|
President's Report
JUNE 2009 | |
|
Workforce & Economic Development
Defining Green Jobs for Florida and Next Steps
With this month's endorsement of the Defining Green Jobs for Florida report by the Workforce Florida Executive Committee, the Sustainability and Infrastructure Committee has turned its attention to the eight consensus-based recommendations that will guide our next steps in advancing opportunities to grow Florida's green economy. Foremost, the report provides a definition for green jobs in Florida that serves as a unifying framework for assessing and addressing emerging workforce development needs: "A green job increases the conservation and sustainability of natural resources for the benefit of Floridians. This includes jobs that reduce energy usage or lower carbon emissions, and protect Florida's natural resources. Green jobs should provide worker-friendly conditions, pay sustainable wages and offer opportunities for continued skill training and career growth."
The recommendations cover a range of aspects, from determining what green jobs already exist in Florida, to creating nimble, market-relevant, industry-responsive workforce policy; to aligning our efforts with other public and private green jobs initiatives already underway; to better understanding the demand for skills sought by employers engaged in green activities and producing sufficient workers with the talent to meet those needs now and in the future.
The report represents another milestone for Workforce Florida and was made possible through the leadership and support of the Workforce Florida Board, key staff members and subject matter experts in industry, government, organized labor and the nonprofit sector as well as members of the public who shared their perspective.
In the immediate future, this report is timely for many reasons. Among them, just last week, the U.S. Department of Labor announced five grant solicitations, totaling $500 million, to fund projects that prepare workers for green jobs in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Also having a state definition positions Florida well to participate in the national dialogue on defining green jobs with key federal agencies such as the U.S. Departments of Energy and Labor.
STEM Initiative to Boost Critical Talent Development Efforts
This month Workforce Florida Chair Belinda Keiser announced a joint collaboration between our organization and Enterprise Florida to create a statewide council to strengthen the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills of Florida's students as a way to address employers' increasing needs for workers with strong foundations in these areas. The Florida STEM Council will be funded through a $580,000 grant from Workforce Florida. It will connect education, workforce, business and economic development leaders to identify opportunities to build and measure the state's supply of workers with skills and knowledge in these fields to support innovation in existing and emerging industries. A key focus of this council will be connecting existing STEM initiatives throughout the state and working to develop and implement new strategies that will boost Florida's success in the innovation economy. Partnership is paramount to the success of this effort and the initial strong response and interest in getting involved that we've experienced since Chair Keiser's announcement is encouraging. The response underscores, as Enterprise Florida Vice Chairman Allan Bense said, that "this collaboration is the right opportunity at the right time for Florida."
Other partners already on board to engage in this important endeavor include the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Council of 100, the Florida Department of Education and the Florida Board of Governors, among many others. Next steps include designating a STEM Council Coordinator to manage council development and implementation and creating a Memorandum of Understanding among key partners to solidify the collaboration and more clearly define specific roles and responsibilities.
New Banner Center Awards Announced
Workforce Florida has announced its 2009-2010 Employ Florida Banner Centers, which include two new targeted industry sectors, bringing the total number of centers to 12. We're excited to have brand-new centers for water resources and agriscience as well as to be working with two new primary partners for existing centers -- Polk Community College for the Banner Center for Manufacturing and Indian River State College for the Banner Center for Energy.
Other Banner Centers will continue to concentrate on improving the quality of our workforce in the alternative energy, aviation and aerospace, biotechnology, construction, digital media, energy, homeland security and defense and logistics and distribution sectors. We also are continuing to support a Banner Center that focuses on strengthening secondary career academies at Florida schools. Banner Centers, which already have drawn national recognition for their innovative approach to workforce development, have been successful to date because of the many contributions of our partners in education, workforce, industry and economic development. Workforce Florida remains committed to helping Banner Centers promote their value to, and engage with, businesses in their communities and across the state to create the solid and long-term industry partnerships and financial sustainability they will need to serve their ultimate purpose: to provide state-of-the-art, industry-driven training that delivers the talent necessary to grow targeted, high-value sectors.
|
|
Planning, Policy & Performance
State Plan Includes Waiver Requests Aimed at Helping Unemployed Floridians Get Back to Work
During its May conference call, Workforce Florida's Executive Committee approved the 2009-2010 Workforce Investment Act (WIA) State Plan, which since has been signed by the Governor and submitted to the U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL). Submission of this plan and approval by USDOL will enable the workforce system, during the 2009-2010 fiscal year, to receive nearly $150.3 million, or approximately 49 percent of our overall funding. Obviously, the plan is critical to our state- and local-level efforts to meet the needs of adults, laid off workers and youth through training, workforce development and economic development initiatives.
Customarily included in the plan are requests for waivers of certain grant provisions in order to provide greater flexibility to respond to the workforce needs of businesses and job seekers that turn to the workforce system for assistance. This year, the economic downturn has prompted us to include a request for five additional waivers we think will give the workforce system the additional flexibility needed to maximize employment and training opportunities for Floridians. Among other things, federal approval of these waivers would allow additional funding assistance for employers seeking to provide workers with customized or on-the-job training; funding for local government entities that need to employ additional staff without losing incumbent staff; and enhanced flexibility for local boards when entering into contracts with providers for youth activities.
Pasco Hernando Jobs and Education Partnership Regional Board Update
Florida's
workforce system partners at both the state and local levels, including the Florida Workforce Development Association, have
joined to offer technical assistance as needed to the Pasco Hernando
Jobs and Education Partnership Regional Board following the recent
departures of its top two executives and its Board of Directors
chairman. As Workforce Florida Chair Keiser has strongly articulated,
the substantiated findings of financial mismanagement by the Florida
Chief Inspector General and the Office of Inspector General for the
Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation remain of great concern. Among
other things, Workforce Florida continues to work closely with the
Agency for Workforce Innovation on next steps resulting from the
Inspector General investigation, including the recovery of mismanaged
funds as well as a corrective action plan for the local board. I'm
confident that the swift response of the Pasco Hernando board as well
as that of the entire workforce system will help to restore public
confidence in our ongoing efforts to carry out our important mission
and mandate for helping Floridians advance in the workforce while
strengthening the state's business climate.
|
Key Dates
Enterprise Florida Regional Strategic Planning Forums
July 14: Miami Global Commerce Forum. Miami Gardens
July 15: South Central Regional Strategic Planning Forum. Sebring
July 23: West Palm Beach Regional Strategic Planning Forum. West Palm Beach
July 29: Pensacola Regional Strategic Planning Forum. TBD
July 30: State and Regional Strategic Planning Forum. Tallahassee
August 11-13: Workforce Florida Board of Directors' Meetings. Tallahassee
August 18-20: Enterprise Florida Board and Stakeholders' Meetings. Ponte Vedra
| |
|
Thank you for your commitment to creating a world-class workforce in Florida.
Sincerely,
Chris Hart IV
President/CEO
Workforce Florida, Inc.
|
|
|
|
Workforce Snapshot
|
Florida's
Workforce:
9,232,000
Unemployment Rate:
10.2%
Job Growth:
Education and Health Services
Up 5,000*
*Education/Health Services is the only
sector among Florida's
major industries currently gaining jobs.
Source: Florida Labor Market Statistics Center (May 2009 data) |
|
|
|
