BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

WHEREAS, Chapter 238, Laws of 1991, created the Work Force 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 state 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 work force training and education every two years and requires the Legislature, following public hearings, to approve or make changes to the updates; and

WHEREAS, The provisions of the comprehensive plan and its updates that are approved by the Legislature become the state's work force training policy unless legislation is enacted to alter the policies set forth therein; and

WHEREAS, The major work force training and education agencies have adopted a design for a new accountability system, Performance Management for Continuous Improvement, which includes the identification of work force development goals, performance indicators, and standards, the evaluation of the work force system and program results, and the commitment to continuous quality improvement; and

WHEREAS, Washington's future growth could be constrained by limits in the supply of skilled workers, particularly in occupations that require training beyond the high school level; and

WHEREAS, The fragmented system of state and federal work force training and education programs and employment services does not permit their resources to be easily coordinated around customer needs; and

WHEREAS, Students in the K-12 system need to experience how academic and vocational skills are used in the work place and what specific skills they must master to succeed in the occupations that interest them; and

WHEREAS, The elements of a comprehensive school-to-work system, including the integration of academic and vocational learning, the development of flexible educational pathways, and the creation of local partnerships with business and labor of work-based learning, must be further developed pursuant to the state's school-to-work transition plan; and

WHEREAS, Work force training and education programs are not currently linked in a series of sequential education and training-related activities that enable individuals to progress from low levels of skill to higher levels of skill and better paying, more stable occupations; and

WHEREAS, It is critical that the public has a better understanding of the need for higher levels of skill and knowledge and the importance of personal and corporate responsibility for lifelong learning; and

WHEREAS, The intent of Congress to require states to place a high priority on requiring adults receiving welfare to be engaged in work activities will create a new demand for employment and training services; and

WHEREAS, The supply of workers must be coordinated with local market demand, including directing training resources to key sector industries, in order to generate family wage jobs;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, the Senate concurring, That the members of the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board be commended for their dedication and commitment to the State of Washington in producing the 1996 update of Washington's comprehensive plan for work force training and education titled "High Skills, High Wages"; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature hereby officially expresses its gratitude to the board for detailing the current challenges facing the state in preparing its citizens for high-wage, high-skill jobs with high-performance work organizations; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature approve the following recommendations of the 1996 update of the comprehensive plan:

(1) That the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board and other agencies and partners of the work force training system implement Performance Management for Continuous Improvement throughout the training system;

(2) That the capacity of the work force training and education system must increase in order to match labor market demand, including increasing work force training at community and technical colleges, increasing support for school-to-work transition to assure capacity for work-related learning in the K-12 system, and implementation of the work force development's system of One-Stop Career Centers;

(3) That school-to-work transition partners must continue their scheduled work to implement a system that will improve the movement of students to postsecondary training and to employment in the careers of their choosing, including working with the State Board of Education to define what follows the certificate of mastery;

(4) That the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board must lead the effort to ensure that all elements of the work force training and education system are vertically integrated;

(5) That the Work Force Training and Education Coordinating Board must continue its efforts to increase public awareness about the importance of work force training and education issues;

(6) That work force training and education agencies and partners must make welfare reform work by developing programs that integrate basic skills and occupational skills training with work experience so that time-limited training for those on public assistance will enable them to become self-supporting; and

(7) That work force training and education partners must ensure a firm connection between their work and economic development and be developing and implementing policies that target firms applying high-performance work practices that enhance and engage the skills and decision-making capacity of workers.