Filling the gap: New Partner4Work CEO starts to develop strategy

By Patty Tascarella  – Senior Reporter, Pittsburgh Business Times

 Foxconn Technology Group’s name might not ring a bell, but odds are that its best-known product is in your pocket. Foxconn manufactures iPhone screens.

Last year, after being courted by several U.S. cities, Foxconn chose the Milwaukee area as the site for a $10 billion factory, expected to create 13,000 jobs, and North American headquarters, which will employ 500.

Accommodating its hefty staffing needs and those of Milwaukee’s other employers, some of which are relocating or beefing up to serve Foxconn, falls in part to Employ Milwaukee, which leads the public workforce system for a portion of Milwaukee County.

Earl Buford, president and CEO of Employ Milwaukee for four years, was a key player in helping to address this challenge in Milwaukee. Now, he’s bringing what he learned from that experience to Pittsburgh in his new role as CEO of Partner4Work, a workforce development organization.

“Workforce boards cannot succeed without a network of partners,” he said. “We need a blended strategy to accomplish everything we’re trying to do. It’s hard to do it alone.”

Let the convening begin, as Buford gets to know the community. With a looming workforce gap, Buford’s task seems daunting. On the other hand, he has almost 20 years of experience in bringing corporate, philanthropic, educational and other community stakeholders to the table. In this interview, he talked about what he’s learned and what’s ahead.

What are your early impressions of Pittsburgh?

Everyone is really friendly, which is what I’m used to, and that’s a good impression. Such a simple thing, but it stands out, how nice and genuinely warm the people are. It gives me confidence that we can get work done here. I feel so much at home.

What attracted you to joining Partner4Work?

Two things stood out. First, how you’ve reinvented yourself from a traditional rust-belt city. I hate to use that term, but it shows how you’ve changed. And there are all the resources — the corporate sector, philanthropists, industry moving here and the potential for more industry moving here, strong education systems and the size of the city.

What are your early priorities?

Celebrating the good work that’s happening here already. I want to thank (former Partner4Work CEO) Stefani Pashman for taking this from a small workforce board to a nationally known one. It’s not a reclamation project; it’s here. My job is to grow the good things and enhance them and help the region understand what workforce boards are. There are a variety of ideas (people) think workforce boards should do, but educating the community is a priority. As a funder, we’re a pretty major steward of public dollars; we’re set up by federal legislation and we’re a convener. 

That said, a stronger business engagement model is a focus, not as much on job development as convening with and strategizing with economic development agencies and employers, counseling them and making sure our funding is linked to that. It’s supply and demand. A lot of good work is happening on the ground, so how do we help those agencies gain capacity? Job training is one thing, but how do they focus on their mission? The goal of workforce boards is to be responsible to economic development and to scale whatever that means in the community. You can’t do that unless everyone comes together in a meaningful way. We have to define what growth means.

I want to be part of the larger strategy, what the universities and community colleges, what the employers are doing. So it’s making sure this board is positioned to be part of that ecosystem of growth. It doesn’t differ (from Pashman’s tenure) but it’s different because I have different experiences.

What are your best takeaways from Milwaukee?

I was tapped at a very early age for a management role, and I had a chance to try different things. Some worked. Some didn’t. If they don’t work, that’s OK, we have to try. My experience was about growth, stability, and enhancement wrapped together. There’s no magic potion. We get tripped up thinking there is. It’s simple, hard work based on the simple notion of how supply responds to demand and doing what we have to to make that happen and having the right people in the room. Pretty simple.

What’s the biggest challenge here?

Making sure there are enough workers. The Allegheny Conference (on Community Development) said the region could be short 80,000 workers by 2025. It’s how do we get enough workers into the labor market. I don’t mean picking a man from a street corner to be an apprentice. That’s a misconception. Every job is a step in their evolution to whatever career or profession they want. I’m still educating myself on each community. Pittsburgh is a city of communities, and I keep hearing how each is different.

Did anything surprise you?

How robust the education system is, particularly at the post-secondary level. I’d heard of CMU, Pitt, Duquesne and other universities, but I didn’t realize how large a part of the community they are, and that’s a great thing. I don’t have a handle on how the neighborhoods work; we’re doing a lot of work in Hazelwood, and I want to see how those pieces work and are independent but can work collectively.

Anything you’d like to say to the local business community?

As we build this whole strategy and hope to develop councils with industry leaders, it’s really about acting as an advisor so we know how to invest in the right training programs that will be beneficial to them. I need their help in developing this system to better support them.

What else have you’ve noticed about Pittsburgh?

I’m happy to be part of it. The food is good, and you’re a sports town also. I do have one favor to ask. I’m adopting the Penguins, the Steelers were always my favorite AFC (team) but since you don’t have an NBA team, I’d like to have the City of Pittsburgh adopt the Milwaukee Bucks.

Timeline:

Jobs and highlights of Buford’s career:

January 1999: 

Appointed president and CEO, Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership/Big-Step

2008: 

WRTP among a handful of agencies showcased in game-changing sectoral employment impact study, “Job Training That Works”

2011: 

Created with 40 regional manufacturing and labor partners the Industrial Manufacturing Technician Apprenticeship

July 2014: 

Named president and CEO, Employ Milwaukee

2014: 

Created an industry advisory board across seven sectors to better allocate resources and direct job seekers

2015: 

Helped to found Midwest Urban Strategies Consortium, a first-of-its-kind initiative focused on urban workforces that raised $15M to do collaborations and engagements

June 2018: 

Became CEO of Partner4Work in Pittsburgh

August 2018: 

Launches transition committee to help develop a strategic plan of action