Workforce Developments

Workforce development is all around us

Only nobody calls it that.

Yesterday on NPR's All Things Considered, intrepid correspondent Melissa Block traveled to St. Louis to talk to voters about the election. She met a group of students at the Manufacturing Training Alliance, a nonprofit that "trains workers for today's skilled manufacturing jobs."

Or as we'd call it, a workforce development program. Maybe we're the crazy ones to insist on using that jargon term.

She talked to a range of people any of us might see in our local workforce programs. A young man who said he was going nowhere in his part time with U-Haul. A GM retiree who had to go back to work to help raise her grandchildren.  An ex-offender. A laid-off bartender.

Click here to listen to the story or read the transcript. You'll see some great photos of the students too.

Here's the info about MTA that NPR didn't tell you:

MTA offers Missouri and Illinois residents industry certification programs in CNC machining and advanced manufacturing. They incorporate hands-on training with alternative classroom skills development in applied shop math, blueprint reading, computer skills and precision measuring. They partner with Florissant Valley Community College and Southwest Illinois Community College.

MTA is funded by the US Department of Labor, the Illinois and Missouri Workforce Investment Boards, the Greater St. Louis Empowerment Zone, United Way, Carpenters Joint Training Fund, Missouri Department of Secondary Education, Parents Fair Share, St. Patrick Center and private grants.

This is workforce development. I wish everybody knew that.

Photo by Andrea Hsu, NPR

What's wrong with this workforce picture?

Now I get it. I had a sense of what the problem was, but now I have a much clearer picture, and here it is:

That's a breakdown of the general budget for the City of Los Angeles. Do you see what I see? Down there, next to the bottom? That's only 2% of the LA's entire $7.1 billion budget devoted to Human Services, Economic Development and Employment Opportunities. Hidden somewhere in there is the City's workforce development programs.

Facing serious revenue shortfalls, the City of Los Angeles is inviting citizens to have a say in the budget process, through this online survey. I love that they're showing people the very difficult decisions and trade-offs government has to make when planning how to spend their money. "Government should live within its means" is a nice campaign slogan, but we need to understand what that means on the ground. To invest more money in the programs you value, they have to cut something that someone else values just as much.

In the current economy, with unemployment on the rise, less than two percent for workforce development and employment programs isn't enough. If we could add money to that category, maybe we could reduce the need to spend so much in that biggest category on top. But cities can't bear the burden alone - we need help from the federal level as well.  

How does your city budget stack up? If you don't know, find out.

Sample letter to Congress on the economic stimulus for workforce development organizations

With unemployment on the rise, food banks, social service agencies and one-stop career centers are seeing more people come through their doors looking for help.

Will our nation's workforce system be ready and able to help? We have the programs and services to help people who've lost jobs find new ones, or to retrain to work in new industries. We know how to help young people find summer jobs. The question is whether we have the capacity to meet growing demand in these tough economic times.

The California Workforce Association has drafted a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi asking Congress to include additional funding for Dislocated Worker and Summer Jobs for Youth programs as part of any new economic stimulus package. It's designed for organizations that provide workforce development services, and you can add local info or edit it as you see fit. You can download a copy of the letter here: Download DraftLetterToPelosi.doc

If you need help looking for a job, you can find your local one-stop career center here.

Bernanke supports new economic stimulus package

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told members of Congress today that the American economy is at risk for a "protracted slowdown." He encouraged them to pass a new economic stimulus package to jump-start the economy. (You can read the transcript of his testimony here.) Hours later, President Bush seconded Bernanke's remarks, sort of.

No one mentioned specific measures that might be included in such a stimulus, but Democrats in Congress have put together several possible bills. They might include

• A second extension of unemployment benefits;
• Another round of tax rebate checks;
• Public works spending to stimulate job creation; and/or
• Funds to help states pay their Medicare bills.

The House Education and Labor Committee will hold two hearings this week on the economy. On Wednesday, Oct 22 in San Francisco they'll discuss the impact of the Wall Street meltdown on retirement security. On Friday, Oct 24 in DC they'll talk about the unemployment outlook and strategies to spur job growth

An AP poll last week found one-third of Americans are worried about losing their jobs. Among those age 30-40, half are worried about it.

Momentum seems to be building behind this stimulus package, but oddsmakers still say getting anything passed before the end of the year is unlikely. If this stimulus package matters to you, now's the time to speak up.

Web 2.0 in 30 seconds

I recently posted a web 2.0 guide for workforce development professionals slidecast on this blog. Now I've found a fun new tool that turns traditional traditional slideshows upside down. Check it out (and turn up the volume):

If you don't see the embedded player, click here to watch. 

