Author: Maggie Smith
The Labor & Economic Analysis Division (LEAD) is proud to announce participation in the LMI Data User Insights Academy. North Carolina, alongside Florida, Iowa, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas, was selected from a substantial number of applicants to participate. Organized by the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) and supported by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA), this nine-month initiative through March 2025 is designed to bring LMI state organizations together with data users to collaboratively improve awareness, access, and utilization of LMI data.
The North Carolina team is composed of LEAD staff and external experts. There is a “Core Team” that is responsible for driving the strategies and attending multi-state meetings. The Core group includes Wendy Johnson (NCWorks Commission) and Fred Henry (GuilfordWorks), as well as Jeff DeBellis and Chi Wong from LEAD. In addition, we have a “Home Team,” representing diverse perspectives from workforce development, economic development, education, business services, and public policy organizations. This group currently includes:
Kevin Loux (Charlotte Works)
Philip Prescott (Eastern Carolina Workforce Development Board (WDB))
Heidi Reiber (Asheville Chamber of Commerce)
Pat Cronin (NC State’s Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI))
Tarik Woods (NC State’s Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI))
Jenni Harris (NC Department of Commerce – Division of Workforce Solutions (DWS))
Freeman Denton (NC Department of Commerce – DWS)
Emily Smail (NC Community College System)
Alyssa Brown-Moseley (Economic Development Partnership of NC (EDPNC))
Maggie Smith (NC Department of Commerce – LEAD)
Jonathan Guarine (NC Department of Commerce – LEAD)
Together, our overall goal is to empower North Carolina’s workforce professionals to be the best in the country at proactively solving labor market challenges. We hope to accomplish this by achieving the following four goals:
Understand the Needs of Our Data Users
We must first deepen our understanding of the challenges and goals of LMI data users statewide. This is essential for tailoring services and resources to meet the needs of data users. As part of our commitment to this goal, LEAD will soon conduct a survey of LMI data users in North Carolina.
Improve LMI Data Education
A core component of our participation involves developing strategies to better educate our stakeholders about the availability and application of LMI data. We aim to enhance our training programs and outreach efforts to ensure that our data users are well-equipped to understand and leverage LMI data for decision-making.
Increase Research Partnership Opportunities
By improving efficiency in meeting the data needs of our customers, LEAD staff can be more available to our stakeholders for partnership on data projects. Through the academy, we will explore new avenues for collaboration, with the goal of shifting focus from data retrieval to more active engagement in joint products and collaborative problem-solving with partners.
Maintain Continuous Feedback
We aim to establish a formal feedback system to maintain continuous dialogue and build a robust LMI ecosystem. We will implement ways to gather and incorporate data user feedback regularly, to ensure data products and services are relevant, accessible, and user centered.
Conclusion
The goal of the LMI Data User Insights Academy is to build stronger relationships between LMI centers and data users to enhance the accessibility and utility of labor market information. We look forward to engaging with our stakeholders through this program and are excited about the improvements and innovations that will emerge from this collaboration.
To kickstart this initiative, LEAD will be distributing a survey to gather initial feedback from LMI data users. Your participation in the upcoming survey will be valuable in helping shape our strategies moving forward. Stay tuned for updates on our progress and insights gained from the academy.