following States:  
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Mississippi. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, the State of Mississippi dedicated

a portion of its Hurricane Katrina NEG resources to invest in the retraining of

workers for growth industries.  This required identifying and responding to existing

labor demand as well as to possibilities for economic development along the Gulf

Coast.  Using available information from employers and industry experts, the State

identified target industries and then developed training to address occupations

facing labor shortages.  NEG Award Amount:  $95,000,000.

Colorado.  Resources from Colorado’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC)

Implementation NEG were used in Colorado Springs to serve dislocated workers

affected by a shifting array of military investments.  Successful reemployment would

require a set of skills that was potentially in demand in many different labor

markets.  In response, Colorado State workforce staff identified an occupational

cluster—information technology—that was experiencing significant growth across

many sectors of the economy.  Together with a national staffing agency and Pikes

Peak Community College, they developed a credit‐bearing, modularized training

program to provide this target population with a more portable portfolio of skills.  

NEG Award Amount:  $2,000,000.

Colorado.  Arapahoe Douglas Works! (ADW), a Workforce Investment Board (WIB)

near Denver, has adopted a sectoral initiative that awards greater ITA resources to

workers training for high growth industries and under‐saturated occupations.  This

policy was first used in conjunction with the BRAC Implementation NEG in late

2008 when ADW began working with dislocated workers affected by the closing of

the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS).  Now all workforce

development investments made by the WIB fall under the policy providing affected

workers with an incentive to pursue training in the targeted growth sectors.  

Wisconsin.  The Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin has

implemented a policy that requires all trainings offered or funded to be in high

demand occupations that pay a living wage or are on a career pathway that will lead

to higher wages.  Furthermore, the policy only allows for WIA investments to be

made in training that leads to employment in industries experiencing regional

growth.  These priorities were initially established and informally emphasized in

response to a series of dislocations during the first half of the decade.  Over time,

they have emerged as an area‐wide commitment that applies to all WIA and NEG

investments.  

Collectively these grantees provide two broad approaches to how NEGs can support an

emphasis on growth sectors and occupations.  Workforce practitioners in Mississippi and

Colorado (Pikes Peak WIB) developed new training programs to target growing sectors in

response to local dislocation events.  Grantees in Colorado (Arapahoe Douglas WIB) and
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Wisconsin worked within existing policy and program parameters that served to shape their

investments in training strategies for growth industries.

DEVELOPING NEW TRAINING PROGRAMS THAT TARGET GROWTH SECTORS 

AND OCCUPATIONS 

NEG grantees crafting training strategies in Mississippi and Colorado were each faced with

challenging circumstances:

In Mississippi, the devastating nature of Hurricane Katrina generated its own

unique recovery trajectory in which traditional growth patterns and projections

were not in place.

In Colorado, planners had to address the unique demands of a mobile military

population that operated more broadly in a national labor market as well as in

the local or regional labor market.  

Mississippi—Targeting High Growth Sectors in Support of Disaster Recovery:  

Mississippi’s initial focus for the disaster NEG was to meet immediate clean‐up and

humanitarian needs through a temporary jobs program.  Following this effort, State officials

turned their attention to the permanent

job needs of workers dislocated by the

storm.  State officials allocated $10 million

of their NEG resources to an initiative

focusing on retraining in targeted growth

sectors to support the economic recovery

of the six‐county coastal region most

impacted by Hurricane Katrina.  The

program was designed to offer training

that would help workers improve their

long‐term career opportunities through

retraining and advancement.

Growth sectors and opportunities were identified by direct engagement with local

employers on their labor needs.  This included carefully monitoring calls from employers to

the Governor’s office as well as tracking market insights gathered in the field by

representatives at local community colleges and impacted WIBs.  These methods were

necessary because of the unique economic recovery demands facing the State.  More

conventional data sources, such as occupational and business projections, were no longer

reliable in the changed economic reality where emerging opportunities were shaped by the

demands of the recovery.  Ultimately, several target industries were selected that reflected

Key Components of Mississippi’s 

Sectoral Strategy 

 Industry needs assessment 

 Customized training courses 

 Use of local and national 

training providers including 

community colleges 

 Integrated work experience to 

support disaster recovery 
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Abt Associates/Workforce Learning Strategies

the post‐Katrina recovery in the coastal counties.  These included construction, healthcare,

hospitality, and information technology.  

