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Workforce Florida Weekly Update 12-13-06 |
CONTENTS The State & RegionsFlorida Receives $7.2 Million in Training Grants - Community Colleges and Local Partners Will Administer. TALLAHASSEE— The Agency for Workforce Innovation announced that four Florida communities have received Community Based Job Training Grants from the U.S. Department of Labor. The grants represent $7.2 million for workforce projects in industries ranging from healthcare and construction to advanced manufacturing and energy. Florida’s award recipients include: Broward Community College, awarded over $1.9 million for the transportation sector; Florida Community College at Jacksonville, awarded over $1.9 million for the construction sector; Polk Community college, awarded $2 million for the healthcare sector; and St. Petersburg College, awarded $1.2 million for the healthcare sector. “The Community Based Job Training Grants represent strategic investments that target specific industry sectors within each community and will add to the success of Florida’s workforce as a whole,” said Linda H. South, Director of the Agency for Workforce Innovation. “We are proud of the broad partnerships within the four communities that successfully competed for these awards.” Nationwide, 72 community college partnerships were awarded a total of $125 million for successfully competing under the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grants initiative. The grants work to strengthen the role of community colleges in promoting workforce’s full potential. The grants are employer-focused and build on the President’s High Growth Job Training Initiative, a national model for demand-driven workforce development implemented by strategic partnerships between the workforce investment system, employers, and community colleges and other training providers. The primary purpose of the CBJTG grants is to build the capacity of community colleges to train workers to develop the skills required to succeed in high growth/high demand industries. For more information on the Department of Labor’s employment and training programs visit: http://www.doleta.gov/business/Community-BasedJobTrainingGrants.cfm. New Center Focuses on Improving Skills of Florida’s Biotech Workforce. ALACHUA — Efforts to ensure Florida’s booming biotechnology industry has the highly skilled workforce it needs to continue to grow has received a major boost thanks to a $500,000 grant from Workforce Florida, Inc. to establish the Employ Florida Banner Center for Biotechnology at the University of Florida. A key statewide focus of the center will be to build on existing curricula and create new courses to train workers currently employed in the industry who need to upgrade their skills and prepare people interested in careers in biotechnology for new, in-demand jobs. The University of Florida’s major partners in this initiative are: Florida Community College at Jacksonville, Santa Fe Community College, Indian River Community College, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering. The recent arrival and anticipated opening of branches of several prominent bioscience institutes including the Scripps Research Institute, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies and SRI International has heightened the need for qualified technical workers who can support the research and development of new medical discoveries and their transition to the marketplace. “Florida must be prepared to meet the challenges of our steadily growing high tech job market,” said Gov. Jeb Bush. “To that end, we are broadening Florida’s economic base by strategically investing in the expansion of high-skill, high-wage industries such as biotechnology. The work of the Employ Florida Banner Center for Biotechnology will greatly assist our goal of diversifying Florida’s economy.” The Employ Florida Banner Center for Biotechnology marks the latest investment by Workforce Florida in this sector. Among the training and educational materials to be used by this center will be Web-based biotech curricula created in 2005 by a statewide consortium that focuses on laboratory technology, biomanufacturing and regulatory affairs. The curricula were developed through a $1.2 million grant from Workforce Florida. Additionally, in recent years Workforce Florida has awarded Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) and Quick Response Training (QRT) grants to life sciences firms such as Cordis Corp., Noven Pharmaceuticals and Regeneration Technologies, Inc. to train their employees. “Our workforce system’s continuing investment in the biotechnology industry advances our goal of serving as a catalyst for economic development in Florida,” said Katherine Wilson, Chairman of Workforce Florida. Wilson, along with other workforce, education, economic development and business leaders, gathered today at the University of Florida’s Center of Excellence for Regenerative Health Biotechnology, directed by Richard O. Snyder, to outline plans for the new Employ Florida Banner Center. It is housed within the university’s Center of Excellence, which includes a new $10 million drug manufacturing facility, Florida Biologix ™. The Employ Florida Banner Center is a fitting complement to the Center of Excellence’s research, education, biopharmaceutical manufacturing and biotech career-outreach programs. “UF and our partners in the Employ Florida Banner Center for Biotechnology are committed to doing our part to ensure our state has a strong pipeline of highly qualified people to meet current and future staffing demands,” said Win Phillips, the University of Florida’s Vice President for Research. Florida’s biotechnology industry is expected to grow considerably once anticipated spin-offs and other businesses cluster around the new, big bioscience research institutes. The state, however, has long been home to a thriving biotechnology industry. In 2005, there were 85 biotech companies in Florida, according to Enterprise Florida, Inc. There were more than 300 companies in the related field of medical device manufacturing and design. The statewide average annual salary in 2005 for biotechnology was $50,891 and $49,973 for medical device manufacturing. Bioscience businesses are seeking a range of personnel from laboratory technicians, who can help conduct experiments and manufacture drugs and devices, to professional, administrative, regulatory and other support staff. “This is an exciting time for Florida’s bioscience industry,” said Russell Allen, President of BioFlorida, the statewide industry organization. “As this sector expands and transforms from a research and development industry to a high-growth manufacturing sector, we want to