RURAL DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE KNOWLEDGE BRIEF SPRING 2017

Rural Workforce Development Strategies

INTRODUCTION TO WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT
The Columbia Basin-Boundary region, like many rural regions, is confronted with a growing gap
between the types of skills that workers have obtained and the skills that are required by
employers. A recent survey of employers in the Columbia Basin-Boundary region conducted by
the Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute (RDI) highlights concerns related to key aspects
of workforce development, including training, recruitment, and retention challenges.1
Workforce development is defined as “the co-ordination of public and private sector policies
and programmes that provides individuals with the opportunity for a sustainable livelihood
and helps organizations achieve exemplary goals, consistent with the societal context.”2 It is
focused not only on job training and recruitment, but also long-term retention and career
advancement.3
The types of workforce development strategies used vary between sectors and regions. Some of
these strategies are easily replicable, while others are not. For example, business and training in
the information technology cluster in Silicon Valley has been extensively studied but there has
been limited success in applying these strategies in other parts of the world.4
There is no one formula for a successful workforce development strategy in rural areas, just like
there is no one formula for economic development.5 However, being aware of and
understanding existing strategies can help to guide and inform new strategies. This knowledge
brief provides an overview of challenges in workforce development and strategies that
practitioners can take to reduce the skills and training gap.

CHALLENGES

In recent decades, five interrelated factors have presented challenges to workforce
development2:
• Globalization (e.g., global market connections and competition),
• Technology (e.g., advances in communication technology),
• The new economy (e.g., economic shifts leading to new job classifications and training
needs),
• Political change (e.g., increased openness to foreign and private ownership, and
declining influence of unions), and
• Demographic shifts (e.g., aging baby boomers).
Different demographic groups can experience these challenges differently, which requires
employers and workforce development practitioners to develop strategies that accommodate
the needs of target groups. For example, a study of a program that retrains people laid off due to
automation of work, globalization, or their employer’s declining competitiveness found that it is
more difficult for these individuals to get job offers than it is for other students in the same
program, which indicates that trainees who have been laid off may benefit from customized
services within the program.6 As another example, the RDI has prepared knowledge briefs
identifying the challenges and opportunities to engage youth in workforce development.
Rural employers face additional challenges such as low population size and density, and fewer
customers and skilled workers, while workers face obstacles such as access to childcare,
transportation, and housing.7 Many rural economies are reliant on low wage resource and
manufacturing industries that limit growth in high skilled jobs that attract highly educated
workers.5 The Kootenay Regional Skills Training Plan 2013-2020 summarizes research on labour
market demand in the region, workforce development challenges, and recommends actions for
aligning workforce skills with key economic drivers.

STRATEGIES FOR WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PRACTITIONERS & RESEARCHERS

In general, the most effective workforce development strategies “target higher wage jobs, mix
job readiness and contextualized skill training, provide post employment services and supports,
and provide upgrade training in the context of identified career pathways.”3 However, as noted
above, there is no single successful workforce development strategy, and a strategy should be
tailored to suit the regional context.

To be effective, it is critical that a region’s workforce development strategy is coherent, aligned
with the regional economic development strategy, and strongly supported by stakeholders.5,8,9 It
must also take into account the impacts of policies at different levels of government (e.g.,
national, provincial, and local), changing economic conditions, and the specific needs of each
industry sector within the region.9 As is the case for economic development, workforce
development strategies should include short, medium, and long-term criteria to evaluate their
success.2
RECRUITMENT
Recruitment of new workers can be particularly challenging in rural regions. Rural regions often
face a mismatch between the high skills required by an industry sector and the skills of local
workers.7 This leads to employers recruiting skilled workers from outside the region, which is less
beneficial for local workers and the regional economy.7 In the Kootenays, there is also
competition with other regions for workers (e.g., trades workers), which may require employers
to offer wage increases and other incentives to recruit and retain employees.10
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Attracting skilled workers from outside a
region comes with both benefits and risks for
regions and its businesses and workers. The
in-migration of highly skilled workers into a
rural region, such as the Kootenays, can have
complementary effects on employment of
local people, which is key to building a
regional employment base (e.g., expansion of
production, lowering production costs,
creation of new jobs for local workers).11
However, the in-migration of low skilled
workers may crowd out some local workers.11
A strategy that aims to attract higher skilled
and higher-educated workers benefits lower
skilled and lower-educated local workers.11,12
One reason for this benefit is that higher
income workers are more likely to hire
services provided by lower skilled workers,
including cleaning, maintenance and small
repairs, gardening, shopping, and
babysitting.12

PROVIDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING
FOR WORKERS IN THE TOURISM
AND HOPITALITY INDUSTRIES
Ensuring that affordable housing is available
for workers may be an effective recruitment
and retention strategy for service industries
such as tourism and hospitality.
Stakeholders (e.g., industry, municipalities,
provincial government, unions, etc.) can
collaborate to ensure conveniently located
affordable housing is created for tourism
workers.13,37 For example, Whistler Housing
Authority’s Home Run program matches
business owners with property owners to
provide workforce housing. Unite HERE,
Toronto Community Housing, and the CoOperative Housing Federation of Toronto
partnered to build an affordable housing
building for hospitality workers and
displaced local residents in downtown
Toronto. The building also houses the
Hospitality Workers Training Centre.

On a broad scale, attracting skilled workers
from other regions does not help make the
overall size of the provincial or national talent
pool any larger,8 which can be a problem for rural communities that want to support growth of
industry sectors that must compete with other regions for the same pool of workers. Companies
looking to move or expand may find it too risky to enter a region where the recruitment strategy
is dependent upon attracting skilled workers from outside the region.6 Additionally, such a
strategy does little to set a system in place that learns how to develop, nurture, and sustain
talent locally.8
There is an increasing emphasis on inclusivity (e.g., cultural, generational, gender, and religious
diversity) as a cornerstone of employee recruitment and retention strategies.9,13–16 Recruitment
campaigns should be developed to target a diversity of groups for part-time and full-time work,
including immigrants, Aboriginal people, parents with children at home, people with disabilities,
semi-retired people, and students.9,13,15,16
RETENTION
Creating opportunities for career advancement and training help rural businesses, including small
businesses, retain workers and reduce turnover.7 Workers can be motivated to stay with an
employer that explores opportunities for employees to continue to learn from their jobs.17 The
Education and Training section below discusses this topic further. This section briefly highlights a
few other strategies for employee retention.
To retain and re-attract workers with family related responsibilities (e.g., time and costs
associated with care for children and elderly family members), industry sectors and individual
companies need to foster a supportive environment.18 For example, business and government

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support for affordable childcare services so that employees with children can stay in the
workforce.13,14,18

WORKER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION IN
RURAL WESTERN AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITIES
Western Australia has experienced a boom in the natural
resource sector – mainly mining – and related manufacturing
sectors in many rural communities. The Government of
Western Australia has developed a state-level workforce
development plan, and each region of the state has
subsequently developed a plan. The overarching state-level
strategies to attract and retain workers in the natural
resource and non-resource sectors (e.g., health, community
services, education and scientific services) include:
• working with private and non-profit sectors to
provide an affordable housing strategy aimed at
students, lower income, service, and nongovernmental workers;
• leverage government and private funding to build
regional infrastructure and amenities that
encourage people to live and work in the region;
and,
• providing information and resources to small and
medium companies to support them in workforce
planning and development.9

Retention strategies in the
tourism and hospitality
industries can be applied
elsewhere too. For example,
encouraging an inclusive
workplace (e.g., cultural,
generational, and religious
diversity)13 and gender
balance across occupation
types, including in technical
and managerial leadership
positions.14 Employers should
also be aware of generational
differences (e.g., skill sets,
workplace expectations)
among a workforce and adapt
accordingly.19 This includes
creating opportunities for
mature employees to
continue to work (e.g., parttime/flexible hours, as
mentors and trainers).13

