Workforce Development

Home » Workforce Development

Digital Toolkit for Employers

Our digital toolkit for employers features quick access to our many services for businesses, including a searchable database of campus-based employer services, a directory of business support services by institution, workforce projection data for Oklahoma’s critical occupations and materials you can share in the workplace. We also offer a variety of helpful resources for your workforce, such as access to micro-credential programs, degree completion programs that lead to employment in key fields, and options to determine how prior college credit, licenses, certifications, military service, and other learning experiences can be applied toward a college degree.

Join the Roster: Businesses Offering Employer Tuition Assistance for Higher Education

Our website features a roster of Oklahoma’s businesses, agencies, and organizations that provide a tuition assistance benefit to help employees pay for higher education. Does your company provide a higher education benefit for employees that can be used at an Oklahoma public college or university? To add your business to our online listing, complete our brief survey (opens in new window).

Economic Role of Oklahoma's Public Colleges and Universities

According to a 2019 report from the State Chamber Research Foundation, Oklahoma’s higher education system supported $8.21 billion in total economic output in FY 2016. These effects can be partitioned into direct, indirect and induced spillover effects. The state higher education system generated $9.40 in economic output for each dollar of revenue from state appropriations. In addition, state residents who completed some college or earned an associate degree reported median annual earnings that are 17% higher than high school completers in 2016. Residents with a bachelor’s degree reported median earnings 60% higher than high school graduates. The report concludes that forecasts suggest the rate of growth in employment in the next decade will be significantly higher for those with the highest levels of education.

2019 Economic Impact Study

(RegionTrack Report)

Read Impact Study (PDF)

OKHigherEdConnect.org

Oklahoma's higher education system is committed to growing Oklahoma businesses as well as recruiting companies to the state. To facilitate the connection between businesses and higher education institutions, the State Regents launched OKHigherEdConnect.org , an online searchable database of business resources available at Oklahoma's colleges and universities. This database is a handy informational tool that is both simple to use and thorough, with services ranging from tools to help people start a business or expand their customer base to customized corporate training programs. Customers can search for a particular service by type of service, by city and proximity to a city, and by institution and region of the state. Ideally, search results will direct them to the colleges or universities with the business resources that fit their need.

Individuals wanting to start a business, businesses needing a particular service, and economic developers searching for the perfect location are the targeted customers for the database. After selecting all the desired criteria and running the search, the results are shown on the screen and are available in two additional formats – a grid and exportable Excel spreadsheet. The database is provided by the State Regents as a mechanism to locate the available business support services at the various colleges and universities in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education.

UpskillOK: Micro-Credential Programs

Upskill your workforce with micro-credential training and college credit courses through UpskillOK.org , Oklahoma higher education’s rapid micro-credential training program. If you’re looking to provide professional leadership and skills training for your workforce, Oklahoma’s public colleges and universities are ready to partner with you to create tailored courses and training programs for job-specific skills. Courses and credentials are aligned with Oklahoma's critical occupations. Upskill your workforce today!