As part of the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families’ Kresge Foundation-funded work, the National League of Cities (NLC) has teamed up with LinkedIn to provide six cities data support in their efforts to increase postsecondary and workforce success in their communities.

The partnership gives the cities — Austin, Texas; Charleston, South Carolina; Corpus Christi, Texas; Houston, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; and Nashville, Tennessee — access to LinkedIn data and resources such as the LinkedIn Workforce Report. These insights include whether hiring in the city is up or down, which skills workers have and employers need most (and the gap between the two), and how many people are moving in and out of cities (and what their skills are).

”Cities will be able to look at the broader landscape of employers, higher education institutions, jobs and local skill sets, and connect these data points to better understand the trends showing how individual residents are connecting to education and gaining meaningful employment. We define skills gaps as the mismatch between the skills workers have and the skills employers need. Skills gaps are local, and specific to individual cities. When cities know which skills are in local demand, they can create workforce development programs that are responsive to the needs of both workers and employers, and ultimately boost employment and productivity,” said Nicole Isaac, LinkedIn’s head of U.S. policy. “We are excited to be able to share these types of insights with our partner cities.”

NLC believes its partnership with LinkedIn and the structure of the city teams participating in the technical assistance cohort will help local stakeholders, including city governments, to come together to find meaningful and sustainable solutions for their communities.

“Over and over again, we stress to our cities the importance of using data to develop and strengthen policy, as well as the need for critical partnerships with local stakeholders,” said National League of Cities CEO and Executive Director Clarence E. Anthony. “Our partnership with LinkedIn in this Kresge-funded work epitomizes this approach. City leaders working with teams that include higher education and Chamber of Commerce partners, as well as NLC and LinkedIn experts, will be able to use local data to craft programs that ensure their residents have equitable access to postsecondary education and workforce success.”

To participate in this NLC technical assistance cohort, city teams are required to include representatives from local institutions of higher education and the local chamber of commerce. In understanding the role of cities as economic engines, mayors and their partners will work together to ensure pathways exist for all citizens to earn both education and employment, with the ultimate goal of building vibrant local economies.

“The partnership with the NLC comes at a great time — really, an ideal time — to connect the dots on what we’re already doing around the city,” said Gilda Ramirez, vice president of small business and education for the United Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce. “We have such a wonderful economic forecast, so we’re setting out our career pathways and preparing our workforce.”

These civic leaders from government, business and higher education know that a college-educated community brings both personal and citywide benefits. On average, an individual who earns a four-year degree contributes $278,000 more over their lifetime to a local economy than a high school graduate, and an associate’s degree earner contributes $81,000 more, according to the Brookings Institution and an analysis of U.S. Census data. NLC is well positioned to create pathways to opportunity, working alongside local government, chambers of commerce and higher education to increase postsecondary and workforce success, and through this partnership with LinkedIn looks to find scalable solutions for cities beyond the six taking part in the technical assistance cohort.

Learn more about NLC’s work in this arena and get the latest updates here.

Featured image from Getty Images.

About the author : Dana D’Orazio is the program manager for postsecondary education at the NLC Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

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