Yesterday in Duluth, I was honored to be a part of a great gathering of leaders from the Legislature, state agencies, employers, business groups, labor unions, philanthropies, local workforce development areas, educational institutions, community-based organizations and other workforce development stakeholders.

The 2024 Minnesota Workforce Summit brought together more than 300 people from across Minnesota and beyond to learn, share ideas and make connections. Together, we discussed the progress of historic initiatives coming out of the 2023 legislative session, explored ways of collaborating more effectively and learned about trends in employment and demographics that affect us all. Most important, we shared best practices and innovative ways to prepare the state's workforce to meet the needs of Minnesota businesses and to ensure we are working toward a more inclusive economy, in the spirit of One Minnesota.

Our shared goal: to address the ongoing labor force shortage and to prepare more Minnesotans for family-sustaining employment in a rapidly changing economic landscape.

More than 40 thought leaders and practitioners brought great energy and wisdom as they shared their insights and expertise with the audience. Among the speakers were leaders from DEED, the Department of Labor and Industry, the Department of Education, the Office of Higher Education and the State Demographic Center. Panelists also included Surya Iyer, COO of Polar Semiconductor; Whitney Harvey from the Minnesota Chamber Foundation; Bernie Burnham, President of the Minnesota AFL- CIO; Terri Thao of Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies; and President of the Minnesota Senate, Sen. Bobby Joe Champion.

One of our panelists, Dr. Bruce Corrie, Professor of Economics at Concordia University - Saint Paul, shared this thought with me about the day, and I think it sums things up nicely: "The summit is an important moment for leaders in Minnesota to network, collaborate and focus on effective strategies to meet Minnesota's workforce needs especially during this time of major economic and demographic changes."

Also at the summit we announced Surya Iyer from Polar Semiconductor as the new Chair of the Governor's Workforce Development Board (GWDB) and DeLinda Washington from HealthPartners as the GWDB Vice Chair. The GWDB's mission is to develop and recommend workforce development policies to the governor and state Legislature. The GWDB's goal is to create a globally competitive workforce for Minnesota by ensuring that the state's talent, resources and systems are effective.

Other highlights of the day included:

• An advance look at a new workforce dashboard providing details on the need for workers in more than 1,700 federally-funded climate and infrastructure projects around Minnesota in the coming years.
• The new DEED Vocational Rehabilitation Services Disability Inclusive Business Partner Training.
• Information about DEED's Employer Reasonable Accommodation Fund (ERAF).
• Best practices on serving youth, veterans, justice-involved individuals and women in non-traditional employment.
• Available resources to help New Americans access employment or start a new business in Minnesota.
• An executive summary of Minnesota's Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) 2024-2027 State Plan for Workforce Development.
• Workforce Development Month resources posted on CareerForceMN.com, Minnesota's official career exploration and job search resource.
• An invitation for employers to meet their regional team for help with workforce strategy, labor market information, assistance hiring people with disabilities and veterans and much more.
• A newly updated edition of the award-winning Creative Job Search guide to help connect job seekers with the employers who need them.

I am really inspired by yesterday's discussion and look forward to continuing this spirit of collaboration in the coming weeks and months. When we come together, we can strengthen our already outstanding workforce – and build a more equitable economy for all Minnesotans!