By Juliette Jardim
October 4, 2010

Over 60 representatives of Workforce Investment Boards and programs from across the nation gathered in Washington (DC) on September 21 for the 22nd Annual U.S. Conference of Mayors Workforce Development Council (WDC) Congressional Forum. The Forum provided workforce professionals the opportunity to discuss shared successes, and educate federal decision makers about the skills and capacity of workforce development system. Forum participants met with officials from the Department of Labor, the Department of Education and other Washington insiders about Workforce Investment Act reauthorization, the Summer Jobs program, Adult Education, FY 2011 Appropriations and other workforce development issues before Congress.

The session was presided over by the WDC's Executive Board President Karen Sitnick, Director of Baltimore's Office of Employment Development. Other participants included Tom Phillips, President and CEO of Capital Workforce Partners and First Vice President of the WDC; and Clyde McQueen, President and CEO of Full Employment Council, Inc. and Second Vice President of the WDC.

Assistant Secretary of Vocational and Adult Education at the U.S. Department of Education Brenda Dann-Messier and Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor Gerri Fiala jointly delivered the keynote address. The two Administration officials discussed collaboration between the two agencies to better serve adults in transition and those seeking job training to improve their career opportunities.

“Folks really need help moving through the system, you really need to be able to jump right in and provide support services for them,” said Dann-Messier regarding the skill gap that exists in immigrant populations.

“We really want the community colleges and their partners to think about how they would do things differently and how they would be creative,” said Fiala, who stressed that different departments, agencies and programs on the local, state and federal levels must work together to break down barriers and efficiently provide opportunities for struggling workers.

Women's Microenterprise

Director of the Women's Bureau at the Department of Labor Sara Manzano-Diaz along with CEO of the Women's Self Employment Initiative Julie Castro Abrams highlighted training programs that used enterprise development as a means to create jobs for women. Castro Abrams introduced the recently released Job Creation for Enterprise Development packet as a resource for workforce development directors; and Manzano-Diaz focused on programs that train women for non-traditional jobs, citing the Department of Labor's green jobs guide, scheduled to be released this fall.

Associate Director of the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies Paul Harrington examined the declining teen employment rates. “This month we're still at five unemployed workers to every job,” said Harrington about the difficulties of generating job opportunities for teens when the adult unemployment rate is so high.

The forum also featured panels of Congressional staff members and Washington insiders discussing current workforce legislation in Congress including FY 2011 Appropriations, health care legislation and reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act. Appropriations panel members Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Majority Professional Staff Alison Perkins-Cohen and House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Majority Professional Staff Stephen Steigleder discussed the upcoming Continuing Resolution and possibility of an omnibus Appropriations bill, as well as funding levels for workforce innovation funds, Summer Jobs and green jobs.

Additional legislative panel members included House Committee on Education and Labor Minority Professional Staff Allison Dembeck; House Committee on Education and Labor Senior Labor Policy Advisor Livia Lam; Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Senior Education Policy Advisor David Johns; and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety Majority Staff Director Scott Cheney. The panel covered the workforce policy outlook for the 112th Congress, focusing on reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

“The system was built during different economic times and now that we're here we need to make sure the system is flexible and turns towards new economic demands,” said Lam regarding the need to give local areas the flexibility to make decisions based on their local economies.

Forum participants heard an update on Congress' recent legislative action from Lee Foley, Managing Partner of Capital Hill Partners. Foley summarized the effects of the current recession and the upcoming elections on recent legislative action.

“The voters may not know the statistics but they feel them,” said Foley. “We have some challenges our public policy has to address, and our elected officials should not be surprised when these trends cause them heartburn.”