For more than two decades, Dr. Kimberly A. Moore was a catalyst for workforce development efforts in Tallahassee.
She was the CEO of Workforce Plus before becoming Tallahassee Community College’s Vice President for Workforce Innovation.
That expertise led to a job opportunity of her own. This week, Moore began work at Yavapai College in Prescott Valley, Arizona. She holds the newly created position of Chief Workforce Innovation Officer for the college’s 6 campuses and centers.
“I didn't know that this would be the calling for me, but it really is,” Moore said of her career in workforce development. “It's that place where I'm most happy because I see the results, and I get to see the lives be changed and the communities get changed at the same time.”
Moore is a North Florida native. She grew up in Greenville, about an hour east of Tallahassee. She says she’ll be back periodically to consult on workforce issues.
We spoke Tuesday via Zoom.
WFSU: Your career has been driven by helping people find jobs and opportunities to better themselves. How did that come about for you?
Kim Moore: I relate to being the person, if you will, that didn't have the connections, possibly didn't have the resources and the money coming to Tallahassee, and you're trying to figure it all out. Interestingly enough, when it was the former Department of Labor office, that is also where I would go and get my job leads as I was attending school, both the TCC and Florida State University.
I thought wow, this is a great avenue that we have with jobs and connecting people with opportunity. But you really need to make sure that they have the skills that they need in order to make the connection with the employers. Hence the reason why TCC was so attractive for me. I wanted to figure that out.
WFSU: Tallahassee has a shortage of affordable housing. We have workers whose paychecks are not keeping up with inflation. Where do we start? What do you think we should be doing?
Kim Moore: We have over 70% in our local area there in Florida that are made up of businesses with 10 or fewer employees. So we have to put that in our minds first, that these are small businesses. Oftentimes, they're not taking home a paycheck as it is because they're trying to meet payroll. So we have to be cognizant of that. We also have to be cognizant that with such a low unemployment rate, this is a job seekers’ market. I think there has to be a combination when we're talking about economic development and other business groups as well as education.
I heard throughout people saying, ‘well, why don't you just train them up, and you can get them off of public assistance or working two jobs.’ It's not that simple. You really have to be moving both levers at the same time. Those communities that do that, they win.
WFSU: What advice can you leave us with for those people who are underemployed, who just need a job at all, (or) who are behind economic development efforts?
Kim Moore: What I'd say to job seekers, that the ‘where we are’ and ‘where we will continue to be’ is lifelong learning. So it is encouraged that whether it's short term training and gaining a certification or maybe even using LinkedIn, to do the grab and go kind of model, make sure you're continuing to grow and learn where you are. When I think about education and training and what it means, (that’s) your power source on how you can command a higher salary by continuing to learn.
With regard to businesses…make sure that you know what the resources are and how those resources can benefit your company... For economic development, it is how do you make it easy for a job seeker or employer to take advantage of what those resources are.
Whether it's a toolkit, whether it's a one stop shop, (make sure) that it is very simple. No small business or large business for that matter has the resources or time to try and navigate a system where things are all spread out. They'll give up. Job seekers will give up too. So really it's the balance of all three and making sure that whether you're in economic development or education, that your view is holistic.
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