Jobs and Skills
The State of Working Wisconsin 2012
The ninth edition of COWS' biennial report finds too many Wisconsin workers still waiting for an economic recovery strong enough to produce jobs, higher family income, and a growing sense of security. Read the report or executive summary. For the first time this year, we are also offering an online supplement, featuring additional figures and maps.
The high-road for workers implies moving the nation to higher levels of skills (qualified workers) and a greater reward for work (quality jobs). COWS Jobs and Skills agenda, developed over 20 years, focuses consistently on both. Qualified workers require workforce and skill development innovation. Quality jobs rely on a stronger floor of wage standard and work organization. In 2010, national experts ranked COWS among the top fifteen national organizations in workforce development given our contributions on these issues.
Our work often originates in Wisconsin but is consistently directed at a national audience:
- Workforce Development and Skill Formation
COWS helped establish the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP) in the early 1990s and works with business, community, labor and public sector leaders to build stronger systems to develop workers' skills. Our work includes industry partnerships, workforce intermediaries, sector strategies, and union contributions to workforce development systems. With leaders from Wisconsin technical colleges and workforce development, we support innovation to increase the college success of low-wage workers, including career pathways and bridge programs. We also conduct data analyses on a variety of topics from community college student transitions, to the demographics of low-wage workers, to key opportunities for training. Examples include: High Performance Partnerships, Regional Industry Skills Education, Towards College Success for Working Adults, and Madison Area Technical College's Science/Math Bridge.
- Job Quality, Labor Standards, and Industry Structure
COWS has studied the design of jobs and the meaning of the “high road” in key industries – from metalworking to hotels – we know the structure of work, its changes, and the fallout for workers. Some examples of our work in this area include: Confronting the Gloves-Off Economy, Improving Retention of Frontline Caregivers in Dane County, and The Local Child Care Wage Initiative.
- Wisconsin Workers, Economy, Jobs, and State Policy
COWS is a key media resource on the Wisconsin economy, jobs, and working people in it. Wisconsin Job Watch and The State of Working Wisconsin provide essential data on wages, income, and jobs. Examples include: Wisconsin Jobs and Low-Income Working Families and Under Attack: Wisconsin's Middle Class and the Jobs Crisis.
- Greener Jobs
Greener Pathways, Greener Skills, and Greener Reality provide insight on the structure and promise of green jobs. For more on COWS' work in this area, visit Greener Jobs.
