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Workforce Florida Weekly Update 8-25-06 |
CONTENTS The State & RegionsSite location experts rank Florida in the top ten for the Best State Work Force Training Incentive Programs. Remaining competitive in a global economy is a challenge for any company in any industry. That’s why the partnership between states or communities and companies is essential, especially in the area of work force training. “Years ago, companies didn’t expect to earn money off their newly hired workers for at least the first six months of employment,” said Ken Krizner, managing editor of Expansion Management. “New workers were in an apprentice-type situation, where the company was quite willing to invest time, money and patience in the present for a payoff down in the future. Those days are long gone.” For the eighth year in a row, Expansion Management polled more than 80 prominent corporate site consultants to determine which states had the best overall work force training programs. Florida offers companies two state level training grant incentives – Quick Response Training and Incumbent Worker Training. Both are administered by Workforce Florida Inc. Southeastern states dominated the rankings, with Alabama, Georgia, Texas, North Carolina and South Carolina making up the top five -- Florida ranked number 10. (See the link below to access the article for a complete list of the top 10 states). The results of the poll appear in the magazine’s July-August 2006 issue, which also contains a comprehensive list of the major work force training programs available in each of the 50 states, along with information on whom to contact in each state for further information. To read the 2006 Work Force Training article, visit Expansion Management’s Web site at www.ExpansionManagement.com. SOURCE: Expansion Management poll of 80 Corporate Site Location Consultants, June 2006. Employ Florida Banner Center/Aviation Aerospace officially launched. Workforce Florida, Inc. launched the state’s first Employ Florida Banner Center to focus on the educational and training needs for occupations critical to the aviation and aerospace industry. Supported by a $1.2 million grant from Workforce Florida, Inc., the Aerospace Resource Center in Jacksonville will provide a pipeline of skilled workers for an industry vital to the local economies of Jacksonville and Brevard, and the entire state. The Aerospace Resource Center is a joint initiative of Florida Community College at Jacksonville and Brevard Community College. The launch announcement took place at Cecil Commerce Center in a hangar that is part of the Aviation Center for Excellence’s training facilities. This first Employ Florida Banner Center launch followed an inspiring graduation ceremony for a eleven students completing the Airframe and Powerplant certicificate program. The Banner Center launch was well attended (50+ attendees) by industry, education and workforce professionals, students and local media including television and radio reporters. The announcement received good local newspaper, TV and radio coverage later that day and the next morning in addition to additional inquiries and coverage from media in other areas of the state. Up to eight industry-specific Banner Centers are planned statewide. Each will address current and future workforce development needs in key Florida industries, such as biotechnology, financial services and manufacturing. And each will provide on-going ready access to research and educational development. For more information on Employ Florida Banner Centers contact Adriane Glenn Grant at agrant@workforceflorida.com. OPPAGA issues Progress Report: School Readiness Guidance and Communication Improve; Fiscal Issues, Evaluation Need Attention (from the Florida Monitor Weekly-August 25, 2006). The Agency for Workforce Innovation has improved guidance and technical assistance to the early learning coalitions as well as communication on program requirements and expectations. As a result, coalition executive directors indicate that their satisfaction with the agency’s information and services has increased. The agency should continue to take steps to fully address other issues identified in our previous reports. For instance, although the agency has taken some steps to resolve fiscal issues, it should take additional measures to help strengthen the financial condition of coalitions, including making changes to its payment process and addressing reasons why some coalitions continue to experience year-end deficits. In addition, the agency has worked with the Florida Department of Education on a new kindergarten uniform screening instrument to be administered in September 2006, but it has made little progress toward conducting the longitudinal analysis of program outcomes. Access the full Report No. 06-60, August 2006 at: http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/reports/educ/r06-60s.html. Burnham to launch life-sciences research and development campus in Florida. TALLAHASSEE - Governor Jeb Bush this week announced the Burnham Institute for Medical Research of La Jolla, California has selected Florida as the site for its East Coast expansion. Burnham specializes in pure scientific research, translating discoveries into innovative treatments and therapies. Joining Governor Bush for today’s announcement were