raise the level of training available so that Floridians are prepared to seize on the new career opportunities.” The Employ Florida Banner Center for Biotechnology is part of a $5.2 million strategic initiative to develop the state’s workforce in key Florida industries. Banner Centers that focus on training in aviation and aerospace, manufacturing and financial services also were launched this year. Additional centers are being planned for industries including construction, energy, health care, homeland security and defense, information technology and logistics and distribution. The centers are part of the Employ Florida network of state and local workforce partners and services. For more information on Employ Florida Banner Centers, please go to www.EmployFlorida.com. Manufacturers’ Forum To Be Held At Treasure Coast High School. The Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast is partnering with the St. Lucie County School District to host a Manufacturers’ Forum at the Manufacturing/Pre-Engineering Academy at the new Treasure Coast High School in Port St. Lucie. Manufacturers in St. Lucie County are invited to attend the Forum, network and share solutions with industry partners. Forum participants will receive information on the future of the manufacturing industry, gather techniques for finding and keeping top employees and get an insiders’ look at the future manufacturing workforce. Students in the Manufacturing Academy at TCHS follow a career-focused curriculum that combines real world learning in a hands-on environment. The Academy facility consists of traditional classroom space that opens into a spacious manufacturing lab which provides students the opportunity for hands-on simulations. Students who complete the Academy program will possess a high school diploma and industry certifications as manufacturing Production Technicians from the national Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC) and Work Certified work readiness skills from the Workforce Development Board. The Academy will produce well trained students who upon graduation are ready to enter the workplace or to pursue additional training and education, depending on their chosen career path. Miroslava Hernandez, an 11th grader from Port St. Lucie, signed up for the academy because it matches his career plan. “I am in the manufacturing program because it specializes in teaching students to be the best at their skills and use their knowledge to the fullest. I am very interested in the construction sector of manufacturing.” The Manufacturers’ Forum will be held Thursday, December 14, 2007, from 8:00 to 9:30 AM at Treasure Coast High School, 1000 SW Darwin Boulevard, Port St. Lucie. Businesses interested in attending the forum, should RSVP immediately to Caren Belowch at 772-335-3030 X *822. For more information about the Manufacturing Academy, contact Diana Rew at the Workforce Development Board at 772-335-3030 X*839. The NationManpower Employment Outlook Survey Detects Stable U.S. Hiring Plans with Cautious Undertones for Q1 2007. MILWAUKEE, Dec 12, 2006 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ -- U.S. employers are set to enter the new year with a steady hiring pace similar to the past two years, according to the seasonally adjusted results of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc. "Although the U.S. employment outlook remains stable, hiring managers are leaning toward a softened job pace, which you can see by the subtle decline in confidence in the last two quarters of survey results," said Jonas Prising, President of Manpower North America. "This is by no means a dramatic shift in employer sentiment, but it does indicate that companies are giving more thought to posting help wanted notices." Of the 14,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 23% expect to add to their payrolls during the first quarter of 2007, while 11% expect to reduce staff levels. Sixty percent expect no change in the hiring pace, and 6% are undecided about their hiring plans. The seasonally adjusted survey results show that employers in the Non- Durable Goods Manufacturing, Wholesale/Retail Trade and Services sectors remain confident and foresee little change in the hiring pace compared to the fourth quarter. Hiring is expected to improve slightly in the Education and Public Administration sectors, and Mining employers foresee a more notable, albeit modest, improvement in the employment landscape. In four of the 10 industry sectors surveyed, employers expect weaker hiring activity in the first three months of 2007 versus the final quarter of 2006. These sectors include Construction, Durable Goods Manufacturing, Transportation/Public Utilities and, especially, Finance/Insurance/Real Estate. "The Finance/Insurance/Real Estate sector was one of the strongest performers in the survey throughout most of 2006, but the first quarter forecast for 2007 indicates a significant change in attitude. Employers in this sector reported the weakest hiring expectations, making job prospects much tighter than in recent years," said Prising. The quarter-over-quarter hiring outlook for the four U.S. regions is consistent with fourth quarter results in the Northeast, Midwest and South. Employers in the West are slightly less optimistic than they were in the final months of 2006. Compared with last year at this time, employers in the South and West have slightly weaker hiring plans. Job prospects in the Midwest are expected to be about the same, while a brighter jobs picture is predicted for the Northeast. Employer optimism is most apparent in the South, while companies in the Midwest are most reserved about their hiring plans in the New Year. For the full release and links to specific reports go to: http://investor.manpower.com/releases.cfm. NASWA’s Workforce Bulletin Headlines for 12/08/06:
Grant and Competitive Award Opportunities and NoticesFor additional information go to, visit the External Grant Opportunities page.Featured Opportunity:(none) State Grants(none) Federal Grants(none) Foundation Grants(none) Scholarships/Awards(none) 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. January 17, 2006 January 29-31, 2007
February 22, 2007 Other Meetings/Conferences/Events:
April 2nd-5th, 2007 Odds and EndsOlder Worker Training: What We Know and Don’t Know (from AARP Public Policy Institute). By 2014, an estimated 34 million age 55+ workers will comprise more than 20 percent of the workforce. As a result, America needs to prepare for an aging workforce. Although much is known about aging as a process, relatively less is known about the implications of aging for performance of everyday activities such as work. This AARP Public Policy Institute Issue Paper seeks to...
