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U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON : For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 39–476 PDF 2009 S. HRG. 110–789 MAKING THE CONNECTION: CREATING PATHWAYS TO CAREER SUCCESS FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF WORKERS FIELD HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED TENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION ON EXAMINING WAYS TO BETTER EDUCATE AND TRAIN THE NEXT GEN- ERATION OF WORKERS TO CREATE PATHWAYS TO CAREER SUCCESS NOVEMBER 28, 2007 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts, Chairman CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut TOM HARKIN, Iowa BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico PATTY MURRAY, Washington JACK REED, Rhode Island HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York BARACK OBAMA, Illinois BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont SHERROD BROWN, Ohio MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming, JUDD GREGG, New Hampshire LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee RICHARD BURR, North Carolina JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah PAT ROBERTS, Kansas WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma J. MICHAEL MYERS, Staff Director and Chief Counsel KATHERINE BRUNETT MCGUIRE, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY PATTY MURRAY, Washington, Chairman CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, Connecticut TOM HARKIN, Iowa BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, New York BARACK OBAMA, Illinois SHERROD BROWN, Ohio EDWARD M. KENNEDY, Massachusetts (ex officio) JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia RICHARD BURR, North Carolina LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska PAT ROBERTS, Kansas WAYNE ALLARD, Colorado TOM COBURN, M.D., Oklahoma MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming (ex officio) WILLIAM KAMELA, Staff Director GLEE SMITH, Minority Staff Director (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE C O N T E N T S STATEMENTS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007 Page Wakefield, Jill, President, South Seattle Community College ............................. 1 Murray, Hon. Patty, Chairman, Subcommittee on Employment and Work- place Safety, opening statement ......................................................................... 2 Stadelman, Kris, CEO, Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King Coun- ty, Seattle, WA ..................................................................................................... 4 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 Aultman, John, Assistant Superintendent, Career and College Readiness, Of- fice of Superintendent of Public Instruction, Olympia, WA ............................. 9 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 10 Bender, Rick S., President, Washington State Labor Council, Seattle, WA ....... 12 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 13 Allen, David E., Vice President of Market, McKinstry Company, Seattle, WA ......................................................................................................................... 13 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 14 Veliz, Carlos, CEO, PCSI Design, Bothell, WA ..................................................... 16 Osborn, J.D., In Demand Scholar, Snohomish, WA .............................................. 18 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 Nash, Meisha, Student, New Market Skills Center, Tumwater, WA .................. 19 Gulliot, Don, Secretary-Treasurer, Washington State Association of Electrical Workers, Seattle, WA ........................................................................................... 20 Harrison, David, Chair, Washington’s Workforce Training and Education Co- ordinating Board, Olympia, WA ......................................................................... 21 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 22 Drewel, Bob, Executive Director, Puget Sound Regional Council, Seattle, WA . 24 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 26 Seaman, Terry, Vice President, Seidelhuber Iron & Bronze Works, Inc., Se- attle, WA ............................................................................................................... 27 Steinhoff, David, Electrician’s Apprentice, Sumner, WA ..................................... 27 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 28 Mitchell, Charles H., Chancellor, Seattle Community College District, Seattle, WA ......................................................................................................................... 28 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 30 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc.: Dave Johnson, Executive Secretary, Washington State Building & Con- struction Trades Council, AFL–CIO ............................................................ 54 Pat Martinez Johnson, King County Work Training Program ..................... 55 Bob Markholt, Program Director, Seattle Vocational Institute Pre-Ap- prenticeship Construction Training (SVI PACT) ....................................... 56 Shepherd Siegel, Seattle Public Schools ......................................................... 59 Linda Tieman, RN, MN, FACE, Executive Director, Washington Center for Nursing .................................................................................................... 62 Letter to Senator Murray from Terry Seaman .............................................. 65 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE (1) MAKING THE CONNECTION: CREATING PATHWAYS TO CAREER FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF WORKERS WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 2007 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE SAFETY, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Seattle, WA. