2006-7 Work Plan Goal 5

Develop educational offerings to meet the needs of the high demand industry clusters.
- Action - Utilize OSRHE Strategic Planning and Analysis staff to produce gap analysis studies. Utilize existing resources such as DOC EMSI thru Workforce Investment Board to begin the analysis.
- Action - Utilize Governor’s Economic and Workforce Council cluster analysis and priorities.

Align goals, objectives, direction of workforce and economic development with higher education.
- Action - Coordinate institutional strategies to ensure alignment. Collate the institutional strategies.
- Action - Increase number of students entering postsecondary education programs.

Assist in the implementation a statewide career readiness program.
- Action - Implement ACT WorkKeys as the assessment tool.
- Action - Implement Key Train or similar curriculum for up-skilling.
- Action - Create programs to address soft skills and lifelong learning.

Manage the loss of highly talented citizens (“brain drain”) from the State of Oklahoma who have been supported by education scholarships and grants.
- Action - Develop a retention program (e.g. 3-year commitment contracts or payback scholarship) to retain these citizens in Oklahoma.
- Action - Encourage employers of high demand clusters to create a compensation program equal or competitive with surrounding states for these highly talented citizens.
- Action - Use career assessment to guide students into high demand clusters.

Benchmark best practices in workforce and economic development for implementation in higher education.
- Action - Hold a summit to present of best practices in economic and workforce development across the state of Oklahoma.
- Action – Identify specific conferences and meetings to present or display.