By Megan Cardiff
May 16, 2011

The U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council (WDC) gathered for its Annual Board Meeting April 28-29 in Hartford (CT). WDC President and Capital Workforce Partners CEO Tom Phillips presided over the meeting with WDC Vice President CEO of the Full Employment Council in Kansas City Clyde McQueen.

Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra set the tone for the meeting with his discussion of job creation strategies, outlining Hartford’s successful initiatives and programs. He highlighted his desire to concentrate on job development and promotion of jobs in his administration, especially when it comes to the youth. "Hartford is very challenged in that 45 percent of the population is below the age of 25," said Segarra. "I have prioritized the issues I want to focus on and the key to that is focusing on the youth." He has worked diligently to create partnerships with area businesses to develop initiatives that best align his policies and promote education and employment.

Having been sworn into office in June 2010, Segarra is still a relative newcomer to his position, but he has managed to balance the budget, which had a $3 million deficit, and develop a transition team with numerous successful policy recommendations. In his recent budget, he also increased spending for Hartford’s Summer Youth Employment Program. "That’s really key, especially for the young population we have - there has to be some opportunity for these young men and women to boost their self-worth and there’s nothing better to do that than a Summer Job," he said.

Department of Labor (DOL) Assistant Secretary Jane Oates called into the WDC Board Meeting via teleconference to discuss improving adult education and literacy services and how to strengthen the linkages between Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) and Community Colleges. "The most important thing Assistant Secretary Brenda Dann-Messier and I have been trying to push is integration between adult basic education and occupational skills," she said. "Many individuals are looking for jobs and not looking to become more conversational necessarily. Our two programs have been tinkering on the edges of a full integration, many local sites have done a great job starting to move this and aligning adult basic education with careers and what those educational needs are for those jobs and positions." Oates also discussed recent DOL budget cuts to the Career Pathways program and Green Jobs Innovation Fund, as well as grant opportunities, such as the H1-B grant.

Pamela Tate, CEO of the Council on Adult and Experiential Learning; Linda Kelly, President of the Hartford Foundation of Public Giving; and Andy Tyskiewicz, Division Director of the Capital Region Education Council, comprised a panel on effective approaches to improving adult education and literacy services in work-related basic education skills. Tate emphasized, "If we want to compete with other countries, 55 percent of the adult population will need to have college degrees or higher. If things continue where they are, we will only have 41 percent. If literacy rates stay the same we will have a growing gap between us and other countries." The panel all highlighted the importance of the workforce system, adult education and community colleges working together to support adults and training. "There are too many separate entities arguing for their own funding at a time when the entire field is under attack," said Kelly. "When I look at literacy, it affects every quality of life indicator. When we look at early childhood - a child’s very first teacher is the parent. If the parent is illiterate, what chance does the child have?"

The second panel of the day focused on how the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and local workforce systems partnered under the Recovery Act to maximize subsidized employment for businesses and jobseekers. The Center for Law and Social Policy’s Elizabeth Lower-Basch participated via teleconference; and Julie Bisack from the Connecticut Department of Social Services, and Alice Frechette, Manager at the Connecticut Department of Labor, also presented. The panel discussed the different cultures between the two programs: TANF requires documentation of participation every hour, while WIA outcome measures make performance determination challenging. However, the TANF Emergency Fund did successfully build relationships between the two systems. "People really want to work, they were happy to be in jobs. People really were proud to be able to support themselves and their families. We can build on that and it’s a promising move forward," said Lower-Basch.

The Conference of Mayors WDC Board was honored to have a vibrant dialogue on the state of the economy with United States Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT). The Senator highlighted the importance of reauthorizing the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the national need to focus on jobs and economic growth. "One problem that really strikes me as an issue that has failed to receive the attention of DC lawmakers is dislocated workers - not enough people are aware of it. Folks have simply given up looking for jobs, and these folks aren’t even being counted anymore."

On Friday, the WDC traveled to the Mark Twain House for a keynote address by Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy, former mayor of Stamford. In his remarks, Malloy outlined his efforts to improve the business climate in Connecticut and get the state’s fiscal house in order to help create new jobs and keep the ones it already has. Malloy views jobs and economic security as the most important issue facing Connecticut today. "Many people who have jobs are worried they’ll lose them, there are too many people who are under-employed, and with unemployment hovering around eight percent, there are obviously far too many people out of work," he said.

The Governor highlighted the problem facing both Connecticut and the nation: workers are no longer just competing with workers from other states, but with workers from other countries. "In an age where our economy is rapidly changing, the jobs we have depended on for generations are fading away, being replaced by jobs that require newer and quite different skills," he said. Ensuring that life-long learning strategies are in place for Connecticut students and workers is a critical goal in the Governor’s plan to improve economic security for all in the state. He has expressed his commitment to improving links between workforce training and the key competitive industries, retooling career ladders to keep pace with the changing economy, and ensuring access to affordable and relevant incumbent worker training. "We have to harness workforce development, education at all levels, private'sector support and the philanthropic community in this effort-that’s how we made it work in Stamford and that’s how I plan to do it statewide," Malloy told the group.

Malloy was an active member of The U.S. Conference of Mayors when he was mayor of Stamford, serving as a Trustee and Vice Chair for Education of the Jobs, Education and the Workforce Standing Committee, and Co-Chair of the Small Business/Partner America Task Force. To close the meeting, the Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council presented Malloy with an award for his many years of service in support of education and workforce development on the Jobs, Education and Workforce Committee.