Workforce Development System in a Global Marketplace

1. Workforce Development System in a Global Marketplace Joy Howland Development Director, RATEC Board Member, Seattle SIM May 24, 2005

2. Presentation Overview • Types of Funding & Structure • A System in Transition • Services Provided • System Involvement & Participation • Q&A

3. Types of Funding • Workforce Information Act (WIA) Adult Program • WIA Dislocated Worker Program • Up for reauthorization this fall (currently in Senate) • Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) • Dept of Labor (competitive & non-competitive grants) • Training • Curriculum Development • Special programs

4. Funding Distribution Workforce Investment Act & Trade Adjustment Act • Allocated by state as federal pass-through • Administered by locally by Workforce Development Boards • WorkSource One-Stop system (nationwide) • Community and Technical Colleges • Workforce Intermediaries

5. Funding Structure & Distribution Federal Competitive and Non-Competitive Grants Refocusing of Federal funding priorities & initiatives: • Community Based Job Training Initiative • Eligible applicants are Community & Tech Colleges • Multi-state programs or regional • Strong public-private partnerships • Capacity Building Projects • High-demand Training IT has been identified as high-demand!

6. Presentation Overview • Types of Funding & Structure • A System in Transition • Services Provided • System Involvement & Participation • Q&A

7. Wisconsin: Service Economy Employment Sector 2004 Growth: • Professional and Business Svcs:5.7% • Education and Health Svcs: 2.8% • Construction: 2.4% Manufacturing – higher than US average growth • 1.9% growth this year • Q1 2000 employment 598,800 versus expected employment level of 541,300 in 2010

8. Illinois – Workforce Demand Bachelor Degree • Registered Nurse • Elementary School Teachers • Accountants & Auditors • Computer Systems Analysts • Preschool Teachers • Programmers • Insurance Sales Associates • Computer Software Engineers

9. Illinois – Workforce Demand Bachelor’s Degree + • General & Operations Managers • Sales Managers • Lawyers • Financial Managers • Administrative Service Managers • Computer & Information Systems Managers • Pharmacists • Human Resource Managers

10. Transition to Service Economy Based on what we know about our regional and national economies, how is the Workforce Development System addressing these demands?

12. Retain & create high-wage jobs Prepare workers for tomorrow’s economy Add value to WI’s economic base Create & unleash knowledge to build emerging industries Tap WI’s full urban potential Implement strategies regionally Lower regulatory burdens, keep standards high; and Build a world class infrastructure Wisconsin’s WIA State Plan Governor Doyle’s Plan WIA Plan 8 Strategic Economic Development Goals for the State

13. Grow Wisconsin – Best Practices Job Creation • Create a comprehensive business climate by adopting a single-factor sales tax, investing in long-term infrastructure plans, streamlining and offering incentives to help site energy plants and transmission lines, and creating an urban venture capital fund. • Invest in people by providing $50 million workforce training, expanding job-training programs, funding youth apprenticeship program, facilitating transfers between technical and state college system and raising the minimum wage.

14. Grow Wisconsin – Best Practices • Invest in business by generating $300 million in seed and VC funds • $200 million through New Markets tax credits, targeting clusters through workforce development • Investing in research to win federal grants and commercialize research, and creating entrepreneur programs. • Reform regulations – make government more responsive.

15. Grow Wisconsin: Progress Senate Bill 261 – Regular Session 2003 …creating a qualified new business venture tax credit and a capital gains tax exemption regarding investments in certified venture capital funds and qualified new business ventures, requiring a study of new Wisconsin businesses, facilitating the development of certain investor networks, and granting rule-making authority.

16. Grow Wisconsin: Progress Senate Bill 129 (2005-06 Legislature) Transfers the administration of this grant program to the Technical College System (TCS) Board and makes the following changes to the program: • requires the TCS district boards annually to designate, based upon regional need, the types of businesses to be given preference in awarding grants; • requires that an eligible business employ no more than 100 full-time employees; and • requires a business that receives a grant to provide matching fundsfor the entire amount of the grant, unless the board finds that the business is subject to extreme financial hardship.

