Z-0421.1 _______________________________________________
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8405
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 1999 Regular Session
By Senators Fairley, Bauer, Franklin and Kohl‑Welles
Read first time 01/26/1999. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.
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 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 state faces the challenge of closing the dangerous gap between today's educational levels and the more demanding skill requirements of the family-wage jobs of tomorrow; and
WHEREAS, The 1998 update to the comprehensive plan describes the economic and demographic conditions that underlie the need for change and lays out the actions that state-level policy leaders must take to help achieve the vision of high skills, high wages;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the state of Washington, the House of Representatives 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 soliciting input from practitioners and customers and producing the 1998 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 ensuring that Washington develops the well-educated, multiskilled, and flexible work force needed to compete in the global economy; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature hereby adopts the long-term goals in the 1998 update to the comprehensive plan whereby (1) K-12 education will prepare students for both education and work, (2) the gap between economic demand and the supply of postsecondary technical training will be closed, (3) the training system will be a coherent and integrated system of customer services, and (4) training programs will be accountable for results; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature hereby endorses the two-year objectives and specific recommendations for operating agencies in the work force development system to meet the long-range goals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the Legislature hereby acknowledges the two-year objectives and specific recommendations to the Legislature for meeting the long-range goals and forwards those recommendation to the appropriate policy committees for their consideration.
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