Read first time 01/18/2007.   Referred to Committee on Higher Education.

     WHEREAS, Chapter 238, Laws of 1991, created the workforce training and education coordinating board to provide planning, coordination, evaluation, monitoring, and policy analysis for the state training system as a whole, and advice to the governor and legislature concerning the training system, in cooperation with the agencies that comprise the state training system and the higher education coordinating board; and
     WHEREAS, Section 2, chapter 130, Laws of 1995, requires the board to update the state comprehensive plan for workforce training and education every two years and requires the legislature, following public hearings, to approve or make changes to the updates; and
     WHEREAS, The state faces the workforce challenges of: (1) ensuring all Washington youth receive the education, training, and support they need for success in postsecondary education and/or work; (2) providing Washington adults, including those with barriers to education and employment, with access to lifelong education, training, and employment services; (3) meeting the workforce needs of industry by preparing students, current workers, and dislocated workers with the skills employers need; and (4) integrating services provided by workforce development programs to provide the best possible service to customers; and
     WHEREAS, The state comprehensive plan sets forth the following ten strategic opportunities for the next two years:
     (1) Increase high school graduation rates by: (a) Building community partnerships that implement effective dropout prevention and retrieval programs; (b) holding schools accountable for engaging and retaining students through graduation; and (c) demonstrating the relevance of education, including strong programs of career and technical education;
     (2) Expand the availability of career pathways that span secondary and postsecondary education and training. Career pathways offer students career and technical education in a career cluster, incorporate rigorous academic as well as technical content, span secondary and postsecondary education and training, and lead to an industry-recognized credential. Pathways will increase the opportunities for students to enter postsecondary education and training and high skill, high wage careers;
     (3) Increase postsecondary education and training capacity to close the gap between the need of employers for skilled workers and the supply of Washington residents prepared to meet that need. Especially, expand community and technical college, apprenticeship, and private career school programs;
     (4) Increase financial aid and retention support for workforce education students to provide access to postsecondary training to all segments of the state's population. Financial barriers are the number one reason why state residents do not access postsecondary training. Provide support services, such as child care, to allow those who need it to access training and stay in training until completion;
     (5) Increase adult basic education skills and English language instruction that is integrated with occupational skills training to assist illiterate populations, immigrants, low-income workers, and unemployed individuals to improve their employment opportunities. Integrated instruction is more likely to lead to wage gains for participants than basic skill programs that do not include an occupational component;
     (6) Improve coordination between workforce and economic development in key economic clusters. An economic cluster is a sector of the economy in which a region has demonstrated it has a competitive advantage by a high geographic concentration of firms and employment. Clusters provide an organizing principle around which the state and local areas can successfully coordinate workforce and economic development efforts to the advantage of Washington employers and workers;
     (7) Expand and sustain skill panels. An industry skill panel is a partnership of business, labor, and education and training providers in an economic cluster. Skill panels harness the expertise of their members, identifying skill gaps and devising solutions to close the gaps. The partnerships foster innovation and enable industries and public partners to respond to and anticipate changing needs quickly and competently;
     (8) Expand customized training for current workers. With the accelerating pace of technological advances and globalization, there is an increasing need to train and retrain current workers to keep pace. Customized training prepares workers with the latest skills required to meet the needs of a particular employer or set of employers, enabling businesses to be competitive;
     (9) Expand the availability of a work readiness credential. This credential will enable job seekers to demonstrate to prospective employers that they have the knowledge and skills needed for successful performance as entry-level workers. These skills include the ability to: (a) Complete work accurately, (b) work in teams to achieve mutual goals and objectives, (c) follow work-related rules and regulations, (d) demonstrate willingness to work and show initiative, and (e) display responsible behaviors at work;
     (10) Develop state and local agreements on service integration to improve services to customers. WorkSource, the state's one-stop system for employment and training programs, provides access to a wide range of programs. In order to advance integration, the Workforce board will coordinate the development of statewide agreements on integration among partner agencies and programs. The agreements will indicate what partner agencies and programs will do to support the integration of workforce development services; and
     WHEREAS, The state comprehensive plan includes: (1) Assessments of our state's employment opportunities and skills needs, the present and future workforce, and the current workforce development system; (2) goals and strategies for meeting the workforce challenges; and (3) a description of the performance management system for workforce development as required under chapter 238, Laws of 1991; and
     WHEREAS, The workforce training and education coordinating board used an inclusive process of public hearings and contact with approximately 3,500 individuals to develop consensus on the strategies identified in the plan and has secured the unanimous endorsement of critical constituencies, including business, labor, and the agencies delivering workforce services; and
     WHEREAS, The provisions of the comprehensive plan and its updates that are approved by the legislature become the state's workforce policy unless legislation is enacted to alter the policies set forth therein;
     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the state of Washington, the Senate concurring, hereby approve the 2006 update to the state comprehensive plan for workforce training, "High Skills, High Wages."