HECC Future Ready Oregon Focus Groups

In 2024-25, Jensen Strategies, led Erik Jensen with Amelia Wallace, designed and conducted a series of 16 focus groups, comprised of employers, across Oregon to inform longer term workforce education and training initiatives through the Higher Education Coordinating Commission’s (HECC) Future Ready Oregon (FRO) program.  The FRO program was seeking to expand workforce education and training to address employer workforce needs with a specific focus on outcomes and opportunities for priority populations.  The focus groups involved gathering qualitative data from employers in three industries – high tech, manufacturing, and health care with a focus on opportunities to improve career pathways and outcomes for priority populations (including communities of color, women, low-income communities, rural and frontier communities, veterans, persons with disabilities, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, Oregon tribes, older adults and individuals that identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community).  Our team facilitated, collected and analyzed the data, and produced a summary report and presentation.