National Visibility, Economic Benefit Result of Workforce Pathways

The Central Corridor Anchor Partnership has a demonstrated track record of fostering workforce pathways from communities into local Anchor institutions. The expanding national visibility of this work is accompanied by a growing interest in and attention to the Partnership’s development of a sustainable workforce pathways model through Scrubs Camps, C3 Fellows, and its new Nursing Initiative.

C3 Fellows has created over $600,000 of economic benefit to the Central Corridor

The Partnership’s ambitious workforce development initiatives have created impressive added value and economic benefit to the Central Corridor. To date, the C3 Fellows program has created over $600,000 of economic benefit. Over 225 Central Corridor students have participated in the C3 Fellows program. These students earn nearly $5 more per hour compared to their peers while gaining valuable networking opportunities working and interning part-time with Corridor employers.

 

 

CCAP’s career pathways workforce model mirrors recommended best practices

According to the 2017 Report to the Legislature from the Governor’s Workforce Development Board, chaired by Fairview partner Laura Beeth, Minnesota is facing a labor shortage across an array of industries due to inadequate training, education, and career experience of job applicants. The report notes that as many members of the current working population retire, Minnesota’s industries are left with more openings and fewer applicants, less qualified applicants, and more applicants of color than ever before. The best practices recommended in this report mirror the Partnership’s strategies of intentional investments in alternative career pathways, partnerships with private sector leaders to connect workforce pipelines, linking education and employment through apprenticeship programs, and building a workforce pathway beginning with high school students and continuing through to full time jobs and careers. Educating and diversifying Minnesota’s workforce is key to the state’s economic success.

In the next five years there will be over 6,500 health care job openings in the Twin Cities  

The Partnership’s development of a Nursing Initiative apprenticeship program is an intentional effort to grow its workforce pathway model. It is also a direct response to the 3,250+ four year BSN nursing jobs that will become available in Minneapolis and Saint Paul over the next five years.  This collaborative program supports racially and ethnically diverse RN nurses from the Central Corridor to earn BSN degrees.

Following presentations by Augsburg President Paul Pribbenow and Fairview System Director of Talent Acquisition Laura Beeth at the fall 2016 Anchor Institution Task Force Conference in New York City, the Partnership was invited to submit an article on its workforce and other initiatives to the conference journal. Fairview’s involvement on the national stage, including recognition by the White House for its commitment to hire youth workers and award of a federal grant to fund nursing apprenticeships, has brought additional exposure to the work of the Partnership.

The message is clear: the Partnership’s workforce development focus rides the cutting edge of career pathways programming in the nation, and will only become more important as our Anchor Partners look to hire more members of Minnesota’s increasingly diverse population.

 

 

Live, Work, and be Healthy along the Green Line

Do you work at a Green Line institution? Looking to relocate? Whether you’re renting or buying, living and working close to transit, especially light rail, promises significant benefits for your wallet and health.

Many Twin Cities households spend more on transportation than housing.

Forgoing driving for transit can save one household thousands of dollars annually. The American Public Transportation Association found that the average household without a car saves $9,200 annually. In the Twin Cities, the average cost of living in the suburbs compared to living in the Central Corridor and using the Green Line for transportation is $10,000 greater.

There is a high demand for affordable multi-family housing in the Central Corridor, and Plymouth-based developer Dominium plans to help fulfill that need. During spring 2017, it will begin construction of a $60 million, 216-unit affordable apartment complex located a short walk from the Raymond Avenue Green Line station. The existing Carleton Artist Lofts are located adjacent to the Raymond Avenue station and rented at affordable rates. Both developments are part of the Big Picture Project, a public-private partnership which aims to increase the number of affordable housing units built and maintained along the Green Line.

The financial benefits of living and working along the Green Line are impressive, but the perks don’t end there: choosing transit over driving also has a number of health benefits. Adults who take transit are more likely to achieve daily physical activity goals and are less likely to experience health issues such as obesity, heart disease, and high blood pressure, and enjoy better mental health.

Michael Huber, health consultant at the Center for Prevention of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, notes the strong inverse relationship between obesity and active transportation use. Transit users walk more throughout the day and meet or exceed the daily walking target for heart health of 22 minutes per day, which fewer than half of adults in the United States achieve.

Bassett, D. et al. (2008) Walking, Cycling, and Obesity Rates in Europe, North America, and Australia. Journal of Physical Activity and Health 5: 795-814.Research shows a high inverse correlation between “rates of active transportation”—namely, trips taken on foot, bike, bus, or train—and obesity. In a study tracking health indicators in the United States and Europe from 1994 to 2006, U.S. participants took transit the least—and were the most obese.

There are societal benefits to choosing public transit. Fewer cars on the road correlate to fewer traffic accidents and less air pollution. Making the choice to live and work near the Green Line can save you money, improve your health, and positively impact your overall well-being. 

Image courtesy of Corridors of Opportunity Team

Local Food at Health Care Partners

CCAP health care partners are going local with their food purchasing. From working through food supplier Sodexo to one-on-one procurement with local producers, health care partners are serious about buying local.

 



Three CCAP health care partners are working with Sodexo to purchase food through more local vendors. Sodexo is tracking purchase locality by asking vendors that sell to Sodexo to provide data on purchases within CCAP zip codes. Once this baseline data on purchase locality is available, Sodexo will seek to add more local vendors in different purchasing categories.

 

Other partners are working with individual local vendors to secure food purchases. HealthPartners is now buying from Urban Organics located on the east side of Saint Paul. This year-round supplier of fresh produce is proving a good fit for serving several smaller HealthPartners hospitals. HealthPartners look to supply other locations within its network through Urban Organics, and may also begin purchasing fish from the vendor.

 

HealthEast purchasing staff are in talks with The Good Acre, a non-profit food hub. The supplier is located in the Central Corridor and provides facilities, warehouse space, transportation assistance, cooler and freezer storage space, and wholesale distribution to low-income, immigrant independent farmers.