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:28 a.m. in South Seattle Community College, Olympic Hall, Room 120, Seattle, Washington, Hon. Patty Murray, chairman of the subcommittee, presiding. Present: Senator Murray. STATEMENT OF JILL WAKEFIELD, PRESIDENT, SOUTH SEATTLE COMMUNITY COLLEGE, SEATTLE, WA Ms. WAKEFIELD. I’ll stand close to my microphone. Good morn- ing. My name is Jill Wakefield, and I serve as president at South Seattle Community College. As I have reminded myself, I did a quick check—about five times, I’ve done a quick check to make sure that my cell phone is off, so some of you might want to do the same thing, just to double check. On behalf of our faculty, our staff and students, I’m pleased to welcome U.S. Senator Patty Murray to this field hearing of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workforce Safety, which Senator Murray chairs. As we try to tackle the needs in our global economy, Senator Murray has been a leader on education and workforce issues for Washington State and for the Nation. She’s been a champion for our students and for preparing them for the jobs for the future. She works tirelessly to ensure that the needs of our employers are met so that our local economy can continue to grow and thrive. I believe that some of this commitment may have come from her experience and leadership at Shoreline Community College, providing her with great preparation as a Washington State Senator and now in the U.S. Senate, where she is our senior Senator, serving her third term. We’re especially honored to host this hearing at South Seattle, because we are very active in today’s topic of creating pathways to career success. In September, 2 months ago, we began our first RN program, one that started several years ago as a CNA program that led to an LPN program, and now we have the third piece, the component of that, the RN program. Almost 90 percent of those VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 2 students are English-language learners. This fall, we also started our bachelor of applied science degree program in hospitality man- agement, making it possible to start in the laundry room and work up to the boardroom, building on high school and community col- lege culinary, hospitality, and business programs, providing path- ways to higher-level employment. Senator Murray also is a strong supporter of our apprenticeship program, where South provides one-third of the State’s apprentice- ship training down at our campus at Georgetown. Most recently, we’re taking leadership in providing green technology for building trades. We’re so honored that you’re here to lead this discussion of solu- tions as we move together to create a bright future for our commu- nity and our residents. Welcome, Senator Murray. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURRAY Senator MURRAY. Thank you very much. Well, with that, this official hearing will be called to order. First, Jill, let me thank you very much, for you and your tremendous team here at South Seattle Community College, for being very gra- cious hosts for our very first field hearing of the Senate Employ- ment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee. Let me also thank all of our witnesses who are taking time out of busy schedules to be here today to join us in this very important discussion on how we can better educate and train a new genera- tion of workers. Before I begin, I want to give a brief explanation of the procedure that we’re following here today. This is an official U.S. Senate hearing, and, because of that, we have to follow the same proce- dures that we would be using at a hearing that would be held in Washington, DC. That means that our testimony this morning is limited to the invited witnesses, and that we have a court reporter here, who is creating a formal record of our proceedings. Unfortu- nately, what that also means is that we are not allowed to take questions or comments from the audience during the hearing, but I do want to make sure that everyone here has an opportunity to share their view, if they so desire. We do have comment forms that are available for all of you, if you would like to fill them out. I have a number of staff members who are here with me, as well. If you have an additional comment or question or some issue that you would like to add, please feel free to find one of our staff members—there is a desk outside, where you can locate them and give them your additional com- ments. We are interested in all of your questions and comments, so please make sure to take the time to do that, if you are in the audience today. I also want to encourage all of you, if you are interested, to visit my official Web site. You can use that to sign up for updates on education and other critical issues that we’re working on in the U.S. Senate. There’s a lot of information there, and we invite you to look at that Web site and use that as an access point, as well. Again, I have a number of staff members here, and encourage you to contact them afterwards if you would like to provide addi- tional information. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 3 Let me begin this hearing by saying that I have traveled inten- sively around the State, and I’ve had the opportunity to talk to workers, employers, teachers, students and families about Wash- ington State’s education and workforce needs. I was up in Bel- lingham recently, and I heard from our shipbuilders that they are desperate for workers in the shipbuilding industry. There are a lot of contracts out there they’d like to bid on, the work is there, but they are limited by the fact that they don’t have enough workers to be able to build those ships here in the Puget Sound region. I was talking to some leaders in Spokane recently who are trying to develop some of their infrastructure, highways and bridges, crit- ical to the economic development there. They were limited by the fact that they couldn’t get enough construction workers to actually do