Where possible, guidelines for the design of training programs
for older adults are presented. The information is based
on a review of the gerontological, psychological, and human
factors engineering literature including summaries of the
authors’ own research. How Important Is Quality of Labor? And How Is It Achieved?
(From the Harvard Business School Working Knowledge newsletter – 12/11/06).
A new book by Gregory Clark identifies "labor quality" as
the major enticement for capital flows that lead to economic
prosperity. By defining labor quality in terms of discipline
and attitudes toward work, this argument minimizes the long-term
threat of outsourcing to developed economies. By understanding
labor quality, can we better confront anxieties about outsourcing
and immigration? Over the past thirty years, several of my
colleagues and I have tried to figure out why a handful of
organizations are able to achieve true excellence. One of
several things they all do is hire for attitude and train
for skills. By "attitude," they typically mean
the ability to identify with and "live" core values
of the organization such as respect for others, being customer-driven,
etc. Their managements have concluded that it is too difficult
and costly to try to change the attitudes of adults. As a
result, they release those unable to work and manage according
to the organization's values and replace them with those
who can. All of this comes to mind in the face of the debate
over immigration and outsourcing, essentially trade in labor.
And it is prompted by a new book, A Farewell to Alms: A Brief
Economic History of the World, by Gregory Clark that identifies
what he calls "labor quality" as the major enticement
for capital flows that lead to economic prosperity. He defines
labor quality in terms of such things as discipline and attitudes
toward work. This requires social beliefs and institutions
that produce labor quality. By implication, this largely
rules out low labor cost as an important factor in such flows.
Clark maintains that differences in labor efficiency justify
large differences in labor costs. By extension, this argument
minimizes the long-term threat of outsourcing to developed
economies. If this is true, it may help explain why the U.S.
is a favorite location of highly-skilled jobs "insourced" by
companies headquartered in other countries. For example,
one recent study suggests that outsourcing may impact up
to 1.47 million U.S. jobs (out of more than 100 million).
By comparison, the Organization for International Investment,
which may admittedly have a biased point of view, estimates
that foreign companies employ 5.4 million in the United States.
Clark is not optimistic about today's societies that have
not had a long history of cultural foundations and functioning
institutions that support the kind of formal and informal
educational efforts that contribute to quality of labor.
The kinds of changes he studies have taken place over long
periods of time. And they run much deeper than such things
as short-term educational reform or job retraining. Why is
it, then, that there is so much fear of outsourcing and immigration
at a time when shop windows, at least in the Northeast U.S.,
are full of help-wanted signs? Is it simply the fear of change
and uncertainty in a time of both job and labor migration?
Can increased retraining of displaced workers really provide
an answer to it, especially if one of the causes of unemployment
is an "attitude gap"? Is a willingness to take
the initiative to risk one's safety to cross a border to
support one's family a positive indicator of the kind of "attitude" sought
by high-performing organizations? If so, will private industry
as a matter of course undertake the training required to
help immigrants acquire necessary skills? And in the meantime,
what should government do, if anything, to stem job and worker
flows while maintaining the quality of labor of its citizens?