Burnham Institute President and CEO John Reed, board chairman, Nicolas Nierenberg, members of the Florida Legislature and representatives from Florida’s state universities. “The expansion of the Burnham Institute’s world class biomedical research and operations into Florida illustrates the strength of the state’s international reputation as a hub for cutting edge biomedical research and development. We are thrilled to welcome them to Florida,” said Governor Bush. “Burnham and its state of the art research facilities will have a significant impact not just on the local economy, but on the state’s overall life sciences sector.” In its startup phase, the Burnham Institute will operate a campus-style research park in the City of Orlando and plans to create 300 jobs. In recognition of Florida’s acclaimed biomedical industry and to further boost the state’s booming life-sciences sector, Florida has approved a $155 million incentive package for Burnham. The amount from the state must be matched with an equal amount of local money, infrastructure or services. “We are enormously grateful to the people of Florida for their generous support of our medical research efforts and to Governor Jeb Bush and the Florida State Legislature for their vision,” said Dr. John Reed, President & CEO of Burnham Institute for Medical Research. “By providing the financial means for our expansion into Florida, together with increased investments in its public universities, the State’s leadership is laying a superb foundation for growth of biotechnology in Florida. This exceptional partnership will allow us to drive our scientific discoveries more rapidly toward clinical proof of concept, narrowing the gap between discovery and the development of new ways of detecting, treating, curing, and ultimately preventing diseases.” The Burnham Institute for Medical Research celebrated its 30th anniversary this year. Founded in La Jolla, California, as a non-profit medical research institute focused on cancer research, it has grown to a staff of 750 people, with an annual operating budget of $87 million. Burnham has a strong commitment to pure scientific research and is renowned for its work in unraveling the fundamental molecular mechanisms of disease and the creation of devise proto-type therapies. The Burnham institute researches cancer, Alzheimer's, arthritis and other diseases. Burnham scientists are responsible for five FDA-approved therapies and another nine innovative therapies. For more information on Governor Bush’s economic development initiatives, please visit www.myflorida.com. St. Petersburg hosts the first town fair to help homeowners harden homes against hurricane damage and reduce cost of insurance. TALLAHASSEE - Lt. Governor Toni Jennings, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty and St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker this week announced, Fortify Florida: Tampa Bay Prepares!, the first in a series of town fairs around the state to provide homeowners with a one-stop-shop of information about hardening their homes against hurricanes and reducing their insurance premium. Insurance companies, home improvement stores, emergency managers, non-for-profit organizations and other government and private-sector partners are participating in the town fairs, which are free and open to the public. The first town fair is scheduled for this Saturday, August 26 from 10 am to 4 pm at the St. Petersburg Coliseum. “Fortifying Florida is essential for instilling a “culture of preparedness.” The goal of the town fairs is to empower people with the information they need to make critical decisions about protecting their home and reducing their insurance premium,” said Governor Bush. “During the last two years, thousands of Floridians lost their homes or were forced out of their homes for months because of damage sustained from a hurricane. We want to help Floridians harden their homes against potential damage, which is an investment that can save them money on their annual insurance premium and spare them the anguish of losing their home during a natural disaster.” The Fortify Florida: Tampa Bay Prepares! will feature home improvement how-to clinics and displays of building materials to strengthen homes. Insurance companies from each area will be available to talk to homeowners about how they can take advantage of discounts and credits on their premium for hardening their home against wind damage from hurricanes. Homeowners can also apply for a free inspection and a grant up to $5000 from “My Safe Florida Home”, a $250 million program launched this year and administered by the Florida Department of Financial Services to help Floridians protect their homes. “The My Safe Florida Home Program is open for business and accepting applications for free home inspections,” said Tom Gallagher, Florida’s Chief Financial Officer. “Our mission is to help Floridians identify how they can strengthen their homes and better protect themselves and their families against hurricanes. We have the financial capacity to serve as many as 50,000 Floridians over the next year, and with the Legislature’s continued funding, we look forward to providing free inspections and matching grants to all Floridians.” For information on creating a Family Disaster Preparedness Plan, please visit: www.floridadisaster.org. For information about