those jobs. I’m also hearing a lot about an emerging need for skilled workers here for the green jobs that are going to be avail- able in the near future. There are a wide range of other highly skilled jobs that are in demand all across our region. It’s become very clear to me from all of these experiences that, in order for our State, our economy and our communities to remain strong, we have to focus on the connections between secondary education, higher education, and workforce development. I believe it’s time to create a seamless system to help all of our students go on to successful careers while also meeting the needs for skilled workers here in our region. I know this work can’t be done individually, but, rather, all of us have to come together to help our students navigate their way from high school to postsecondary education and on to careers. That will help us ensure that our State’s workforce needs are met, and it will make sure that our students are prepared to get the jobs that will be out there in the future. Today, we are taking the first step by coming together. The part- nerships I hope we develop here will be the engine that drives that effort. In fact, to reinforce the importance of building these partner- ships, I decided to break away from the traditional format for a congressional hearing that would have panels in front of us with individual witness statements and formalities. Instead, what I de- cided to do was have this more informal roundtable format that I think will provide us all with an opportunity to listen, learn and to share the tremendous wealth of experience that we have here today. Right now, the United States is struggling to address the gap that exists between the need for a highly skilled workforce and the shortage of highly skilled workers. Our Nation is also struggling to make sure that students stay in school and graduate prepared to enter college and the workforce. Today here in Washington State, there are about 87,000 job vacancies—87,000 job vacancies—but we have over 145,000 people who are unemployed and looking for work. We also know that in past generations workers often only needed a high school education to secure a good-paying job. Today, we know that 70 percent of the new jobs being created require a college education, and that percentage is likely to increase and rise in the future as the United States continues to transition from a manufacturing- to an information-based economy. Each of us recog- nizes that in the global economy, the path to economic success de- pends on education. Currently, though, many of our students are VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 4 struggling. For every 100 ninth-grade students in the State of Washington, only 70 of them will graduate from high school in 4 years. About half of all African-American and Hispanic ninth-grad- ers leave school without a diploma. Half. Almost 10 percent of Washington State teens between 16 and 19 are not enrolled in school and are not working. Most new jobs and almost all family- wage jobs require at least some education and training beyond high school, even at the entry level. Students need both academic learn- ing and career skills in order to succeed in our global economy. Thomas Friedman has described this new global economic con- nectedness as a flattened world. This new, flat, competitive land- scape requires that our students here in Washington State and our youth across the country are more highly educated than our youth from the past, and not only must our young people be more knowl- edgeable when they start their work lives, they must have the ca- pability to continue learning throughout their life. Undoubtedly workforce and education issues are interconnected. I believe, as I said earlier, it will take partnerships, like those we’re going to hear about today, involving all of our major stakeholders to find solu- tions to Washington’s education and workforce development needs. As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety, and as a former teacher, parent, and now a grandparent, I continue to be concerned about how we best address this critical issue. I know we have to provide options to students, options that raise the expectations for their learning and support them in achieving progress. That’s why we’re here today: to learn about the options that are serving our students here in Washington State, to hear from those involved in providing academic and occu- pational learning to our students, to highlight the economic de- mands in our State, to explore the needs in our workforce, and to further the effort to provide our young people with multiple path- ways to success. We have an exceptional group of experts here today, and I know each one of them brings a very unique perspective to the table, and I look forward to hearing the contributions of each and every one of you. Thank you, again, for participating in this morning’s hear- ing. At this time, I’m going to turn to our distinguished panelists and ask each one of them to introduce themselves and to provide some introductory remarks. We’re going to start on my far right. Kris, if you want to intro- duce yourself, make your remarks, then we will continue around the table. I’ll have some additional questions, and I hope our dis- cussion will follow. So, Kris, why don’t you introduce yourself and begin. STATEMENT OF KRIS STADELMAN, CEO, WORKFORCE DEVEL- OPMENT COUNCIL OF SEATTLE-KING COUNTY, SEATTLE, WA Ms. STADELMAN. Good morning. I’m Kris Stadelman, and I’m the CEO of the Workforce Development Council for Seattle and King County. The first thing I want to do is thank the Senator. I appreciate the invitation today. I’m greatly honored to be here. I so appreciate you having a hearing on this key topic right now. I know that, as VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 5 Jill Wakefield said earlier, that our Senator, Senator Murray, is a leader in this field, but I just want to reiterate that, among my peers, the Workforce Investment