2017 North San Joaquin Valley Index
In 2017, the 3rd Annual State of the North San Joaquin Valley (NSJV) conference was held in Modesto, which was also the site of the 2014 NSJV Assessment conference. Attention at this event focused on human capital and workforce skills development in the NSJV with a panel exploring dimensions of the skills and confidence gap in the region. In the first of two conference sessions, the Center for Business and Policy Research’s own, Jeff Michael, presented the 2017 NSJV Index. His presentation highlighted emerging and developing economic issues across the region and included economic and demographic outlooks.
In the second session, experts explored opportunities for the NSJV workforce to meaningfully engage with its neighboring regions. It discussed features of the existing skills and confidence gap and explored how technology companies are leaning in to solve these problems. The session highlighted solutions involving policymakers, businesses and educational institutions working together to create skills-training programs that equip workers to engage in more knowledge-intensive jobs.
