Phoenix College Workforce Development has been established to support the Philosophy and Guiding Principles of the District Workforce Development department of Maricopa Community Colleges. These Philosophies and Principles were developed to support the implementation of Proposition 301.

The Workforce Training component at Phoenix College will work with your company or organization to provide links within the community, grant writing facilitation and application support for state and funding opportunities.

PROPOSITION 301
Workforce Development Philosophy

The Maricopa Community Colleges are committed to the workforce development and job training needs of its many constituents. We exist in a dynamic New Global Economy where workforce demands of the public and private sector evolve and change at a rapid pace. The Maricopa Community Colleges are committed to the workforce development, because job pace and shifts in workforce demographics present enormous challenges. We must align our strategies to ensure partnership development, resource leveraging and tailored workforce development and training.

PROPOSITION 301
Guiding Principles

The Maricopa Community Colleges programs and services will:

• Respond to the importance of portability of skills in the ever-changing New Economy.
• Develop partnerships and leverage resources with their local communities to respond to their workforce development and training needs.
• Respond to the changing dynamics of our global world and support the workforce development and training needs of their employer community.
• Deliver workforce development and training services with flexible delivery and rapid responses that meet the needs of the employer community.
• Give priority to collaborative regional strategies for workforce and economic development.
• Incorporate the recommendations and needs as defined by the GSPED Industry Clusters, the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy, and the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education.
• Recognize the importance of responding to unique workforce needs, such as health care and teacher education.
• Use national industry standards, where applicable, to respond to various industries and their need for programs and curriculum.

PROPOSITION 301
Key Terms and Definitions

Portability of Skills
Definition: The student or employee’s ability to transfer learning and/or skill development from one job to another across like occupational areas.

Leveraging Resources
Definition: The ability of both the private and/or public sector to maximize available capital, financial, and human resources through joint partnerships and collaboration.

New Global Economy Skills
Definition: The term is a shorthand way of saying our economic structure is undergoing such fundamental change that we are entering an entirely new era of economic relationships and economic growth. The key characteristics defining the new economy are: Technology is a given; Globalism is here to stay; Knowledge builds wealth; People are the most important raw material; There is no smooth ride; Competition is relentless; Alliances are the way to get things done; and Place still matters.

Partnership Development
Definition: “The most fundamental shift in business thinking is the shift away from self-reliance toward a new model that places more value on alliances. No alliance is permanent. The best matches are fluid and elastic, changing as new opportunities and pressures arise. The secret is not just to align once but to do so over and over again to gain competitive advantage.”
(The New Economy: A Guide for Arizona by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy)

Flexible Deliver and Rapid Response
Definition: In the new economy, time is the most important variable – it is what drives everything else. The business world’s notion of “just in time” is giving way to the “zero time” concept, meaning that when something needs to happen, it happens immediately. In the new economy, changes must happen quickly if they are to be relevant, useful, and powerful.

Collaborative Regional Strategies
Definition: APNE (AZ. Partnership for the New Economy) found that each geographic area within Arizona has a unique set of resources and specific goals for its future economic development. APNE recommended that people, businesses, and government build a framework, and given particular circumstances, each region can work in partnership to develop its own plan of action.

State/Regional/National Recommendations
Definition: A number of recommendations have come out this past year from groups such as the Arizona Partnership for the New Economy (APNE), the recommendations from the Governor’s Strategic Partnership for Economic Development (GSPED) and the Industry Clusters, the Morrison Institute for Public Policy report entitled “Arizona Policy Choices – The New Economy: A Guide for Arizona”, the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education, and others. For copies of the reports contact MCCD’s office of Business and Workforce Development. (480.731.8203 or mary.vanis@domail.maricopa.edu)

Unique Workforce Needs
Definition: This guiding principle focuses on those workforce needs specific to the Greater Phoenix area including health care and teacher preparation. These unique needs were not included in the GSPED Industry Clusters but are critical to the economic development issues in the area.

National Industry Standards
Definition: This criterion refers to national standards such as the NIMS (National Industry Manufacturing Standards) Microsoft, Cisco, Dell, and other technology related standards in the industry, health care accreditation standards, etc.