Board of Directors from around the country, I’m envied because we have Senator Murray here in our State, and I want to personally thank her for the millions of dollars in Department of Labor grant funding that she has assisted us in receiving; most recently, a $3-million wire grant for the State of Washington, and, just a couple of weeks ago, $2 million for King County to serve youth offenders. I greatly appreciate that. Thank you. [Applause.] Ms. STADELMAN. The Workforce Development Council is a pri- vate, nonprofit, mostly federally funded. What we do, we have a Board of Directors that scans the environment and looks at the gap between labor supply and demand, and tries to work with edu- cation, organized labor, and employers to fill that gap. One of our main functions is to prepare Washington State’s youth for careers. We need to do that in two ways. We need to ensure we have a skilled workforce to meet the needs of employers, and we need to find ways of ensuring that youth have access to a path for economic security and family self-sufficiency. At the Board, we address these goals by partnering with the pri- vate sector to bring youth into contact with the world of work and to promising careers. I want to say that I think, along the path, somehow, of looking at the new world and how we need a skilled workforce to be globally competitive, we focused on those high-end jobs, those B.A. degrees and master’s degrees and Ph.D.s at the high end for research and development, and maybe we’ve lost sight of the fact that career and technical education is also key to eco- nomic success, also key to having a strong middle class. I think in many of our high schools, we have seen the path diverge to an ei- ther/or—either career and technical skills or academic skills and a path to college—and that the investment and the intention has been focused on the path to academic skills and college, really, to the detriment of career and technical education. At the WDC, we think that everyone needs ‘‘both/and,’’ not ‘‘ei- ther/or’’—everyone needs ‘‘both/and’’ academic skills and career and technical education. We think that what is most important for those of us in this field—and I want to compliment my community college partners, who have been a great asset in helping us with the needs of both low-income adults and youth in finding careers. We care about family economic self-sufficiency, and we believe that all of us at this table, all of us working on preparation for our workforce, need to keep our eye on that prize. For youth, the path to family economic self-sufficiency and economic security starts early, it starts with career and technical education, and it starts with summer jobs. Thank you, Senator. Senator MURRAY. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Ms. Stadelman follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF KRIS STADELMAN Chairman Murray and Honorable members of the subcommittee: Thank you for inviting me to participate in today’s hearing. My name is Kris Stadelman and I am CEO of the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County. I am honored VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 6 and grateful for this opportunity to talk with you about one of our time’s most vital issues: the preparation of Washington State’s youth for careers. This preparation has two goals: to ensure a skilled workforce to meet the needs of employers, and to ensure that today’s young people can become happy, self-suffi- cient adults. The first goal is all the more urgent because of the demographic tidal wave of Baby Boomers who are set to retire in the next decade. The second goal— self-sufficiency for today’s young people—is also subject to a shifting economy. More specialized work requires more training, often including college, to put good-paying jobs within reach. As the local Workforce Investment Board, the WDC of Seattle-King County ad- dresses both goals by partnering with the private sector to bring youth into contact with the world of work and promising careers. In 2005, the WDC published a report called Youth@Work that called attention to the serious decline in employment for teens and young adults. The previous sum- mer, the national teen employment rate was the lowest in 57 years. African-Amer- ican and other youth of color are far less likely to have work opportunities. Why, when we need to focus on the problem of high-school dropouts, does this matter? Shouldn’t youth be focusing on education and college instead of work? The answer is no—not instead of work. Youth should be focusing on education be- cause of work, and in addition to work. When we show them the connection and allow them to learn in the context of the real world, they are less likely to drop out of high school. They are more likely to pursue further education and training. They learn social and work skills that cannot be taught in school. And they are given both the tools and the inspiration to forge their own futures. But if, in the name of academic rigor, we cut young people off from work experi- ence and career education, we are failing them—especially at-risk youth who do not have role models or connections to help them chart a path. In Seattle-King County, we at the WDC have seen the results of work-based learning opportunities, career exploration, internships, work experience and other employment services. We have linked these important services to high-demand occu- pations and industries that offer career paths ending in high wages. We have linked them to academic support for staying in school and credit retrieval for returning to school, as well as GED preparation for dropouts. And we have linked them to case management and other services to address the barriers of at-risk youth—mental health, chemical dependency, homelessness, basic-skills deficiencies, disabilities in- cluding learning disabilities, and criminal activity/court involvement. SECTOR-FOCUSED EFFORTS In Seattle-King County, according to the State’s 2007 job vacancy survey