When members of the nonpartisan Oklahoma Academy for State Goals decided the focus of their 2022 Town Hall would be workforce, all knew this would be not only a formidable task, but one of great importance to our state.

After spending a year of conducting listening sessions with communities across Oklahoma, in October the Academy gathered individuals from all parts of Oklahoma, urban and rural, to take part in the 2022 Town Hall titled “Oklahoma’s Human: Potential – Enhancing Our Workforce in an Increasingly Innovative Economy.” Participants included Ponca City Mayor Homer Nicholson, Janet Schwabe from Pioneer Technology Center, and Liz Leaming from the Ponca City Development Authority During the Town Hall participants focused on improving how we educate, attract and retain a workforce for an increasingly innovative economy. At the 3-day Town Hall event, citizens were given the opportunity to discuss the issues, determine the solutions, and collaborate to develop solutions that they believed would achieve the best public policy recommendations for the state honestly and openly.

The full Town Hall Report, including the 24-Town Hall Consensus Recommendations, were handed out to all members of the Oklahoma Legislature on Tuesday, Feb. 7.

“The 2022 Town Hall process and final report on enhancing our workforce for an increasingly innovative economy is a tremendous roadmap for the right approach to a system that balances the needs of individuals and businesses to ensure Oklahoma has a welleducated and skilled workforce to effectively compete in the global economy,” said Dr. Lee Denney., 2022 Town Hall Chair. “The (Town Hall) report will serve as a guide to sustaining a proficient workforce to meet the labor demand of progressive businesses. These public policy recommendations are beneficial to employers, the workforce, and Oklahoma as a whole.”

This thought was evident in the Town Hall’s top priority recommendation that our infrastructure can negatively impact education, job opportunities, and the earning potential of our people. The workplace is moving in a more technological direction. The response to the pandemic and its impact on all forms of commerce has accelerated this trend. The Town Hall believes Oklahoma’s infrastructure does not support this new workplace model. The Town Hall therefore recommends the development of an accessible and affordable WIFI/ broadband infrastructure for remote workers. This is an essential tool for Oklahoma’s workforce whether those workers are employed for in-state or out-of-state companies. The Town Hall also recommends dollars not simply be “thrown at the problem,” but are very “smart, targeted investments.” It is important to remember theses infrastructure deficiencies are not just a rural issue, but that urban areas also are affected by the lack of highspeed broadband.

Additionally, the Town Hall supports postsecondary institutions communicating with employers to identify what skills need to be integrated into curriculum, a greater coordination with more support to strengthening Oklahoma’s workforce, the importance of tribal activity in Oklahoma, and increase educational outcomes by reducing the student-to-school counselor ratio.

As skill requirements of employers are constantly evolving, our workforce training and education programs must keep pace with the changing requirements to prepare students and workers for jobs in the short term and careers in the long term. The work and time devoted to this Town Hall conference by the participants produced a number of recommendations that will not only guide Oklahoma in the future, but will be used to inform, educate, and begin a discussion of open-minded dialogue and fact-based analysis.

The full Town Hall Report, including the 24-Town Hall Consensus Recommendations, are available at www. okacademy.org under the library tab.

The Oklahoma Academy is a statewide nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization founded by Gov. Henry Bellmon in 1967 to bring public attention to policy issues, provide objective, thorough research and act as a catalyst for positive change. His vision, which remains today, was to empower Oklahomans to improve their quality of life through effective public policy development and implementation.