What do you think? Program to Help Ex-Prisoners Stay in the Labor Market Shows Success. Philadelphia—Impressive numbers of ex-prisoners participating in the Ready4Work program are finding and keeping employment and avoiding a return to prison, according to new research released by Public/Private Ventures (P/PV), the nonprofit organization that partnered with federal agencies and private foundations to create and oversee the three-year national demonstration project. Almost 60 percent of all participants found a job while enrolled in the program, with about a third remaining employed for at least six consecutive months; more striking, participants’ recidivism rates are considerably lower than national averages compiled by the federal Bureau of Justice Statistics. Just 1.9 percent of Ready4Work participants returned to state prison with a new offense within six months of their release (compared with 5 percent nationally), and only 5 percent did so within one year (compared to 10.4 percent nationally). P/PV researchers caution that without a formal control group definitive conclusions about the program’s effectiveness cannot be drawn; despite these caveats they describe Ready4Work’s outcomes as extremely promising. P/PV President, Fred Davie said “We are pleased with the results of Ready4Work on several levels. Clearly, we are happy with the outcomes, especially for a seemingly intractable societal challenge. We are also impressed by the effectiveness of the partnerships forged with community-based and faith-based providers in 17 urban areas across the country and with hundreds of small businesses and public agencies that supported this effort.” Finding employment for former prisoners has become a serious national challenge. Every year, nearly 650,000 adults return from custody to their communities—most often to poor neighborhoods with few resources to help them reintegrate effectively, and where their presence may threaten to disrupt already fragile households and social structures. Yet, while many families struggle with basic necessities, more than $60 billion a year is spent on prisons and jails. “The enormous challenges facing men and women as they try to reenter society after prison is one of the great social problems of our time,” says Harry Holzer, a professor of Public Policy at Georgetown University and an expert on issues affecting ex-prisoners and other disadvantaged workers. “If we can identify cost-effective approaches to helping offenders reenter, it could reduce crime and prison costs and help millions of poor families and their communities. The P/PV study shows that Ready4Work is a promising approach that certainly merits further interest.” Past research has shown that ex-prisoners with steady jobs and strong social bonds have lower recidivism rates, but many find it difficult to obtain stable employment and establish positive relationships. The Ready4Work model addresses both issues: Services include employment-readiness training, job placement, and referrals for housing, health care, and drug treatment. The program also involves a unique mentoring component designed to ease ex-prisoners’ reentry by providing emotional and practical support. Ready4Work sites have provided about half of participants with mentors, and those participants have done particularly well—preliminary evidence suggests that mentoring may play a role in retaining enrollees in the program and helping them find and keep jobs. To date, Ready4Work has enrolled more than 4,500 formerly incarcerated men and women, who can each receive services for up to one year. Ready4Work: An Ex-Prisoner, Community and Faith Initiative was launched by Public/Private Ventures and the US Department of Labor, with additional support from the Annie E. Casey and Ford foundations, in 2003. The initiative relies on partnerships among local faith, justice, business and social service organizations in 11 cities: Chicago, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Memphis, Milwaukee, New York (East Harlem), Oakland, Philadelphia, and Washington. P/PV’s findings are published in Ready4Work In Brief, available at www.ppv.org. Snowbirds and “Sunbirds” Cause Big Shifts in Florida’s Older Population. Newswise — Florida’s elderly population fluctuates by nearly 20 percent over the course of a year with the winter arrival of “snowbirds” embracing warmer weather and the summer departure of “sunbirds” escaping to cooler climes, a new University of Florida study finds. At the peak of the 2005 winter season, an estimated 818,000 snowbirds traveled from their home states or abroad to spend at least a month in Florida, while in July about 313,000 elderly Floridians left their residences to spend at least 30 consecutive days somewhere else, said Stan Smith, director of UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “Long recognized as a permanent retirement destination, Florida appears to be a leading destination for elderly temporary migrants as well,” said Smith, whose study was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences. “Yet no previous study has tried to estimate the number and timing of temporary migrants both entering and leaving Florida, or to analyze their characteristics.” Based on telephone surveys of 7,041 respondents contacted between September 2000 and December 2003, Smith found that more than 12 percent of Florida’s permanent residents 55 and older had spent more than 30 consecutive days somewhere other than home. Eight percent went to another place in-state, while 92 percent left Florida, most frequently to a state where they had previously lived, he said. Spending winters in Florida appears to be a preliminary step to a permanent move for many snowbirds, the study found. Nearly one in four of the survey respondents — 23 percent — who had moved permanently to Florida between 2000 and 2003 reported that had lived part of the year in the Sunshine State before moving there year-round. Furthermore, 30 percent of snowbirds reported that it was “likely” or “very likely” they would move to Florida permanently in the future, he said. For the complete article go to: http://www.newswise.com/p/articles/view/525871/. Quote for the Week:“The universal brotherhood of man is our most precious possession.” Mark Twain (1835 - 1910) |
