Annual Reports

Workforce Florida
2001-2002 Annual Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In an atmosphere where taxpayer provided resources are evermore valuable, the Workforce System has continued to make strides in increasing efficiency and effectiveness. Doing more with less has become the challenge which has forced even greater creativity from Florida’s nationally recognized attempt to make government work for both businesses and workers. The 2001-2002 program year was highlighted by significant performance improvement and a test of the "new workforce system's" ability to react to dramatic shifts in business climate.

Performance Improvement
While Florida tracks literally hundreds of performance measures to monitor its progress in developing a globally competitive workforce, the system has focused on a series of 17 short-term measures tracked in the "Red and Green Report". The measures are outcome measures that focus on the number and percentages of businesses and workers using the system, the satisfaction of customers, and the effectiveness in placement of jobseekers (as measured by placement rates and wages at placement). The 24 regional workforce boards made great progress in most areas of workforce development as evidenced by the Red/Green Final Report located in the Appendices of this report.

Increased Use of Workforce Services by Businesses
One of Workforce Florida’s guiding principles is that the workforce system be "business driven"--focusing directly on programs that respond to the needs and priorities of business. Of those businesses that hired in the 2001-2002 program year, 19.1% utilized the workforce system for some part of the hiring practice. This is up 13% from the previous year.

Increased Satisfaction by Business Customers
Employers using the system also reported increased satisfaction with the services provided. The workforce system contracts with an independent firm to administer the American Consumer Satisfaction Index survey pioneered by the University of Michigan and used by major corporations to assess customer satisfaction. Last year Florida’s composite score for employer services was 68.9 out of a possible 100 score, placing our workforce system almost exactly at the national average (68.6 for the 2000 study) for agencies providing governmental services. Such rating would have compared workforce services provided to employers with those services provided by Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Business satisfaction increased to a score of 74.3, a gain of 5.61 points, and moved ahead of the national average (71.0 average for the 2001 survey).

Increased Use of the System by Workers
The workforce system has always provided a way for workers to keep abreast of "better" employment opportunities. Many who use the system are already employed and looking for the next step in the career ladder. The improved value of the workforce system is reflected in the increased numbers of job seekers who used the system in the 2001-2002 program year and the increased number who were successful in obtaining employment.

Over 28% of all employees reported as "new hires" to the Florida Department of Revenue, received employment services through Florida’s One-Stop Career Centers. This is up 23.5% from the previous year. The system reports that 349,315 employees who successfully obtained employment also had interfaced with the One-Stops. That is an increase of 101,212 employees over the past year. This is a dramatic reversal of historic trends indicating that perception of the system as only serving those with minimal skills is beginning to change.

Better Jobs for Trained Workers
At a time when job growth was almost non-existent (0.3% for Florida for the 12 month average and -0.8% for the U.S. during the same period) and with filings for unemployment benefits setting new records, those who completed training using funds set aside for workers who had been dislocated or adults who had some barrier to employment, saw the average entry wage increase by more than $1.70 an hour over those who were trained in the previous program year. This emphasis on training for jobs which are "valued in the economy" keeps the commitment to "meaningful careers" as indicated in the guiding principles and "empowers individuals" in assisting them to self-sufficiency.

A "plain English" version of the Workforce Red and Green Key Indicators which provides an excellent snapshot of the system’s performance is available in the Performance Section of this report. Individual versions are provided for each of Florida’s 24 workforce regions in the Appendices.

Leading the Way in Performance Improvement
As in every year, some regions of the state do better than others. Workforce Florida has recognized outstanding overall performance from seven of the State’s 24 regions. This recognition looks at performance in job placement, wages at placement, reduction in welfare rolls, and use of the system by businesses and workers, satisfaction of businesses and workers, and progress made with disadvantaged youth in both school and employment activities. The high performers for the 2001-2002 program year include:

Region 2 Workforce Development Board of Okaloosa and Walton Counties
Region 3 Chipola Regional Workforce Development Board, Inc. (Calhoun, Holmes Jackson, Liberty and Washington Counties) [Top performing region for 3 years in a row]
Region 4 Gulf Coast Workforce Board (Bay, Franklin, and Gulf Counties) [Top performing region for 2 years in a row]
Region 8 First Coast Workforce Development, Inc. (Baker, Clay, Duval, Nassau, Putnam and St. John’s Counties)
Region 9 Alachua/Bradford Regional Workforce Development Board
Region 17 Polk County Workforce Development Board [Top performing region for 2 years in a row]
Region 20 Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast (Indian River, Martin, Okeechobee and St. Lucie Counties) [Top performing region for 3 of the last 5 years]

Significant Improvement in "Low Performing Regions"
Workforce Florida identified four regions where overall performance indicated a need for intensive reexamination of the local workforce system. The state board brought resources and expertise to these regions, using local experts from successful regions of the state to assist those regions that in some regard were struggling.