participating in the My Safe Florida Home (Florida Comprehensive Hurricane Damage Mitigation Program), please visit www.mysafefloridahome.com or call 1-800-342-2762. SUCCEED Grants will fulfill critical workforce needs in Florida. TALLAHASSEE – Lt. Governor Toni Jennings and Education Commissioner John L. Winn this week announced the recipients of $33.4 million in 2006-2007 SUCCEED, Florida! Career Education Grants. Through this funding provided by the Florida Legislature, the Florida Department of Education (DOE) will award 87 new competitive grants to support new and expanding programs in nursing/allied health, manufacturing, automotive technology and teacher certification in public and private career academies, community colleges and universities – all areas designated by Enterprise Florida and Workforce Florida as targeted sectors for statewide economic development. The funding will also support the addition of 102 career academies with $5.3 million from SUCCEED, Florida! and nearly $2.1 million from funding the Florida Legislature appropriated to implement Governor Bush’s A++ Plan for Education. “The SUCCEED, Florida! Grant Program will ensure our state has a well-educated and strong workforce in the health, education, manufacturing and automotive technology sectors,” said Lt. Governor Jennings. “This investment in Florida’s workforce will help maintain our completive edge in retaining and attracting new businesses to our state.” Established in 2005, the SUCCEED, Florida! Grant Program is designed to build capacity for education programs to meet the state’s most critical workforce needs. This year, the allied health, manufacturing and automotive industries added their support to SUCCEED, Florida! funding to address workforce shortages in these sectors. During 2006-2007, 24 new allied health grants, five new manufacturing grants and seven new automotive technology grants will be funded. Additionally, two critical workforce shortage areas funded last year – teaching and nursing – remain a priority. Additionally, 33 teaching grants and 18 nursing grants are being awarded today. “The SUCCEED, Florida! Grant program enables us to better meet our state’s critical need for teachers,” said Commissioner Winn. “The funding of 102 career oriented academies represents the state’s first down payment on new educational experiences and opportunities for our high school students.” Also part of the $33.4 million Lt. Governor Jennings and Commissioner Winn awarded today, are continuation funds from the 2005-06 SUCCEED, Florida! Grants, which include 15 nursing grants, 26 teaching grants and 36 career academy grants. More than 1,000 students are enrolled in career academies funded in during 2005-2006. Last year, 17 nursing grants, 27 teaching grants and 39 career academies grants were awarded to schools and colleges throughout the state. These grants enabled more than 2100 new students to pursue a career in teaching. The nursing grants attracted 328 new nursing students and produced nearly 200 faculty to alleviate the backlog in community college nursing programs. “Improving Florida’s business climate is directly linked to improvements in our education system at all levels,” said President of Gulf Power and Vice Chairman of Enterprise Florida Susan Story. “SUCCEED, Florida! helps strengthen the connection between education and economic development--because without a highly skilled workforce, there is no economic development.” Florida’s Workforce Education programs, supported by the SUCCEED, Florida! Grants Program, offer specialized instruction to help students achieve their goals. To learn more about the career development opportunities, contact the DOE Workforce Education office toll free at (800) 406-5555 or visit www.fldoe.org. For more information on the grants and grant recipients, please visit: http://www.firn.edu/doe/workforce/pdf/succeed_summary.pdf and http://www.firn.edu/doe/workforce/pdf/succeed_awards.pdf. Governor Bush appoints Vicki Lukis as chairperson of the Governor’s Ex-Offender Task Force. TALLAHASSEE — Governor Jeb Bush this week announced the appointment of Vicki L. Lukis, 48, of Coral Gables, as chairperson of the Governor’s Ex-Offender Task Force. Ms. Lukis, a community service volunteer, succeeds Stephen MacNamara, for a term beginning August 4, 2006, and ending at the pleasure of the Governor. WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA UNIVERSITY offers no cost seminar on Effective Performance Evaluations. ORLANDO, FL…WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA UNIVERSITY, a service from WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA (WCF) that provides monthly no cost seminars to the business community on workforce and human resource topics, will host a seminar on September 27, 2006 that covers information businesses need to know about effective performance evaluations. The seminar, titled “Conducting Effective Performance Evaluations,” will take place from 7:45 to 9 a.m. at WORKFORCE CENTRAL FLORIDA (1097 Sand Pond Road) in Lake Mary. Presenting the seminar will be Susan McKenna, a partner in the Orlando office of Jackson Lewis LLP, one of the largest management labor and employment law firms in the country. Appropriate and timely employee communications about performance issues are crucial to retaining valuable employees, identifying areas of necessary