Once the general target industries were identified, State officials held a series of local town

hall meetings, business forums and roundtables, and meetings with local chambers of

commerce to more clearly delineate employer and industry needs.  Insights and

commitments gathered through this process ultimately resulted in the formation of new, or

in the strengthening of existing, employer advisory committees.   

One of the key roles the advisory committees played was to help develop workforce needs

surveys that were to be conducted with employers in each of the target industries.  The

surveys were designed to identify specific workforce needs in each of the target sectors.  

Key findings from these surveys are highlighted in the box on the following page and

provide examples of the concrete nature of the feedback generated.  

Based on the findings of the surveys, customized training interventions were developed to

address the workforce needs of several industry sectors.  Examples from the healthcare and

construction sectors are briefly summarized below:

Healthcare: Expanding and accelerating existing local training programs. Healthcare was the one

sector in which an existing training provider, Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

(MGCCC), was able to adapt its curriculum to meet the region’s post‐Katrina needs.  While

there were existing curricula and courses, MGCCC, with its traditional semester‐based

programming, could not provide enough skilled licensed practical nurses (LPNs) and

surgical technicians to meet the level of demand.  Additionally, the existing traditional,

semester‐based programs did not meet the needs of many dislocated workers anxious to

enter training immediately.  To better meet the pressing demand in this sector, program

planners worked with MGCCC to develop accelerated courses that were offered in the

evenings and on weekends.   

Mississippi’s High Growth Training Strategy 

 
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Construction: Supplementing short‐term

foundational training with customized

courses. Quickly after Katrina, staff

from the Twin Districts WIB located

in the heart of the Gulf Coast region

began to offer short‐term (forty

hours) basic construction skills

training to help dislocated workers

get back into the workforce.  While

some individuals graduated from the

course and were placed in the

industry, the needs assessment

process revealed that the training

being offered did not fully meet the

broader array of competencies

currently needed.  Instead of basic

skills training, demand existed for

more intensive courses in specific

construction skills, including heating,

ventilating, air conditioning (HVAC),

electrical, plumbing, interior/exterior

painting, masonry, and drywall.   

Arranging training for these more

comprehensive skill sets required

reaching outside of the immediate

coastal region for providers.  Eventually, several non‐profit and trade organizations were

selected, and they delivered multiple courses ranging in length from four weeks to three

months.  In addition to more intensive training, providers also offered work experience

through local residential home‐building non‐profit organizations that aided the disaster

recovery.

Colorado—Targeting High Growth Reemployment Opportunities for those Affected by

Shifting Military Investments:  The State of Colorado received a BRAC NEG in anticipation

of the transfer of an Army unit from Fort Hood (Texas) to Fort Carson (Colorado Springs).  

While the actual unit transfer was delayed, the grant resources were used more broadly to

develop innovative approaches to training and employment services for military spouses

and other constituencies affected by the ongoing realignment of military investments.  

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) staff identified the need for

training and certifications that were transportable and would serve a population that is

often relocated and transient.  This presented the unique challenge of identifying a growth

Examples of Identified Industry or 

Employer Needs Gathered Through 

the Workforce Needs Surveys 

Healthcare: 

 25 percent of physicians offices 

having difficulty finding staff 

 Need more clinical sites for nursing 

training 

 Need more flexible, non-semester 

based healthcare trainings 

Hospitality: 

 Need trained employees in the 

culinary and lodging industries, 

particularly cooks and front desk 

personnel 

 Need hospitality employees with “soft 

skills” (e.g., problem solving skills, 

good workplace habits) 

 Desire regional, portable certificatebased hospitality training program 

Construction: 

 Need more skilled tradesmen 
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sector that could be relevant nationally with potential employment opportunities in

multiple labor markets.

Upon receipt of funding, CDLE staff and the local One‐Stop Career Center partnered with a

community college, a national staffing agency, and two military establishments to address

this training challenge.  The partnership decided to focus training resources on the

information technology (IT) field for a variety of reasons:

Employment potential across multiple industries;

Projected national growth potential in many relevant occupations;

Documented opportunities for women, to better target military spouses;

Reliance on industry‐recognized certifications, which maximizes skill portability; and

Opportunity to use flexible training designs and modalities.

