A Work in Progress

Opportunities for Delaware’s workforce development and economic recovery

BY BRUCE W. WEBER

DELAWARE’S SUSTAINED post-pandemic economic recovery is heading in the right direction with a high rate of vaccinations, falling COVID-19 cases, stabilizing unemployment numbers, and rebounding industries.

With the economic rebound comes unique opportunities to use our collective wisdom to redefine workplaces and enhance our workforce. Most importantly, this is an opportunity to address disparities and systemic issues that became prominent during this time, including access to quality child care, inequities among racial groups and differences in wages, and health and safety across industries and among workers.

In his economic outlook delivered to the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce in April 2021, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said Delaware’s recovery was very much a “work in progress” and introduced the concept of “opportunity occupations” to retrain some segments of the workforce into better compensated and more stable sources of employment.

At the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, we are a committed partner in helping Delaware’s business community respond to opportunities and develop a more diverse and skilled workforce. In 18 months of virtual and hybrid learning, we focused on key learning objectives and the sustained professional development of students and our alumni. We now know better than before what success looks like for our faculty, students, graduates, and business partners. Our work through the disruptions was guided by our mission to deliver inspirational education, pioneer scholarship, and build an inclusive community at Lerner that beneficially transforms business and society.

There are many economic challenges ahead, but addressing these basic issues puts our economy on the path of recovery and sustained prosperity.

— Jim Butkiewicz, Professor of Economics

The resilience of our students, that are returning to campus to this fall or that just graduated, is inspiring. They, along with our faculty, staff and alumni, learned how to move forward together by solving problems with less than perfect information. When I look at how the pandemic affected Delaware’s industries, I saw the same perseverance and forward thinking emerging along with the need to commit to lifelong learning, growth mindsets, and developing creative partnerships.

My colleague Jim Butkiewicz, professor of economics at the Lerner College said, “A growing, sustainable economy is the best way to address many issues, including inequality. This can be done by fostering innovation; improved education, including technical training; rebuilding infrastructure; increasing competitiveness by reducing market power; and reversing recent trade and immigration restrictions. There are many economic challenges ahead, but addressing these basic issues puts our economy on the path of recovery and sustained prosperity.”

I could not agree more. Lerner College offers many highly-rated programs that deliver professional education and skills enhancement, which the Delaware business community taps into to bolster their workforces and grow their companies. Our programs in business analytics, entrepreneurship, wealth management, and financial services data science have attracted national recognition. In addition, we take pride in these contributions:

• For Delaware’s future consumers, UD’s Center for Economic Education and Entrepreneurship works with K-12 teachers and students around the state to develop more consumers that are informed.

• For business professionals, we created the Lifelong Lerner webinar series—offered at no cost—that addresses business challenges with evidenced-based research and practical application. Our Women’s Leadership Initiative and Lerner Diversity Council host programming to help educate and advocate for equity, equality, inclusion, and diversity in business.

• For the hospitality industry, which was one of the hardest hit industries, we worked with UD’s Professional and Continuing Studies and the Delaware Restaurant Association to develop a training program with restaurant managers and employees.

• For small businesses, which comprise a vital portion of the Delaware economy, our Management Information System capstone course works closely with Delaware’s Small Business Development Center, where students developed technological solutions that businesses can apply to their business operations. This spring, students worked closely with the Wilmington Kitchen Collective to build out websites for area businesses, among other notable projects.

• For the financial industry, with the insurance industry making up 30 percent of Delaware’s GNP, we’ve been helping professionals earn credentials for critical skills in business analytics and helping train the future workforce of trust professionals with our trust management minor.

These are just a few of the examples of how we can work together to move Delaware’s economy forward and develop our workforce.

Bruce W. Weber is dean of the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics at the University of Delaware. Contact him at lerner@udel.edu for more information for how to work together.