EDUCATION & TRAINING
Post-secondary education is rapidly becoming a necessity for workers. It is increasingly becoming
difficult to find unskilled and lower-skilled jobs that pay a living wage.20 Many rural communities
have also seen a decline in demand for low-skilled workers.21 In British Columbia (BC), over the
last decade the economy has seen a substantial shift towards jobs being filled by people with
post-secondary education, while jobs previously held by workers with high school or less
education are declining.22
To attract high-skills and high paying job growth to rural communities, strategies need to be
developed to raise the educational level of community members and the quality of education
available locally.5,8,23 Industry clusters are almost always located in regions with higher education
levels (i.e., completion of a college or university program).23 Higher levels of education and
training serve as a defense in times of economic instability and facilitates the adoption of new
production methods and services by local businesses.23,24
Secondary school
Whitener & Parker point out that “Efforts to reduce high school dropout rates [in rural areas],
increase high school graduation rates, enhance student preparation for college, and increase
college attendance are all critical to improving local labor quality.”5 Three of the seven school
districts in the Columbia Basin-Boundary region consistently achieve higher than provincial
average high school completion rates, while the others have a more mixed success rate.25
Improving the quality of early education in rural areas also raises the labour market performance
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level of graduates, and can attract new residents and former residents who return to raise
children, find jobs, or for other family reasons.23
Establishing workforce development programs in high schools (e.g., dual high school/college
credit options) that allow students to take specific college-level courses can serve as alternative
pathways to post-secondary education.4 Such programs may appeal to students who would
otherwise dropout or face other barriers to entry in post-secondary schools (e.g., lower grades or
lower-income).4
Post-secondary
It is important to ensure not only that residents have opportunities to enter post-secondary
regardless of their past performance, but also that colleges have a system in place to meet
students at their level and to support them as they progress to completion and job searching.20
This is particularly critical for people in groups (e.g., lower income families) that have historically
been disadvantaged and underserved by the post-secondary education system.20 In addition,
improving the quality of education provided in local colleges and universities can provide large
benefits to a region’s economic growth prospects.5,26
Workforce development oriented programs can be designed to provide tailored training for
specialized industry sectors.8,21 Such training may even be a more successful way to attract
businesses to rural areas than offering them tax reductions because the availability of a welltrained workforce helps company productivity and innovation.5 But, colleges and other educators
in rural communities need to balance tailored training programs with broader content that will
allow workers opportunities for life-long learning (see below) and to adapt to changes in the
economy.21
By developing specialized training, colleges and other educators can negotiate with employers to
hire well-trained new graduates.8 A recent study by The Conference Board of Canada found that
many employers in BC want post-secondary schools to increase work-integrated learning, such as
co-operative education, internships, mentoring, capstone projects, group work, and postsecondary education-based consultancy opportunities.22 Preferences for the specific types of
work-integrated learning programs can vary by industry sector. For example, BC employers in the
tech sector put greater emphasis on co-ops and paid internships than other sectors.22 Some
natural resources sector employers also prefer co-ops, but employers in this sector are more
likely than other sectors to use apprenticeships to train new recruits.22
Colleges and other educators in rural communities are often limited in the programs that they
can offer due to a low density of students.21 Fortunately, through the inter-institution transfer
system in BC, students have the opportunity to attend a local community college for one or two
years before transferring to a university elsewhere in the province to complete a degree or vice
versa. 22 A previous RDI Knowledge Brief on Youth Retention noted that youth leaving a
community can be a good thing – so long as there is thought given to ensuring youth return.
Workplace learning and training
Once people enter the workforce, employers’ decisions to invest in both informal and formal
training and learning can contribute to a better skilled and more competitive workforce.24 In rural
areas, some employers provide on the job training to newly recruited workers who lack the
necessary skills. However, employers should avoid becoming over-dependent solely on this form
of training because over time it may have a negative effect on their company’s
competitiveness.27 For example, a study of small and medium sized manufacturing companies in
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rural northern England found that unless training involves external, specialist input, then it is
“unlikely to result in a significant up-grading of the human resource base.”27
When employers are choosing external training they need to be practical about selecting types of
training that are useful to their business, and avoid sending employees to training simply
because funding (e.g., government grants) is available.28 Before deciding on what types of
training programs to offer, employers should consult with employees about the types of skills
and knowledge that would benefit their development.8,28 In general, employees are unlikely to
buy into training initiatives that they view as threatening or damaging to their interests (e.g.,
training associated with new technology or organizational change that may threaten long-term
job security).28
Multi-skilling
Training a portion of workers to become multi-skilled or cross-trained workers is a workforce
development strategy that can help retain experienced workers29 and minimize staffing
