Northwest Arkansas continues to add jobs, but employers need enough people with the right skills and training to fill them. A new study offers a closer look at whether the career programs available to local students align with the jobs the region needs.
The analysis, commissioned by the Walton Family Foundation, examined 49 career and technical education pathways across 16 Northwest Arkansas school districts. It looked at what students are studying and how well those programs connect with the region’s workforce needs.
Seven of the region’s 10 most popular career pathways align with priority sectors, including Health Care, Building & Construction, Advanced Manufacturing, Transportation, Distribution & Logistics, Business & Management and Education & Training. Information Technology cuts across all six sectors.
Several pathways are also showing strong results. Medical Skills and Services emerged as one of the region’s strongest-performing pathways, while Construction Technology and Pre-Engineering stood out for strong completion rates and participation in programs that allow students to earn college credit while still in high school.
The study also shows where the region has work to do.
Some of the fields with strong demand for workers still have relatively few students preparing to enter them. Advanced Manufacturing, Information Technology, Transportation, Distribution & Logistics and Building & Construction all have room to grow. Building & Construction and Transportation, Distribution & Logistics, for example, offer some of the region’s strongest job opportunities but together account for less than 6% of students who complete at least two CTE courses.
Where a student lives can also affect which programs are available. The study found that Building & Construction pathways are not meaningfully accessible to students in the region’s 10 smaller school districts and Advanced Manufacturing is barely present.
Some of these gaps will require regional solutions. Specialized programs can require equipment, instructors and enough students to make them viable. The study identifies shared regional programs as one way to give more students access to opportunities that may be difficult for a single district to provide.
Employers also have an important role.
Schools need current information about the jobs companies are trying to fill and the skills those jobs require. Students need opportunities to learn about careers and understand what different jobs involve. Internships, apprenticeships and other work-based learning experiences can help connect students with employers and give them experience in the workplace.
That need for greater coordination is one reason the Northwest Arkansas Regional Workforce Intermediary was created.
The intermediary is being incubated at the Northwest Arkansas Council with support from the Walton Family Foundation. It will bring employers, educators and community partners together around the region’s workforce needs and help connect education, training and employment opportunities.
Its work will include expanding career-connected and work-based learning opportunities, better aligning education and training with the needs of the regional economy and helping more graduates stay and build careers in Northwest Arkansas. It will also help connect programs and partnerships already operating across the region, identify gaps and coordinate efforts among organizations working on similar challenges.
“Northwest Arkansas has a tremendous opportunity to build a stronger, more connected talent pipeline that reflects both the needs of employers and the aspirations of students,” said David Giesige, founding executive director of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Workforce Intermediary. “This analysis provides valuable insight that can help regional partners align efforts, expand access to high-quality pathways and ensure more students can see a future for themselves in Northwest Arkansas.”
The Walton Family Foundation’s analysis gives the region a better understanding of what is working and where more attention is needed. For employers, the findings also reinforce the importance of being involved in workforce development.
Companies can share information about the jobs and skills they need, provide internships and other work-based learning opportunities and build relationships with educators. Those connections can help students understand the careers available in Northwest Arkansas while helping employers reach potential workers earlier.
With approximately 50,000 job openings projected in the coming years, Northwest Arkansas will need to prepare and retain more people for the opportunities available here. The study provides useful information to help employers, educators and regional partners focus that work.
