2023 Connecticut Workforce Summit: Leveraging Public-Private Solutions

The 2023 Connecticut Workforce Summit features key stakeholders from industry, education, community-based organizations, and the public sector.

Connecticut’s facing a workforce crisis—while the state has 100,000-plus job openings, our labor force, down more than 50,000 people since February 2020, can only fill two-thirds of those positions.

Addressing this crisis, the greatest threat to our economic growth prospects, requires a range of solutions and approaches and broad collaboration between the public and private sectors.

The 2023 Connecticut Workforce Summit features key stakeholders from industry, education, community-based organizations, and the public sector working together to build a skilled and diverse workforce that meets the needs of the state’s economy.

You’ll hear from a range of speakers, including Opportunity@Work founder and CEO Byron Auguste and Jobs for the Future’s Tameshia Bridges Mansfield, as we explore innovative ideas and best practices for real-world, collaborative, and solutions-oriented approaches.

We’ll emphasize partnerships that strengthen, enrich, and expand public-private ecosystems that ensure all individuals, especially those from historically underserved communities, can access the necessary training, education, and support to pursue meaningful, rewarding careers.

And you’ll have the opportunity to engage with other stakeholders as we develop a series of measurable actions and commitments designed to maximize the impact and sustainability of Connecticut’s workforce development pipelines.

AGENDA

8 am | Networking & Breakfast

9 am | Welcome Remarks

• Kelli-Marie Vallieres, Chief Workforce Officer, Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy; Vice Chair, Governor’s Workforce Council
• Chris DiPentima, President & CEO, CBIA

9:15 am | Economic Mobility: Challenges & Opportunities

• Introduction: Mark Argosh, Executive Director, Social Venture Partners Connecticut; Chair, Governor’s Workforce Council
• Byron Auguste, CEO & Co-Founder, Opportunity@Work

10 am | Building a Partnership-Driven Ecosystem

• Moderator: Terrence Cheng, President, Connecticut State Colleges and Universities
• Robert Griffiths, VP, Quality, Pratt & Whitney
• Garrett Sheehan, President & CEO, Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce

11 am | Networking Break

11:15 am | Good Jobs: Innovation & System Transformation

• Tameshia Bridges Mansfield, VP, Workforce Innovation, Jobs for the Future

12 noon | Building a Seamless Workforce Development Ecosystem

12:30 pm | Networking Lunch

1:30 pm | Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access: At Work and in the Community

2:15 pm | Roundtable Discussions

• Introduction: Shannon Marimón, Executive Director, ReadyCT

3:15 pm | 2023 Commitments

3:45 pm | Adjourn