About the Symposium

Who attended? Roster of registered attendees

Who talked and what were their key messages? Program booklet

(Want to hear introductory remarks made by Extension deans and UofM Provost? Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

“Imagine if Minnesota became the state that worked together and did a great job resolving our workforce challenges?

Wouldn’t that create exciting things for our future economy?”

Laura Kalambokidis, Ph.D., State Economist

By now, you’ve heard the statistics that underscore Minnesota's workforce challenge. Baby boomers are retiring. The workforce is shrinking. Immigrants add workers, but there is no clear path to an effective immigration policy. Lack of affordable child care and housing is creating barriers between workers and jobs. There are mismatches between where the jobs are and where the people are; where jobs are and workers with specific skills live. It’s difficult to predict what skills will be needed for the future workforce.

And as workers get to be choosy, we have to ask: Will they choose Minnesota?

Amid these challenges, Minnesotans are working together to solve problems. We see regional and community leaders convening to understand the problem and find solutions. We see employers getting creative as they recruit and think about job training options. Community foundations are funding child care solutions; land use policymakers are figuring out how to make way for new housing. University of Minnesota Extension Educators are actively engaged with community and regional efforts across the state who are asking how they can make their communities attractive enough to attract and retain workers of all kinds.

(Interested in knowing more about community responses? Read more and listen to podcasts about community responses.)

As a major outreach arm for the University of Minnesota, Extension is asking whether U of M research and scholarship can challenge and respond to workforce concerns. We want to bring more valuable research to communities – research that points them in the right direction; that helps them consider problems with a new lens; research that provides helpful data that reveals possibilities.

At the Workforce Research Symposium, Extension will host University faculty and staff for an interdisciplinary discussion that will:

• Share research that reflects the discussions being held in communities, covering the range of issues that communities must address.
• Challenge researchers to think about the real-life application of their research. As a group of scholars and educators, we will discuss each other's research and consider what role research can have in informing local solutions.
• Ask frank questions about the University of Minnesota’s role, including Extension, in helping communities create a local workforce for the future.

Opening Remarks from Extension deans and UofM Provost

Kent Olson, Ph.D., Extension Associate Dean, Center for Community Vitality

Bev Durgen, Ph.D., Dean and Director, UofM Extension

Karen Hanson, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Provost