H-4692.1  _______________________________________________

                 SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2508

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     2000 Regular Session

By House Committee on Finance (originally sponsored by Representatives Kenney, Carlson, Conway, Hankins, Grant, Delvin, Santos, Dunn, Cox, Dickerson, Lantz, Dunshee, Veloria, Reardon, Cooper, Lovick, Ogden, Ruderman, Linville, Kessler, Regala, Stensen, Constantine, Haigh, Hurst, Keiser, Wolfe and Kagi; by request of Governor Locke)

Read first time 02/07/2000.  Referred to Committee on .

Promoting economic development in Washington by increasing the skills and productivity of workers.

    AN ACT Relating to economic development by improving the skills and productivity of Washington workers; adding a new section to chapter 28C.18 RCW; providing an effective date; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 28C.18 RCW to read as follows:

    The board shall create a skills gap program for the purpose of promoting economic development in Washington state by increasing the skills and productivity of Washington workers.  The program shall be used to create partnerships with business, labor, and the work force employment and training system to close the skills gap in Washington state.  The grants shall be provided to a consortia which include local work force development councils, community and technical colleges, and industry associations.  Other consortia partners may include economic development councils, businesses, labor organizations, and other employment and training providers.  The purpose of the consortia is to determine the future employment and training needs in high-demand industries and occupations to:

    (1) Create partnerships with businesses, labor organizations, and industry associations that share common occupations for the purpose of determining their future employment and training needs;

    (2) Bring together community colleges and other employment and training providers to develop programs that meet the employment training needs defined by the above industry partnerships;

    (3) Expand the use of skills standards and customized training designed to meet the specific needs of business;

    (4) Upgrade the skills of existing workers; and

    (5) Support increased use of on-the-job learning strategies among small and medium-sized enterprises.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  This act takes effect July 1, 2000.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  This act expires June 30, 2003.

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