Those regions required to provide Performance Improvement Plans included:

Region 6 North Florida Workforce Development Board (Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee and Taylor Counties)
Region 14 WorkNetWorkNet Pinellas
Region 16 Pasco-Hernando Counties Regional Workforce Development Board, Inc.
Region 18 Suncoast Workforce Development Board (Manatee and Sarasota Counties)
Region 19 Heartland Workforce Investment Board, Inc. (DeSoto, Hardee and Highlands Counties)
Region 23 South Florida Workforce Board (Miami Dade and Monroe Counties)

In program year 2000-2001, Region 23 had 9 of 17 measures in the bottom quartile of regional performance report. Region 19 was close behind with 8 measures in the "red". Region 6, Region 14, Region 16 and Region 18 all had 5 of 17 measures ranked in the bottom quartile.

Five of the six targeted regions made progress on the state Red and Green Report. Region 23 made major gains in performance including 5 of the 17 measures in top quartile performance on the 2001-2002 report and only 3 measures in bottom quartile performance. Region 14 and 18 each had 2 measures in the top quartile and only 2 in the bottom quartile. Region 19 turned in 4 measures with top quartile performance, while decreasing their red numbers to only 3 lowest quartile measures. Region 16 had one less "red" and one additional "green" to report. However, Region 6 continued to struggle with 7 measures in the bottom quartile of regional performance.

System Responsiveness
The workforce system was created because of the perceived failures of the welfare and unemployment systems. These programs perpetuated dependence upon an entitlement system of social services rather than facilitating the return to employment and self-sufficiency. Workforce Florida and the Agency for Workforce Innovation were created by the Workforce Innovation Act of 2000 to work with local workforce boards to change the system of dependency to a system of independence. The changes that made significant changes in the workforce system beginning in 1996 and culminating in the Workforce Innovation Act of 2000, were to alter the focus from poverty to prosperity. The events of September 11, 2001 put the new system to an unexpectedly difficult test just 15 months after Governor Bush and the Legislature made such bold changes.

Just months after the attack, Florida’s unemployment rolls began to balloon. Between September and December 2001 more than 325,000 people filed for unemployment. Before the full impact of the attacks and the associated economic downturn were felt in the Florida economy, monthly filings for unemployment compensation would exceed any period in Florida history, including the effects of Hurricane Andrew.

Operation Paycheck
On October 4, 2002, Governor Bush announced "a partnership with the state universities, community colleges, vocational centers, and independent workforce training facilities to mobilize education and workforce resources to assist laid-off workers in regaining employment." "Operation Paycheck" was initiated. Workforce Florida immediately froze all available assets to provide the Governor maximum support for this initiative. By early December 2001 more than 20,000 inquiries had been made by dislocated workers about the program.

As of June 30, 2002, over 8,000 participants had enrolled in Operation Paycheck training, with the heaviest participation being in Miami-Dade, Orange, and Broward Counties. By the end of the program year, 741 participants had completed or left training, 81.24 % of those leaving reported that they were employed. The average wage rate of those exiting the program was in excess of $13 an hour. Since those who have completed training were in the shortest term training available, it is anticipated that the wage rate at placement will continue to grow. Early indications in the new program year showed that many participants were being placed in jobs with annual wages of $40,000+, an accomplishment that would not have been associated with the "old system."

Programs That Continued to Make Progress
Florida’s state level initiatives allowed regional boards and other local service providers to compete for resources addressing priorities of Workforce Florida. The Quick Response Training and Incumbent Worker Training programs, as well as the programs and initiatives developed through Workforce Florida’s three Councils (First Jobs/First Wages, Better Jobs/Better Wages, and High Skills/High Wages), have resulted in over 44,000 individuals being served and over 4,500 employers engaged. Those numbers include more than 24,000 youth served by initiatives of the First Jobs/First Wages Council.

Additionally, the regional workforce boards continued to make greater strides in efficiency. The number of workers served with resources allocated from the U.S. Department of Labor for training workers who have lost their jobs and those adults with significant challenges in obtaining employment as well as youth climbed from 61,620 in Program Year 2000-2001 to 73,286 in the year just completed. And the cost per successful completer fell from $3,952 in Program Year 2000-2001 to just over $3,300 per person, including all administrative costs.

Challenges Still Before Us
While there is always room for improvement in any system with as many responsibilities and resources that have been granted by Florida to the workforce system, certain challenges loom large as the Board looks towards the future: