Strengthening Regional Industry
Worksystems’ goal is to ensure employers can recruit and retain the talent they need to fill quality jobs through the public workforce system.
Supporting Businesses to Boost the Economy
Worksystems delivers customizedinnovativeoptimal solutions to complex workforce challenges.
To address employers’ hiring, training, and retention needs, we deploy various strategies, including outreach and skill development through regional WorkSource centers, community-based career coaching, custom training cohorts, and on-the-job training programs.
We recognize that, just like capital and resources, businesses and individuals cross jurisdictional boundaries in search of talent and opportunity. Through the nationally celebrated Columbia-Willamette Workforce Collaborative (CWWC), Worksystems, Clackamas Workforce Partnership and Workforce Southwest Washington deliver a coordinated regional approach to workforce development. By working together, we achieve prosperity across the Portland Metro region and ensure businesses find the talent they need to grow and thrive.
QUALITY JOBS IN TARGET SECTORS
Worksystems partners with employers to connect workers with quality jobs in high-growth sectors vital to strengthening our regional economy. Target sectors were identified through a rigorous analysis of the regional labor market, considering growth potential, private- and public-sector investment, and national and global trends.
In 2023, businesses in our target sectors accounted for:
of privately owned businesses*
of private employment*
of wages paid by privately owned businesses in Portland Metro*
*Source: Oregon Covered Employment and Wages (QCEW)
Equally important is each sector’s ability to provide Quality Jobs with self-sufficiency wages, accessible hiring practices, and comprehensive benefits
Key Strategies Include:
Key Strategies Include:
By the Numbers
Worksystems has a proven track record of working closely with businesses in target sectors to address skill gaps and worker shortages in critical occupations. We invest these resources in career coaching and training, preparing individuals for in-demand jobs in advanced manufacturing, clean energy, construction, early learning, and healthcare.
From 2014 to 2024, Worksystems has:
secured over
$28 mil
in competitive grants, while also leveraging significant additional resources through the workforce system
formed
10
active industry panels and workforce committees
established
5
innovative communities of practice with local and national experts
completed
6
direct hire customized training programs, and provided countless scholarships for trainings that lead to industry-recognized credentials