State-Of-Black-Oregon-2015

A JOBS PLAN for Black OregonAs the Oregon private sector moves forward to create a 21stcentury workforce, additional steps are needed to ensure itsdiversity. Even when Black Oregonians meet the education,training and employment requirements for good jobs, we stillencounter an environment that leaves Black workers behind.Oregon businesses should challenge and improve their ownhiring practices, and we must do more to ensure they access atalented pool of diverse workers.1Meet Oregon’s 40-40-20 goal toimprove education outcomes forBlack OregoniansTo meet the needs of the 21st century workforce,Oregon has set the 40-40-20 goal. By 2025,Oregon will work to see that:• 40 percent of adults will have earned abachelor’s degree or higher• 40 percent of adults will have earned anassociate degree or post-secondary credential• 20 percent of adults will have earned at leasta high school diploma, modified high schooldiploma or its equivalentEqual representation of Black youth and adultsin the 40/40/20 vision requires that we firstaddress the educational inequities they face by:• Developing new models for, and resourcingof, secondary completion support for Blackstudents that take into account each student’sindividual barriers and the need for acceleratedindividualized student success approaches• Targeting a goal and strategy to counteractBlack students’ current disproportionatelower achievement levels in the middle “40”educational goal• Expanding apprenticeship opportunities inhigh-wage and high-demand career paths anddeveloping recruitment and employment goalsspecifically targeting Black students as a wayto drive 40/40/20 achievement• Analyzing current outreach, education andtraining efforts in the state’s public schools,4-year colleges and university systems andtheir results for Black Oregonians related toprogram completions, graduations and relatedemployment outcomes2Make Certified Work-ReadyCommunities a real option forBlack OregoniansIn order to attract businesses, our communitiesmust have a diverse, skilled and job-readyworkforce. A new strategy designed to certifythem as “work-ready communities” offersemployers a way to understand the availabilityof skilled workers, while giving job-seekers away to certify their skills.To ensure that all Oregonians can fully benefitfrom the resources being invested in Certified108