Connecting Rural Talent to Rural Employers Through Pipeline AZ
October 2021 Update
From June through October of 2021, Local First AZ (LFA) spearheaded the continuing growth of Pipeline AZ in Pinal County. LFA successfully onboarded Central Arizona Community College, including 100+ degree and certification programs that are offered locally; over 50 employers, from small businesses with 1-10 employees to large, multinational corporations; and 140 students and job seekers in Pinal County. LFA hosted 18 career-focused events throughout Pinal County and neighboring communities, highlighting local career and education opportunities for students and job seekers. LFA’s individualized case management through the Pipeline AZ platform made it possible to stay connected to job seekers after they created a personalized profile. LFA case managers are able to help students and job seekers build a professional resume, customize their user profile with their skills and experience, and connect and apply for open positions that match their skills and interests.
Students and job seekers are able to utilize the career exploration component of Pipeline AZ through use of the free career assessment. LFA presented to Coolidge High School students to highlight the importance of career exploration, and introduced them to Pipeline AZ and the many benefits the platform has to offer as the students begin mapping out their career and education goals. Students enjoyed navigating the career assessment and matching to different industries and local careers. Overall, the students agreed that their career matches through the Pipeline AZ assessment closely aligned with their interests, and they were excited to see the different local positions they could potentially attain, as well as the local education and/or training that was needed in order to be considered for the role.
LFA will continue working with students, job seekers, and employer and education partners in Pinal County while simultaneously expanding Pipeline AZ to Mohave County. LFA plans to launch Pipeline AZ in Mohave County in January 2022.
Where It All Began:
Over the next 10 years, the Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) estimates that Pinal County will see between 1,800 and 3,400 new jobs each year as well as a 50% population growth. These numbers mean that an estimated 4,850 of Pinal County residents may find new employment in their local region instead of relocating to Maricopa County. Pipeline AZ is working to connect these workers to jobs that match their skills and interests locally.
Pipeline AZ is a multi-sided platform bringing job seekers, companies, educational institutions and workforce organizations together to match talent to market needs and prepare job seekers for future opportunities - online. Unlike other career services or workforce development platforms, Pipeline AZ serves the entire workforce ecosystem simultaneously: companies, job seekers, educators and workforce organizations. Pipeline AZ is free for users, and will include case management for job seekers to help best connect their skills to job opportunities. Employers can list jobs, internships and/or apprenticeships.
Local First AZ and Pipeline AZ are pooling their resources to optimize how rural job seekers and businesses in Pinal County connect in our ever-evolving, competitive, and fast-paced job market. Pipeline AZ provides one centralized platform for rural career exploration, posting available jobs, and one-on-one career consultation with the intent to keep rural talent working in or near their hometowns.
There are thousands of job opportunities that are available on Pipeline AZ. Local First Arizona has partnered with 12 companies (and growing) from all different industries throughout Pinal County and Central Arizona Community College in order to highlight more localized opportunities. Local First Arizona’s goal is to connect 100 job seekers to local career and education opportunities.
“Pipeline AZ is a rural workforce initiative in Pinal County that Local First Arizona is launching to showcase education and career opportunities that exist locally,” said Lexie Krechel, Rural Community Development Manager at Local First Arizona. “Being from a rural community, I know first-hand that it often doesn't seem like an option to get the required training and find a career that you qualify for or are interested in locally. Our goal is to break that mold, we want to communicate to those seeking employment in Pinal County that local opportunities do exist. Through a quick skills assessment on Pipeline AZ that links candidates directly to local training and career pathways, we are able to show job seekers the track to attain their career goals.”
Local First Arizona is seeking additional partnerships within the community to bolster efforts to reach both employers and job seekers. Registration is easy for job seekers and employers. Those seeking jobs simply have to create a candidate profile, take a skills assessment, and then they will be matched to jobs in Pinal County that are looking for their skills.