18. Presentation Overview • Types of Funding & Structure • A System in Transition • Services Provided • System Involvement & Participation • Q&A

19. WIA Funded Services One-Stop Career Centers • Unemployed workers • Employer Services • Other populations (youth, disabled, veteran, etc) State Workforce Board • Special Programs for Employee Training (WIA or non-WIA) • Layoff aversion • Hiring • Under-employed workers

20. WIA Funded Services Rapid Response • Large layoffs and plant closures • Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act • Required for employers with 100+ full-time employees • Between 50 – 499 employees if they represent at least 33% of the total active workforce, excluding any part-time employees or; • 500 or more employees (excluding part-time employees)

21. WIA Funded Services Rapid Response services • Labor Market Information • Job Search and placement assistance • On-the-job training (wage requirement) • Classroom training (wage requirement) • Entrepreneurial training • Referral to basic and remedial education

22. Trade Adjustment Act Reform Trade Adjustment Assistance Equity for Service Workers Act of 2004 • Proposed House and Senate Bills in 108th Congress • Reform act to include service sector workers and businesses • Workers would have to provide evidence that their jobs were lost because of increases imports, competitive foreign services or contract production or services relocated offshore • Business affected by trade could apply for grants for training to increase competitiveness Update on proposed legislation?

23. Dept of Labor: Grants Department of Labor – Employment & Training Administration (ETA) Competitively Funded Programs • ETA initiate's the Solicitation for Grant Applications (SGA) • SGA’s are announced in Federal Register and on DOL website • Typically 45-60 days from notice to submission date

24. Employment & Training Administration

25. Dept of Labor Grants: Training

26. H1B Technical Training Grant • RATEC received $1.5 million for private sector 1.28 million of which was allocated directly to companies to train IT staff. Results: • 575 IT employees among 24 firms completed training • 311 employees reported being able to take on additional job responsibilities • 74 certifications gained • 167 employees received wage increase as a result of training totaling $1,032,040 million in annual wage gains

27. Dept of Labor: Grants Competitively funded programs primarily serve adult populations for the purposes of: • Incumbent worker training (employees) • Skills Shortage Initiatives • Capacity Building • Consortium Building • Apprenticeship Programs • Partnership Building • Youth & Untapped workforce The DOL also accepts unsolicited proposals

28. Unsolicited Grants

29. Presentation Overview • Types of Funding & Structure • A System in Transition • Services Provided • System Involvement & Participation • Q&A

30. Reasons for Getting Involved • Millions of dollars go into this system every year – companies should take advantage of these funds for the benefit of their employees and the business • There has become increased overlap between economic and workforce development initiatives/funding • The Workforce Development system has expertise in easing employee transitions…but there is a learning curve • It is like voting, if you do not participate, then you can not expect it to meet your needs

31. System Participation Local Participation: • State Workforce Investment Boards & Economic Development Councils are good entry points • State and federal congressional representatives • Governor’s office Federal Participation: • The Dept of Labor has a Business Relations Division

32. Before You Get Involved • Know your time constraints and be clear on your level of commitment • Are you there to affect change or to be a customer? • Set a timeframe for participation and reflect on the value-add of your time • Understand that not all free money is good money • Government regulations & requirements can be too time consuming for business and can severely diminish the ROI • Understand what your business needs and objectives are

33. Participation & Partnership • Open the lines of communication with your state’s Workforce Investment Board • Share your needs or concerns and challenge them to come up with a solution • If a solution does not currently exist, be prepared to put some time and resources on the table • Private Sector contribution = Public sector funds • Note: This does not always have to be cash

34. Participation & Partnership • Leverage connections with local trade and non-profit organizations – they can help represent you and others with the same interests or needs • If presented with an opportunity to access funds or to be involved in a grant proposal, ask for the requirements up front or help create • Remember that it should get easier to participate in the system – not harder

35. Questions? Contact Information Joy Howland Development Director, RATEC Seattle SIM Board Member Bellevue, WA Telephone: 425.564.2192 Email: joy.howland@comcast.net