of em- ployers, 73 percent of vacancies paid a median wage of $10 an hour or less—dismal in the face of our area’s high cost of living. The top seven occupations (including laborers, cashiers and security guards) had an average median wage of $8.81. But right behind them came Registered Nurses, with an average wage of $32 an hour, and Carpenters, at an average of $16 an hour. This dichotomy illustrates the challenge of workforce development in an area where both our economy and our in- dividual prosperity depends on the ability of our education and training systems to meet the needs of industry for high skills. As a result of intensive research into the sectors in our region, the WDC of Se- attle-King County selected five that provide living-wage jobs, opportunities for ad- vancement and partnerships with employers. These five are health care, life sciences/biotechnology, construction, manufacturing, and information technology. We brought together industry, higher education, labor, K–12 and community leaders in each one to discuss the most critical workforce issues. This work has allowed us to address both supply and demand in each industry: we understand better how to connect employers to the skills and workers they need, and we understand better how to open pathways for workers—and youth—to high- er-skilled, higher-paying jobs. The following provides a few examples of our work to connect low-income and at- risk youth to high-demand sectors in our region, using Workforce Investment Act youth dollars and leveraged funding from our partners. HEALTH CARE This vital industry, with multiple well-paying jobs for nurses and technicians, is experiencing critical staff shortages which will be exacerbated as more of the health- care workforce retires. Since 2003, the WDC has led a series of partnerships with hospitals, colleges, and public schools that start students on career paths in health care. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 7 These programs, with the full commitment of the private sector, linked young peo- ple in and out of our Workforce Investment Act youth programs directly to health- care certificate programs at local community/technical colleges and to work-based learning opportunities in hospitals. Youth could take prerequisite and training courses while still in high school and be assured of earning an LPN or even higher certificate within a year of graduation. One young person, Shenise Gordon, took advantage of several WDC programs. When she was just 14, she began exploring careers and getting real-life work experi- ence at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center. As a sophomore in high school, she began taking courses at Renton Technical College through another WDC partner- ship, and passed the State-certified nursing assistant exam in her junior year. Shenise graduated last June with 4 years of nursing experience under her belt— and her RN degree less than a year away. The newest WDC program to address health careers for youth is a public-private partnership that includes the Washington State Hospital Association, the city of Se- attle, several local community colleges, and faculty/staff of Seattle public high schools. The 19 students earned high-school credits for courses such as Fundamen- tals of Health Care, CPR, Orientation to College and CNA coursework and are tak- ing the CNA exam as a gateway to a wide range of nursing and other health care professions. Most are enrolled in both high-school and college courses, earning cred- its for both. LIFE SCIENCES/BIOTECHNOLOGY In 2005, the WDC partnered with the Puget Sound Regional Council, Prosperity Partnership, and the Washington Biotechnology and Biomedical Association to bring together a panel of 30 leaders in the life sciences industry, the education system, employers, local government and economic and workforce development. Recognizing the importance of drawing young people into the field to ensure a pipeline of trained workers for these highly technical jobs, the WDC worked with the panel partners to offer a 6-day workshop to local science teachers to help them understand the latest research and technology—in hopes they would use the infor- mation in the classroom to inspire students. The panel also worked to develop a dynamic Web site on life-sciences careers that can be used by youth and others who are interested in entering this growing field. CONSTRUCTION The construction industry has been a leading source of job growth in Washington State over the last decade. Over 80 percent of all jobs in the industry and 67 percent of entry-level jobs pay a living wage. In YouthBuild, funded by the WDC and other partners, dropout youth alternate between 2 weeks of work and 2 weeks of school, constructing a house for a family in need as they earn wages, build work experience, complete high school, and transi- tion into a job or further education/training. A WDC-led partnership for Pre-Apprenticeship Construction Training (PACT) helps prepare students at Seattle Vocational Institute—most of whom are young adults—to enter union apprenticeships in the construction trades. The two-quarter program covers foundation skills for construction as well as ‘‘soft skills’’ such as work ethic and positive attitude. At the end of the program, PACT helps to place students in union apprenticeships. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Information technology jobs and careers are spread throughout almost all indus- try sectors, making IT skills as fundamental as literacy for well-paying careers. The WDC has incorporated IT into our youth employment services in a variety of ways. In addition, we help to fund the Digital Bridge Technology Academy, which pro- vides technology training to low-income, at-risk youth. This collaboration of partner organizations and agencies is for students between the ages of 16 to 21 who have dropped out of high school and are currently working to earn a high school diploma or G.E.D. Youth explore technology and careers through hands-on classes, work- shops, guest speakers, job shadow opportunities, field trips, service learning, and in- ternships. Students also install and maintain computer labs at community centers throughout Seattle as a way of both putting their learning into practice and giving back to their community. