By Melissa Grothus
July 16, 2007

Mayors’ workforce directors from across the country gathered in Los Angeles June 21-23, for The U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council (WDC) Annual Meeting, held in conjunction with the 75th Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors. WDC President, Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County CEO Kris Stadelman presided over the session, which focused on linking workforce development to economic development, at-risk youth, public safety, and high school reform.

WDC members toured the Port of Los Angeles, America’s premier port and an undisputed center for global trade, to learn how its operations are central to the economic viability of Southern California.

According to Arley Baker, Director of Public Relations and Legislative Affairs for the Port of Los Angeles, “It is estimated that Port operations impact one out of every 24 jobs in the region, or $1 out of every $23 in regional wages. The Port provides 16,000 local jobs, 256,000 regional jobs, and one million jobs nationally.”

In addition, community outreach programs are integral to the operations of the port. Each year, the port contributes more than $20 million to local programs and organizations in the form of rent-free agreements, program support, and sponsorships. Over the years, the Port of Los Angeles has successfully integrated port operations — vital to the region’s economic success — with community and recreational activities that are educational and inclusive of the entire community.

WDC members also visited the Boyle Heights Technology Youth Center. As part of the Los Angeles Youth Opportunity Movement (LAYOM) — a program designed to promote youth achievement in personal, educational, and employment goals. The Tech Center provides technology-based educational opportunities and workforce development services to youth and their families. The facility houses an alternative high school, recreation space and a recording studio.

For decades, the neighborhood just east of downtown Los Angeles, known as Boyle Heights, lacked access to technology resources. Now, “The Boyle Heights Technology Center seeks to bridge the ‘digital divide,’ and utilize technology to promote educational achievement, college readiness, and career opportunities for local youth,” explained Jimmy Valenzuela, Executive Director of the Boyle Heights Technology Center.

According to Valenzuela, “The Tech Center, once located on a corner known for its astronomical rates of crime and gang activity, now offers an array of programs and services that encourage youth to seek positive alternatives to criminal and destructive behavior.”

“Employment and job opportunities are crucial to the success of young people, especially in urban areas like Los Angeles,” explained Los Angeles Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger in a presentation at the Boyle Heights Tech Center. “It is imperative that urban youth has access to positive alternatives, like this center, to prevent criminal activity.”

Paysinger outlined several programs the Los Angeles Police Department employs to successfully link workforce development initiatives with early intervention for at risk-youth.

“The LAPD Explorer Program is a ‘Learning for Life’ program out of the Juvenile Division, which provides special training to young people preparing for a career in law enforcement,” explained Paysinger. The program consists of academics, physical-fitness training and military drills that are instructed by police officers. “Not only do we train them, we train with them,” Paysinger said.

“The Deputy Auxiliary Police (DAP) program is similar to the Explorer program, but it is geared towards even younger children,” stated Paysinger. The program is designed for children aged 9 through 13 years and allows children to participate in activities that instill a sense of community pride, self-discipline and leadership ability in an overall positive environment.

In addition, the Los Angeles Police Academy Magnet School Program offers a rigorous, police officer-led high school curriculum developed for young men and women expressing an interest in a career in law enforcement. “This program provides a better understanding of law enforcement for students no matter what career path they eventually follow,” said Chief Paysinger.

With the ever growing competitive global economy and the startlingly high numbers of students not graduating from high school, WDC concluded the meeting by discussing how to reform America’s secondary education system to better prepare students for graduation and the world of work. The WDC was joined by former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, President of the Alliance for Excellent Education and Christopher B. Swanson, Director of Editorial Projects in Education (EPE) Research Center to address the connection between a strong educational system and a successful workforce.

“Every year, approximately 1.3 million students - that’s 7,000 every school day - do not graduate from high school as scheduled,” explained Wise. “This is a crisis in America that is largely unnoticed and holds dire economic consequences.”

According to Wise, if U.S. high schools and colleges were to raise the graduation rates of Hispanic, African-American, and Native-American students to the levels of white students by 2020, the potential increase in personal income would generate more than $310 billion to the U.S. economy.

“This is an educational Katrina,” concluded Wise. “We need to make people care and if we can’t do it morally, then let’s do it economically.”