Drawing on these key considerations, the BRAC NEG supported the design and

development of the Women in Technology program.  The program was comprised of five

distinct IT certifications (e.g., IT Fundamentals, Network Essentials, IT Security).  If

combined, the five certifications were equal to one year’s worth of work toward an

Associate’s Degree in information technology.

Each of the courses was a week long, and after two to six courses, depending on the content

area, the trainee would earn a certification.  This modularized course structure and the

condensed course schedule were

critical for military spouses who faced

ever‐changing circumstances at home.  

Using a modularized curriculum, a

student could conceivably complete

and receive credit for the courses for

the first two certifications and then

take time off if personal or family

issues arose.  The individual could

then re‐enroll and not lose the credit

for the work that had been completed.

The NEG supported three cycles of the Women in Technology program.  After the third

round of training, the local community college inherited ownership of the curriculum in

order to institutionalize the program and offer it to a broader population.  

  

 

Effective Practices in Adult Education 

Adopted by Colorado’s Women in 

Technology Program 

 A modularized course structure 

 A condensed course schedule 

 Certification-based instruction 

 Curriculum that was accessible for 

the skill level of interested workers
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INNOVATIONS IN EXISTING PROGRAMS THAT TARGET GROWTH SECTORS AND 

OCCUPATIONS 

Grantees in Colorado and Wisconsin have focused NEG resources on workforce investment

strategies that proactively target training on growing occupations and industries.  Their aim

is to increase workers’ capacity to find jobs and

continue in careers long after their initial

placement.  In pursuit of this goal, Arapahoe

Douglas Works! (ADW), a WIB located just

outside of Denver, in Colorado administers a

tiered ITA system that creates incentives for

training in growth sectors.  South Central

Wisconsin Workforce Development Board

prioritizes training resources to occupations where

career pathways exist for low‐skilled workers.

Colorado—High Growth Occupations and Aligned Individual Training Accounts:  ADW

implemented a tiered ITA policy in 2008 to formalize a policy of targeting training

investments to high growth sectors.  ADW’s initiative provides an incentive in the form of

training dollars to those individuals pursuing training in high demand industries as

opposed to those in lower demand industries.   

“High demand” industries are defined locally by WIB staff based on comprehensive

analysis of available local, State, and national data.  This analysis is updated every six

months to help ensure that the list of demand industries is dynamic and reflects actual

business conditions.  Currently, maximum ITA awards are available to support training in

several high demand sectors including healthcare, information technology, finance, and

aerospace.  

In addition to analyzing the industries in demand, ADW’s labor market analyst also

identifies saturated occupations within these industries.  Training for saturated occupations

is generally not funded unless the worker can demonstrate that an employer is planning to

hire the candidate upon completion of training.  

This policy was first used in conjunction with NEG resources in late 2008 when ADW began

enrolling dislocated workers affected by the closing of the Defense Finance and Accounting

Service (DFAS) at the Lowry Campus in Denver.  The population affected by the DFAS

closing can be broadly characterized as highly experienced in financial analysis (average

tenure of over 20 years) but limited in its mobility due to experience with only defense‐

specific software tools.  To maximize their future career opportunities, participants used

“Colorado will invest in 

Sector initiatives in an 

ongoing effort to create a 

talent pipeline that meets 

the needs of Colorado’s 

businesses for a skilled 

workforce and to align 

with DOL’s direction for 

occupational clusters and 

regionalism.” 

– CDLE Directive
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ITA funds to take more generically applicable finance courses offered by local community

colleges.  Because the finance

industry had already been

designated a “high demand

industry,” dislocated workers

were able to access the

maximum amount of ITA

resources to support their

training efforts.  ADW staff

supported the workers by

conducting skill assessments

and providing counseling and

coaching services.

