WO RK F O R C E DE V E L O P M E N T
Trends Impacting the Modern Workforce How Counties Can Prepare for the Future of Work By Nicole Overley, Senior Manager and Future of Work Leader, Deloitte Consulting and Jazmin Kay, Human Capital Consultant, Deloitte Consulting
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here is currently a ripe opportunity for New York’s county leaders to radically reimagine and prepare their local communities for the Future of Work (FoW). The public sector is at a critical juncture in responding to the continuously evolving nature of work. With large federal relief packages such as the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) approaching close dates, the public sector must shift their energy towards increasing efficiencies, utilizing best practices learned over the course of the past few years to build a more resilient workforce, especially in response to global trends including inflation, concerns around future pandemics, global supply chain issues and relations, sustainability and acting on climate, and more. As the workforce re-emerges from the pandemic, the public sector has also been critical in shaping new investment, leading to new industry growth. Recent legislation in New York and nationally will increase the number of jobs in emerging industries like clean energy and green occupations, supported through New York’s environment and sustainability initiatives.
When asked at the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) Legislative Conference, county leaders and stakeholders shared what they identify as the top challenge facing their workforce, with attracting new diverse talent leading in a competitive economy as their top concern (52%), followed by civil service and residency requirements and retiring and aging workforce population (each at 15%), growing skilling/ re-skilling needs (9%), transition to remote work and evolving technologies (7%), with the remainder listing something else. Similarly, when asked if the ability to offer remote work was a factor in recruiting and retaining top talent, 71% of attendes at the conference responded that it was an active challenge for them.
Counties have an opportunity to position themselves for these new economic development opportunities and lead workforce strategies to attract and train new talent to support growing industries, such as piloting new training and development programs focused on meeting the demand for green jobs creation. True economic recovery will require local governments to partner with higher education institutions and community groups to support their communities in developing more opportunities to upskill their workforce. Of the ten largest occupations statewide in New York, accounting for 6.5 million jobs, only one occupation requires a high school diploma/equivalency or less. Across the State, approximately 38.2% (5.22 million) New Yorkers 25 years or older have a high school diploma/equivalency or less and 796,000 never even entered the 9th grade.
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NYSAC News | Fall 2022
Understanding these challenges, the Future of Work allows us to proactively provide County and State leaders with frameworks to introduce new workforce strategies. Despite the uniqueness of county workforces in New York— civil service exams, residency requirements, regional economic development considerations—there are still concrete actions counties can undertake to prepare and modernize their workforces while also prioritizing employee well-being and talent experience.