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 8 MANUFACTURING Manufacturing remains a significant industry in terms of volume of jobs, quality of jobs and wages, encompassing welding and machinist jobs that pay up to $34 an hour through electrical engineering at $50 an hour. The WDC has long-established partnerships with local industry groups and with the nationwide Dream It, Do It campaign to interest and train youth in manufacturing careers. In addition to these high-demand sector efforts, the WDC targets specific barriers that keep young people from succeeding in school and charting their futures. These include homelessness. The WDC helped to establish the Barista Training and Edu- cation Program, which trains homeless youth to be baristas—an occupation always in high demand in Seattle-King County. Youth in the barista program find skills to earn money today as well as a springboard, through case management, housing and on-site services, to further education and training that lead them away from hopelessness and poverty. These barriers also include criminal involvement and court adjudication. King County’s Juvenile Court has been a strong supporter and partner of WDC employ- ment/education programs for their effectiveness with this population. Just a few weeks ago, the WDC learned that we have been selected for a $2 million Depart- ment of Labor grant that will enable us to create two new career and education cen- ters to focus on youth offenders. We have you, Senator Murray, to thank for your assistance in bringing this extremely important funding to our community. It will allow us to serve 200 youth offenders with intensive support both for education and employment goals—a model that has proven highly effective in stopping the cycle of criminal involvement. All these pathways and partnerships have been possible because of Federal fund- ing for youth employment programs—all Workforce Investment Act youth funds, ex- cept for the new youth offender grant. Once again, we thank you, Senator Murray, for being a champion of WIA youth funding. You have fought hard for this commu- nity against the tide of severe funding cuts over the past few years. But in the context of these budget cuts, I would like to emphasize to the sub- committee that despite all of our work to bring career-focused services and work ex- perience to at-risk youth, we know it is only a drop in the bucket when we consider the thousands of youth who are dropping out of our education system without work skills. These innovative programs are extremely staff intensive and serve only a few dozen young people, compared to the hundred who could thrive with these opportu- nities. Without Federal investment, highly effective programs such as PACT and Health Careers for Youth will remain pilot projects that eventually fade, along with the vital employer and education partnerships that made them a success. Continued funding is needed to take them to scale and perpetuate them. In addition, if we have hopes of affecting the dropout rate, our legislators and communities must support career and technical education in schools. High-stakes testing and budget constraints are leading schools to shortchange CTE—programs that integrate academic coursework with career awareness and exploration, occupa- tional training, and work-based learning. In many school districts, CTE programs are still seen as educational ghettoes (with all that implies for youth of color) for low-achieving students whose teachers have given up on them. Our experience, and the research, shows that the conflict between college and career training is a false one. In Washington State, those who complete a CTE program are expected to earn almost $60,000 more by the time they are 65 than those who have not participated in CTE. These students understand not only what they are asked to learn in school, but why they are learning it. We must find a way to support career and technical education alongside rigorous academics. I also urge you as legislators to support Federal funding for summer job pro- grams, which have suffered greatly in the past decade and experienced a one-third decline just since 2001. Because of these cuts, thousands of low-income, at-risk youth in Washington State no longer have the option of spending the valuable sum- mer months gaining work experience. We need to bring summer job programs back into our communities—not just for the experience itself, but for the better outcomes it brings during the 9 months of the school year. In Washington State, we have some important assets. We have employers and in- dustry associations who are eager to work with education and workforce develop- ment partners to ensure that the next generation is a skilled workforce. We have excellent community and technical colleges that are responsive to the needs of both students and employers. We, in workforce, development have many successful mod- els of partnerships among all these stakeholders, and a wealth of experience in making them work. With adequate investment and shared goals with the K–12 edu- VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 9 cation system, we can address both the high-school dropout issue and the critical need for future skilled workers. But if we continue to consider workforce issues and education issues separately, we will not be successful in addressing either. Once again, thank you for allowing me to participate today and for your consider- ation. Senator MURRAY. Mr. Aultman. STATEMENT OF JOHN AULTMAN, ASSISTANT SUPER- INTENDENT, CAREER AND COLLEGE READINESS, OFFICE OF SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION, OLYMPIA, WA Mr. AULTMAN. Thank you, Senator. My name is John Aultman. I’m