shortages.30,31 Multi-skilled workers are proficient in a main craft/job, and have some training or
proficiency in one or more other crafts/jobs. Multi-skilling has been used in a variety of industry
sectors including retail,31 construction and facility maintenance,29,32 technology manufacturing,33
healthcare,30 and others.
While multi-skilling a portion of workers can have added costs (e.g., training costs, increased
wages), there are many benefits. For instance, when multi-skilled workers form part of a
construction team they reduce construction times, costs, and hiring requirements.29,32 Multiskilled construction workers also have increased opportunities for career advancement and they
are more likely to remain steadily employed within the same region.29
Life-long learning
Policymakers are concerned about the effectiveness of the current adult-learning sector in
Canada at providing the skills and knowledge that adult learners need for future changes in the
global economy.24 There is a growing emphasis on lifelong learning, which requires workers to
upgrade their skills throughout their working life.8 This includes employers and training providers
actively supporting the training needs of older workers.34 In general, this is particularly important
in rural areas because if many of the younger workers migrate to urban areas then the available
pool of workers tends to be older.7 New approaches (e.g., e-learning) to the delivery of education
are increasingly contributing to skills and knowledge development, including essential, technical,
administrative, and managerial skills.24
Graduated training programs allow people to advance their career paths over time.8 This can be
mutually beneficial for employers and employees. When combined with credit programs, noncredit education can be tailored to meet both the immediate skills needs of students and
employers, and the long-term degree interests of students.35 The District 1199C Training &
Upgrading Fund, a health care sector training service in Philadelphia, works with local employers
and other educators to provide graduated training programs that allow employees to advance
their education in a consecutive order (e.g., from entry-level training to Ph.D.) as they advance
into higher level jobs throughout their career.8
COLLABORATION
Companies, educators, community-based agencies, governments, and other stakeholders all
have a role to play in workforce development. It is important for professionals in each of these
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areas to avoid working in silos.2 Instead, they should seek to understand how their individual
work can contribute to a broader collaborative effort in the development of workforce
strategies. A key component of workforce development is bridging individual, organizational, and
societal interests in a mutually beneficial manner.2
Many areas are suited for collaboration in workforce development. For example, when
community colleges in a region (or across the province) work together they are able to share
knowledge and resources, and effectively build their areas of expertise, which in turn can
enhance student learning opportunities, economic development, and innovation.20 Governments
and funders should encourage and reward collaboration among colleges.20 Developing strategies
to stimulate job growth and up-skill workers in industry clusters requires collaboration,
leadership, and coordination among public and private stakeholders.4
Workforce Development Networks
In rural sector clusters where employers have similar needs, taking a collaborative approach to
workforce development enables them to provide training to a larger share of their workforce
while spreading the costs of training over more companies.21 As one study observes, companies
must learn not only to compete, but also to strategically cooperate with one another.36 By
increasing their overall investment in training employers help maintain a region’s
competitiveness, expand the pool of regional talent, and promote a culture of lifelong learning.8
Workforce development networks are partnerships, collaborations, or alliances that typically
involve community-based organizations (e.g., community development corporations), education
and training institutions, employers, and public sector organizations.21,36 The primary objective of
workforce development networks is to provide stronger linkages between the supply- and
demand-sides of the labour market.7 Community-based organizations play a crucial role in
workforce development networks because they are well connected to both workers and
employers, so they are aware of the skills that are needed and that should be sought in a
region.21
Green highlights three ways that workforce development networks influence the functioning of a
rural labour market21:
1. They increase the information available to both workers (e.g., improved information about
the availability of jobs and skill requirements) and employers (e.g., work ethic of potential
hires).
2. They can smooth the transition of young workers’ from school to work by improving
information flow between educational institutions and employers (e.g., creating school-towork and apprenticeship programs). This can prevent young workers from floundering
through multiple jobs in a short time, which is a common problem in rural areas.
3. They can help employers overcome the collective action problem of everyone wanting a
well-educated and trained workforce, but no individual employer wanting to risk investing in
training an employee that they might lose to a competitor. As mentioned above, bringing
employers together to set up training in a collaborative effort reduces the risk and cost to
individual employers.
Services made available through workforce development networks can provide rural workers
with tools to meet their career needs and adapt to changes in the global economy.21
Arrangements such as career ladders, which create paths for career advancement within a local
economy, can also benefit both small and large companies in a rural region.7 Smaller companies
are able to hold on to workers and reduce turnover rates, while larger companies benefit from
increased access to a skilled and well trained workers.7 While employers may only see limited
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short-term benefits from involvement in workforce development networks, over time
collaborative efforts can improve employee retention and recruitment.21
