HD59 - The Labor Force Needs of the 1990's and Beyond
Executive Summary: This study was undertaken in accordance with House Joint Resolution No. 159 of the 1988 General Assembly, which requested the establishment of a joint subcommittee to determine how well Virginia's training, retraining, vocational education and placement programs are preparing individuals to meet the labor force needs of the 1990's and beyond. The resolution called for the: (a) review of existing training, retraining, vocational education, and placement programs operated or supported by state agencies; (b) identification of clients served; (c) documentation of revenue sources and dollar amounts of funding; (d) identification of duplicative or overlapping programs; (e) evaluation of training programs in light of labor market needs; and (f) determination of recommendations to maximize program effectiveness and financial efficiencies, enhance cooperative efforts between state agencies, and pinpoint unfilled needs or voids in existing programs. The joint subcommittee, at its first meeting, established a task force to perform the initial fact-gathering and analysis on the items specified in the resolution and to report back its findings. The task force was comprised of representatives of state agencies which administer training, retraining, vocational education, and placement programs, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Continuing and Adult Educators, and chaired by the vice chairman of the joint subcommittee. The task force's findings and bases for such were reported to the joint subcommittee in early December and, after careful and thorough review of such and consideration of the testimony presented by representatives of private businesses and others, the joint subcommittee concurred with the task force's findings which have been summarized in the following three statements: 1. Some duplication of services provided and overlap in terms of clients served by various state agencies involved in training, retraining, vocational education and placement programs exist; however, the duplication should not necessarily be considered bad. 2. Additional information about the jobs of the future and the skills needed to secure them is needed. 3. A mismatch will exist between the needs of business and the work force capabilities unless measures are undertaken to ensure that those in the workforce have the appropriate education and training to meet such needs. The educational skills of many people, however, will have to be enhanced for training to be effective. To address these findings, the joint subcommittee made the following recommendations: 1 - To eliminate some of the duplication of services by state agencies, facilitate the sharing of information between the agencies by having the Governor develop a standard client information form and adopt a basic test for use by all state agencies involved in employment and training programs. 2 - To eliminate some of the duplication of services and encourage the sharing of available information and coordination of activities among state agencies, have the Governor's Job Training Coordinating Council encourage the coordination of activities of and the Virginia Occupational Information Coordinating Committee monitor the sharing of information among state agencies involved in employment and training programs. 3 - To address the problem of the mismatch between the needs of business and the skills of the work force: • Request the Department of Education to study the feasibility and advisability of restructuring the vocational education curriculums in the schools to provide the opportunity for blocks of time larger than those traditionally provided for on-the-job, cooperative, and apprenticeship training. • Include the provisions of § 22.1-209 which require that each school board shall make available to secondary school students employment counseling and placement services in the Standards·of Quality requirements. This will help ensure that information relating to employment opportunities are available to students graduating from or leaving the public schools. • Encourage greater participation in the Apprenticeship Program administered by the Department of Labor and Industry. • Direct the state agencies involved in training and employment programs to study the feasibility and desirability of state income tax credits for businesses that hire the chronically unemployed or at-risk youths. • Request the Governor to develop performance standards for the job training programs administered by state agencies. • Relate to the joint subcommittees studying dropouts and early childhood and day care programs its findings as they relate to the issues they are studying. Additionally, the joint subcommittee determined that the study should be continued for another year in order to allow the members to monitor the effects of their recommendations as well as to concentrate on the problems of those individuals with the highest risks for unemployment. Throughout the study, it was repeatedly stressed that before any job skills training, retraining, vocational education or placement services can be provided to individuals, they must have the basic educational skills, including not only reading, writing and arithmetic, but also the ability to reason, learn, listen, solve problems and participate or work on teams. Today's work place more than ever demands that youths have a solid educational background. Businesses depend upon a flow of new employees with basic skills at a minimum and optimally with some of the job skills they require. The state agencies involved in employment and training services pointed out that it is difficult if not impossible for them to serve large numbers of clients or to provide long term training on their limited budgets. The agencies stressed that additional resources are needed to enable them to adequately prepare individuals for the jobs of the future. |
Menu
Published Documents