an assistant superintendent for career and college readiness at the Superintendent of Public In- struction’s Office. On Dr. Bergeson’s behalf, I’d like to say thank you for inviting K–12 to the table to be part of this discussion. Today, I’d just like to talk about a few strong examples that make career and technical ed, that segue from what Ms. Stadelman was talking about, into reality. Successful career and technical ed programs need a few key elements. They need strong business and industry partnerships, strong—or the programs need to be aligned with the economic strategies of the State of Washington. What’s the economic engine, and how are the programs in the high schools aligned with those? They need strong academic and technical appli- cations. So, you have both. It’s not the either/or. The programs need to be personalized, meaningful, connected to the student, em- ployer, and industry demand that they might be looking toward pursuing. In the last piece of this is the transition of the students to post- secondary, and that postsecondary includes anything that is post- high school—a 1-year certificate program, 2-year transfer, a tech- nical degree, or a 4-year baccalaureate. I think the key piece there is, our workforce right now has a 10-year gap, and that 10-year gap is the average age of the individuals in the community and tech- nical colleges. If we can close that gap, the economic strategies will be empowering the individuals as they go forward. Imagine a high school diploma 1 week, and I think you’re going to hear today about an individual that had a high—or has a high school diploma 1 week, a registered apprentice the next week. Imagine a hospital taking individuals in and giving them 40 hours worth of shadowing experiences, watching ER, diagnostic imaging, every aspect from open-heart surgery throughout, and the hospitals being the strong partner. Imagine the in-demand scholars, that Senator Murray has sponsored in the past, to provide those incentives to go on to the postsecondary. The last piece I will leave here is that the State of Washington, this last year, invested over $100 million to re-engage career and technical ed, building skill centers in the State, funding activities around expanding the FTE, and also putting middle-level career and technical ed—back into the course offerings. With that, I’ll wait for the questions. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Aultman follows:] VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 10 PREPARED STATEMENT OF JOHN AULTMAN Honorable Chairman Senator Murray and members of the committee, thank you for inviting me to share examples of success, challenges, and opportunities of K–12 career and technical education (CTE) programs in Washington State. Successful career and technical education programs include the following ele- ments: 1. Strong business and industry partnerships. 2. Programs aligned with the economic strategies of Washington State. 3. Strong academic and technical application. 4. Personalized, meaningful, connected to student, employer, and industry de- mand. 5. Transition of students to postsecondary training, apprenticeship, and workforce. STRONG BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY PARTNERSHIPS The business and industry partners view strong program offerings as the ‘‘Talent Pool’’ for their future economic viability. One example is the Washington State Ap- prenticeship Council’s commitment to form partnerships with local school districts and construction trades programs across Washington. New Market Skills Center in Tumwater has established such a strong relationship with the local Joint Appren- ticeship Training Councils that the students who meet certain criteria are directly offered and enrolled in apprenticeship training programs after graduation. ‘‘High school diploma 1 day, and registered apprentice the next day.’’ These graduates are earning over $19.00 per hour with benefits and retirement. By utilizing the In De- mand Scholars program for required tool and safety equipment they are able to walk onto the job site ready for ‘‘the original 4-year degree.’’ Another example of a strong partnership is the commitment the DigiPen Institute of Technology has to continuing growth and partnership support with schools in the State of Washington by providing computer science course offerings. DigiPen Insti- tute of Technology has seen the direct benefits of partnering this last year as the first graduate of New Market Skills Center High School computer science program completed his Bachelors of Science degree in computer engineering this past spring. The individual received the first Presidential Scholarship from the DigiPen Institute of Technology and was one of the first graduates that had to make the tough deci- sion of ‘‘Which company should I choose? ’’ because he had multiple offers starting at over $50,000-plus bonuses. I could site multiple other examples of strong partnerships with health care, pre- engineering, veterinary sciences, emergency services, and power generation. PROGRAMS ALIGNED WITH ECONOMIC STRATEGIES OF WASHINGTON STATE This past year Governor Gregoire, Washington State Legislature, and Super- intendent Bergeson invested over $100 million in career and technical education programs. The funding to build new skills centers and enhance comprehensive CTE programs needs to align with high demand and high wage occupations. The oppor- tunity we have today to enhance programs and align opportunities for students does not happen often and we need to keep the ‘‘future economic engine of Washington State’’ moving forward. STRONG ACADEMIC AND TECHNICAL APPLICATION The recognition of strong academic content imbedded with technical skill attain- ment allows programs to succeed and provide such success stories. The career and technical core curriculum can have many outcomes such as high school graduation requirements, college credit through Tech Prep, industry certification, and Advance Placement (AP) College Board testing. A few examples of multiple outcomes include Environmental Studies, Commercial Graphic Design, Professional Medical Careers, Clinical and Scientific Investigation (CSI), Pre Vet Technology, Emergency Medical Services, and Computer Science programs at New Market Skills Center. Currently, procedures are in place for students to earn Tech Prep credit, Advanced Placement and industry certifications while participating in CTE programs. The Washington State legislature has directed School Districts to adopt policy for academic recogni- tion within CTE programs. The Legislature required a taskforce to make rec- ommendations on models that districts could use for cross crediting. Procedures will be developed by the task force to help individual departments, schools, and school districts to grant academic credit for imbedded content. