Key Features
The 2022 Oregon Talent Summit included a focus on Governor Kate Brown’s Future Ready Oregon package of investments that provides a transformational $200 million investment to foster a diverse, skilled workforce. The package advances opportunities for historically underserved communities, including adult learners, dislocated workers, and youth. Investments emphasize recruitment, retention, and career advancement opportunities, while prioritizing key populations, including people of color, women, people with low incomes, rural communities, veterans, people who are incarcerated or were formerly incarcerated, persons with disabilities, members of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes, older adults and people who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Setting the stage for Future Ready Oregon was keynote speaker William B. Bonvillian who is a Lecturer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Senior Director, for Special Projects, at MIT’s Office of Open Learning, and a Senior Director at MIT’s Initiative for Knowledge, Innovation and Manufacturing. He is currently conducting research projects on workforce education and innovation policy. Bonvillian co-authored Workforce Education, a New Roadmap, with Sanjay E. Sarma. The book was released in 2021 by MIT Press and evaluates new models for workforce education.
The morning program then featured the shapers of Future Ready Oregon 2022 including representatives from the Governor's Office, key legislative leaders, and the co-chairs of the Governor's Racial Justice Council's Workforce Workgroup who were instrumental in the development of this historic investment package. Governor Brown joined virtually in the afternoon to share her insights on the tremendous opportunities in the strategies supported by this funding. In addition, key Oregon and national leaders described best practices related to community and industry engagement. Finally, the afternoon included interactive sessions to learn more about implementation plans.
We thank all participants for joining us to learn more about this extraordinary opportunity to transform the way in which we develop workforce talent through accountable and collaborative leadership from the business community, state agencies and community-based organizations that advances Oregon’s economic competitiveness and provides equitable opportunities for prosperity to a diverse workforce.
For more information, also see the Future Ready Oregon web page here.
Attendees
Oregon’s leaders from business, workforce and talent development, higher education, K-12, community-based organizations providing and supporting workforce development and others that include business CEOs, COOs, state and local workforce and education executive directors and boards, university and community college presidents, government officials.