It's on Animoto. If you have a slideshow or just a series of images, you just upload them to the site. You can add your own music, or choose music from their library. Animoto does the rest. You can create an unlimited number of 30 second slideshows for free. There's a fee for longer shows.

Tip: If you're working in powerpoint, you'll need to save your presentation in JPEG format. That will turn the slideshow into the individual images needed for Animoto or SoundSlides.

Animoto says a 30 second slideshow will take up to 20 slides. From playing around with it a bit, I think about 12 slides will get you better results. You can email the slideshow to your friends, embed them on your site, or export them to YouTube. Have fun!

Unemployment extension may be revisited after election

The Associated Press is reporting that Congress may take up another economic stimulus package during a lame duck session after the November 4 election. If so, the bill will likely include another extension of unemployment benefits.

It could also include additional food stamps funding and some kind of tax rebate.

I've been hearing from a lot of readers about how the unemployment extension would affect them. If you've got something to say, add your comments below. Be sure to write to your member of Congress as well. Most members of Congress have a place on their website where you can send them a quick and easy email. 

For the latest on the unemployment extension, click the "Unemployment" link here on Workforce Developments, or visit UnemployedWorkers.org.

Community-based job training: federal funds available

If you are a community or technical college, community college district, state community college system, or one-stop career center, this grant opportunity may be for you. 

The US Department of Labor issued a new solicitation for grant applications today from its Community-Based Job Training program. A total of $125 million is available. Awards will range from $500,000 to $2 million. The funds are for projects that "support or engage in a combination of capacity building and training activities for the purpose of building the capacity of community colleges to train individuals for careers in high-growth/high-demand industries in the local and/or regional economies."

You can find more on DOL's definition of high-growth/high demand industries  here, although this information is painfully out of date, considering current volatility in the US economy.

If you're in a rural area with few colleges, check the federal register announcement for alternative applicant options.

There will be an online conference for potential applicants on October 24 at 1 p.m. Eastern time. Details and other info about CBJT grants can be found posted here.

You can find an analysis of previous CBJT grants here and here on Workforce Developments.

Applications are due November 24, 2008 by 4 pm Eastern time.

Bailout passes; unemployment extension inches forward

There was lots of action on the economy in Washington, D.C. last Friday. To recap:

First up, the U.S. Department of Labor issued its monthly employment statistics, which found a loss of 159,000 jobs in September. Unemployment nationally is holding steady at 6.1%.

Later that same day, President Bush signed the Wall Street bailout bill (H.R. 1424) into law

Also on Friday, the House passed H.R. 6867, which would provide an extension of unemployment benefits for long-term unemployed workers.

This, only one day after the Senate failed to pass its version of the unemployment extension bill (S. 3507).

Congress is currently in recess and won't return to work until a lame-duck session scheduled for just after the November 4 election.

The Associated Press says odds of passing an unemployment extension are this year are "slim." However, their story on Friday's action got one important fact wrong: they write that a bill to extend unemployment benefits stalled in June. In fact, an extension was signed into law and those funds are now expiring. UnemployedWorkers.org estimates that some 800,000 people ran out of unemployment benefits as of yesterday.

Click here to see unemployment rates for your state, or click on the map.

"Nothing stops a bullet like a job"

I attended the third annual summit of the San Francisco Safe Communities Reentry Council yesterday at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts.  They had a series of panel presentations to discuss how to connect people to employment upon release, employment rights, and the benefits for employers that come with hiring ex-offenders.  Among the reccuring themes were the needs to address substance abuse and mental health issues.

One of the things I most appreciated about this summit was the opportunity to hear from formerly incarcerated individuals who have successfully transitioned to life after prison.  The keynote speaker was Joey Ray Lucero of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles.  One of their slogans: "Nothing stops a bullet like a job."  A third generation gang member, Mr. Lucero spoke eloquently of his personal journey growing up in a culture that valued silence and respect, his time incarcerated, and his current role working with at-risk gang-affiliated youth.

Homeboy Industries was founded by Father Greg Boyle in 1988, and has been saving lives through job training and placement assistance as well as other services.  Their businesses include Homeboy Bakery, Homeboy Silkscreen, Homeboy Maintenance, Homegirl Café, and others.  According to their website, "Former rivals find themselves working side by side, finding true community and friendship in place of the limited community of gang life."

Mr. Lucero said that they are willing to share the model for how they run their organization with anyone who is interested in starting a similar program.  Interested in learning more?  To contact them, click here.