improvement or correction, and documenting the legitimate business reasons for important decisions. When used effectively, the performance appraisal process can be an extremely valuable human resource tool. By the same token, inappropriate or ill-considered evaluations can create potential liability for an employer. This seminar will explore how to use performance appraisals to maximize their effectiveness and minimize risk. Seating is limited and advance registration is required. To register, please call (407) 531-1222, ext. 2045 or e-mail reservation@wcfla.com. Polk Works to relocate Lakeland One-Stop Center. Bartow, FL (Aug. 22, 2006) - Polk Works will move its One-Stop Center at 936 E. Parker St. in Lakeland to the agency's Business Services and Training Center on nearby Ingraham Ave. The Polk Works Board of Directors approved the cost-cutting move at its Aug. 17 meeting. The move is planned for October. The Board also approved moving the Polk Works administrative staff from Bartow to the Winter Haven One-Stop Center. The action follows government funding cuts and a budget shortfall. "Relocating to the Ingraham Ave. site could save Polk Works nearly $120,000 this year, while moving staff to Winter Haven could save roughly $95,000 or more," said Interim Executive Director Tom Hornack. "At the same time, we expect to maintain the same high level of service to our customers." Together, the two One-Stop Centers serve approximately 1,500 clients a week. The NationBureau of Labor Statistics Monthly Labor Review Focuses on Impact of Hurricane Katrina. The just released August 2006 issue of the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Monthly Labor Review is a special issue on the labor market impact of Hurricane Katrina. Studies in this issue include: the effects on industry employment and wages, a comparison of work mobility before and after the hurricane, the effect on employment and unemployment, and the hurricane damage to the ocean economy in the gulf region. To link to the articles see: http://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/mlrhome.htm. U.S. Department of Labor Proposes Trade Act Rules
- Increased Access to Employment Training Services Proposed
for Trade-Affected
Workers. WASHINGTON —The U.S. Department of Labor this
week proposed rules concerning management of the Trade Adjustment
Assistance (TAA) Reform Act of 2002. A notice of proposed rulemaking
(NPRM) in the Federal Register lays out changes that would
ensure the administration of TAA programs will be more aligned
with the employment and training services offered through the
nation's One-Stop service delivery system established by the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA). NASWA’s Workforce Bulletin – August 18,
2006
Grant and Competitive Award Opportunities and NoticesFor additional information go to, visit the External Grant Opportunities page.Featured Opportunity:(none) State Grants(none) Federal GrantsCommunity-Based Job Training Grants (REPEAT) Brownfields Training Grants (REPEAT) Selection for Job Corps Center Sites (REPEAT) Assistive Technology Reutilization Model Demonstrations Program National Assistive Technology and Technical Assistance Center
Program Foundation Grants(None) Scholarships/AwardsHenry B. Betts Award to Honor Individual for Work on Behalf of People With Disabilities 4th Annual P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition for Sustainability Focusing on People, Prosperity, and the Planet Innovation in Workforce Housing Awards Upcoming Meetings, Conferences and
Events
Workforce Florida Board and Related Meetings Schedule:For up-to-date WFI board meeting info please check the calendar at the WFI website. September 20, 2006 October 18, 2006 November 29, 2006 November 30, 2006 Other Meetings/Conferences/Events:
August 30 – September 1, 2006 September 1, 2006 September 15, 2006 October 12-13, 2006 Nov. 30 - Dec. 2, 2006 December 2 – 5, 2006 December 4-7, 2006 Odds and EndsFrom SSTI Weekly Digest for August 21, 2006: From SOUTHERN COMPASS -- August 22, 2006:
Census reports that more than 11 million College Students receive financial aid. About 11.2 million college students, or more than half, received some form of financial aid from outside their families to help pay for their education, according to tabulations released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. These tabulations, Financing the Future: 2001-2002, provide information on the characteristics of postsecondary students and the costs and financing associated with their schooling during the 2001-2002 academic year. Data are presented on types of costs, patterns of financial aid received, the extent to which the aid covers costs and the characteristics of the institutions attended — all shown by students’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Some tables also illustrate how much the receipt of aid and coverage of costs vary by institutional characteristics. Other highlights:
The data come from the Survey of Income and Program Participation and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Institutional Characteristics Survey. Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error. Access the full information at: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/sch_cost.html. Quote for the Week:“Victory
belongs to the most persevering.” “Stay the course” |