Intermediaries
Workforce intermediaries (WIs) can play a vital role in building partnerships and networks as part
of a region’s workforce development strategy, in an effort to prepare workers for high growth
sectors.3,4,6,8 WIs are more than standard job matching organizations.3 Their aim is to establish
mutually beneficial relationships
WORKFORCE INTERMEDIARIES
between employers, learners (i.e.,
workers), and education and training
Workforce intermediaries perform a variety of
providers.28 Lifelong learning, worker
functions:
advancement, regional
• Serve as entrepreneurial broker of
competitiveness, and environmental
relationships between employers and
sustainability are ideas that often
jobseekers, focusing on outcomes such as
guide their work.3 Many WIs look to
job retention, wage progression, and
improve opportunities for lower-skill,
creating pathways for career advancement3
• Design and implement strategies that help
lower-wage, and recently laid-off
3,4
employers grow, for example, by identifying
workers, including jobseekers who
and addressing training needs3,28
might otherwise be overlooked or
• Deliver training programs and/or coordinate
seen as under qualified.6
with employers, colleges, and other training
The dual customer approach that WIs
providers in creating training programs,
including graduated programs that support
take to training and work placement
lifelong learning and career
support treats both employers and
advancement3,6,8,28
workers (current and prospective) as
• Bring together private and public funding
clients, rather than focusing on one
streams, workforce services, programs, and
6
or the other. They are typically
information sources to better serve the
focused on industry sectors or
needs of jobseekers, workers, and
clusters within a region,3,4 and are
employers3
most effective when they have
• Build networks and partnerships with key
established close and long-term
workforce development stakeholders,
relationships with employers in a
including employers, community
local and sub-regional labour
organizations, community colleges, funders,
market.6,28
and human service providers3,4
• Learn and adapt as market conditions and
There are a wide range of
opportunities change3
organizations that can either serve as
or help set up WIs, including
community organizations, employer associations, labour unions, and community colleges.3 Below
are some examples of WI initiatives in the United States.
BioWork
Community colleges across North Carolina run an innovative non-credit program called BioWork
that was developed and customized in collaboration with biomanufacturing (i.e., biotechnology)
companies to train jobseekers for entry-level technician jobs in pharmaceuticals, chemical
product manufacturing, and biomanufacturing.6 The program is available at 12 community
colleges and targets high school graduates, workers who have lost their jobs in the traditional
manufacturing sector, and workers in lower-wage jobs.6 All eligible applicants are accepted at the
community college of their choice, with enrollees typically choosing the college closest to their
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residence.6 Within sub-regions, individual colleges customized the BioWork curriculum for local
employers, which improved local job prospects for participants.6
Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership
The Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) is a manufacturing sector union-employer
partnership. The WRTP recognized the need to combine its workforce development strategy with
economic development goals.8 Garmise explains that WRTP “first worked with manufacturing
employers to modernize their workplace, then trained incumbent workers to meet higher
standards in redesigned work environments, and finally recruited and trained entry workers from
disadvantaged worker populations.”8 To increase employee retention and lifelong learning, jobs
were restructured and reclassified to enable internal career advancement as employees earn
new training qualifications.8
Union Mission
It should be recognized that for some jobseekers who face multiple social and financial barriers
(e.g., personal/family crisis, addiction, homelessness, etc.), long-term support services are
required, which may be beyond what the training and other services that WIs are able to
provide.3 An example of a WI service that works with such issues is Union Mission in Savannah,
Georgia, which runs a combined mental health counseling and culinary arts training program for
homeless and at-risk clients. The program offers support with housing, addiction, work
placement, and life skills. Through the use of case managers that work with both employees and
their employers, this program has achieved an 80 percent job retention rate.8

CONCLUSION

Workforce development can be challenging in rural regions. To manage these challenges
effectively, stakeholders need to collaborate in designing and implementing workforce
development strategies that are aligned with the region’s economic development plans for the
short, medium, and long-term.
Workforce development networks can improve the functioning of the regional labour market by
increasing linkages between educators, employers, and workers. Intermediaries play a key role in
brokering these relationships.
For industry sectors faced with labour shortages it may be necessary to increase incentives (e.g.,
increase wages, provide affordable housing) in order to attract and retain workers. Emphasis
should also be placed on creating inclusive and diverse workplaces with opportunities.
A growing number of industry sectors are in need of well-trained and educated workers. Thus,
continuously improving the quality of education and training available, working to increase
enrolment, and maintaining high completion rates will be essential for Columbia Basin-Boundary
to be a competitive region. Paths should also be created to enable life-long learning and career
advancement within individual companies and industry sectors.

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The Columbia Basin Rural Development Institute, at Selkirk College, is a regional
research centre with a mandate to support informed decision-making by
Columbia Basin-Boundary communities through the provision of information,
applied research, and related outreach and extension support.
Visit www.cbrdi.ca for more information.
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