Wisconsin—Prioritizing High Growth Industries and Aligned Career Pathways:  The

Workforce Development Board (WBD) of South Central Wisconsin has developed a policy

that only allows for WIA investments to be made in training that leads to employment in

industries experiencing regional growth.  This policy was implemented in 2006 but has been

in development for many years.  In the late 1990s, the WDB funded a study to develop

methods for establishing career pathways.  These methods were first tested as part of an

NEG awarded to Wisconsin in response to a dislocation at Perry Judd’s Holdings Inc., a

commercial lithographic printer based in Sauk County.  Under this NEG, WDB staff

identified a growing need for entry level healthcare workers and designed a forty‐eight‐

hour “Foundations for Healthcare “ class to help dislocated workers gain basic skills they

would need to transition into these positions.  Since that NEG, the WDB has continued to

emphasize sector‐specific training initiatives for all workers.  The experience from these

initiatives has cumulatively led the WDB to establish its current career pathways training

policy that now applies to all NEGs.

This policy emphasizes that entry‐level positions must lead to more advanced career

opportunities with additional training or experience.  To actively support this policy, WDB

staff have developed and articulated a set of career pathways in a variety of target

industries including:

Advanced Manufacturing;

Healthcare;

Biotechnology;

Utilities;

Agriculture; and

Construction.

Arapahoe Douglas Works! 

Tiered ITA Training Limits 

 

Training Books & 

Supplies 

Demand 

Industries $6,000 $3,000 

Non-Demand 

Industries $4,000 $1,500 

 
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This strategy was designed to increase the reemployment potential of dislocated workers

and to increase their retention rate in the industries in which they were trained.  Prior to the

new policy, a notable proportion of training

participants either dropped out or left their new

field of employment within the first few years

because they were unsatisfied with their career

choice.  This came to light as staff recognized a

trend of former participants reenrolling for

additional services.  Establishing career

pathways and coaching dislocated workers

about the long‐term employment conditions and

opportunities in an industry leads to individuals

being better informed about their training

decision and more likely to be satisfied with the

resulting employment opportunities.

WDB’s career pathways were identified in

conjunction with cross‐industry partners comprised of over 100 employers.  Target

occupations are first identified through industry projections data and then verified with

participating employers.  Employers, staff from WDB, and staff from the technical college

work together to design and customize training curricula that fully align with the career

pathways.  This occupational and training information allows dislocated workers and all

WIA‐eligible individuals to proactively examine the career trajectories and growth potential

before making a personal investment in job training.

  

REEMPLOYMENT THROUGH NEG PROMISING PRACTICES 

Effective implementation of strategies that place emphasis on high growth sectors and

occupations can help to maximize the reemployment success of dislocated workers.  Greater

emphasis on high growth opportunities helps to better target NEG resources to reflect

employers’ current and longer‐term skill development and hiring needs.  This in turn gives

participants the opportunity to make enrollment decisions based on information and

training options that provide enhanced reemployment opportunities and improved longer‐

term career potential.  

Identified Career Pathways in 

Advanced Manufacturing 

 Machinist 

 Electronic Technician 

 Welder 

 Tool and Die Maker 

 Mechanical Engineer 

 CADD Drafting Technician 

 Production Supervisor 

 Computer Technician 
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WORKING DRAFT

PEER CONTACTS 

Colorado 

Kelly Folks, Programs Manager 

Arapahoe/Douglas Works! 

(303) 636-1252 

kfolks@co.arapahoe.co.us

Shauna Kalicki, Workforce System Specialist 

Colorado Department of Labor and Employment 

(303) 318-8835 

shauna.kalicki@state.co.us

Phil Pierce, Career Consultant Director 

Pikes Peak Workforce Center 

(781) 667-3741 

pierce.p@ppwfc.org

Mississippi 

Jeanine Lilly, Director 

Office of Grants Management 

Mississippi Department of Employment Security 

(601) 321-6050 

jlilly@mdes.ms.gov 

Yolanda Boone, NEG Grant Administrator 

Mississippi Department of Employment Security 

(601) 321-6000 

yboone@mdes.ms.gov 

 

Gary Lukens, Deputy Director 

Twin Districts Workforce Investment Board, Hattiesburg 

(601) 545-2137 

glukens@smpdd.com

Wisconsin 

Pat Schramm, Executive Director/CEO 

Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin 

(608) 249-9001 

pschramm@wdbscw.org 

Seth Lentz, Director of Program Development and Operations 

Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin 

(608) 249-9001 

slentz@wdbscw.org