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 11 PERSONALIZED, MEANINGFUL, AND CONNECTED TO STUDENT, EMPLOYER, AND INDUSTRY DEMAND The ‘‘Rigor, Relevance, and Relationship’’ comes alive for students when they have investments in their future. Scott Bond, CEO of Providence Saint Peter Hospital in Olympia, stated to his Department Managers ‘‘We have an opportunity and an obli- gation’’ to help grow our future workforce. Over the past 5 years St. Peter Hospital has allowed students from the Professional Medical Careers program to observe 40 hours of clinical applications within the hospital departments. The students enter the program knowing of two careers, doctor or nurse, and not about the other 50 medical and patient care careers available. After the clinical rotations, students have observed open heart surgeries, emergency room, obstetrics, physical therapy, diagnostic imaging, administration, lab activities, acute care and other departments. When the students return to the classroom they re-organize their schedules to fit in more math and science courses before graduation. Most health care students do not have the opportunity to observe professionals, working in their careers, until the second or third year of their college program. This example reinforces the need to ask all students three questions: 1. Who am I? 2. What can I be? 3. How do I get there? These are the core questions within the Navigation 101 guidance plan. The exam- ples are clear that when students connect the high school experience with real life examples they become engaged! Career and technical education programs have strong impacts on dropout preven- tion, intervention, and retrieval programs. The dropout intervention program (DPI) pilot at New Market has retained and retrieved over 200 students in the past 3 years. The key to the program is personalized attention to assist the students to ad- vocate for themselves. This has a direct financial impact to future employment op- portunities. One student said it best, ‘‘I returned (to school) so I could learn the skills to earn a living.’’ He did take the CTE program of his choice and the addi- tional academic requirements to earn his diploma last June. TRANSITION OF STUDENTS TO POST SECONDARY TRAINING, APPRENTICESHIP, AND WORKFORCE Career and technical education programs must continue alignment with postsec- ondary and apprenticeship programs to decrease the ‘‘10-year’’ gap that now exists. The average age in Community and Technical Colleges is 27 years old. The indi- vidual and collective earning power is dramatically decreased with this gap in ad- vanced training. The recent construction of the New Market Life Sciences building included five construction apprentices. Two of these apprentices were recent grad- uates of the New Market construction trades program and the other three appren- tices were 28, 34, and 52 years old. All five apprentices started within 1 month of each other and at the end of the construction project the 34- and 52-year-old appren- tices had quit. The common theme all educators must be conveying is ‘‘are you college ready? ’’ with college being defined as any education post high school. This would include technical certificate programs, 2 year, 4 year, and apprenticeship programs. New Market administered the AccuplacerTM community and technical college and ap- prenticeship placement test to all juniors and seniors allowing them to see if they were college ready. The results provided students the opportunity to refresh basic skills while still in high school and for others it built confidence that they were col- lege material. South Puget Sound Community College agreed to accept the testing results for placement at the college. When Tech Prep college credit, AccuplacerTM scores, online unified community college application, 13th-year plan, and scholar- ships are added together, many of the obstacles and excuses such as, ‘‘In a few years, I need to work, or I don’t know how to apply’’ are removed. FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES • Align and provide incentives (start up funds) for high demand occupation pro- grams; • Expand middle school CTE exploratory programs—integrated math, science, and technology; • In Demand Scholars Program; • In Demand CTE Instructor Certification Scholarships; • Integrated Academic Articulation—Statewide Cross Credit Guidance; • Assist CTE programs to become Advance Placement (AP) Course Approved; VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 12 • Connecting K–12 CTE with the State Board for Community and Technical Col- leges (SBCTC) Centers of Excellence; • Secondary Integrated Basic Education Skills Programs—ESL Populations; • Middle and Secondary CTE Summer School—Math, Science, and Technology using CTE as the delivery model; and • Early Learning Linkages—State STARS Certification. Career and technical education programs can and will provide an instructional de- livery model for high demand, high wage occupations. CTE program offerings are vital to students, business and industry, and the economic strength of Washington State. STATEMENT OF RICK S. BENDER, PRESIDENT, WASHINGTON STATE LABOR COUNCIL, SEATTLE, WA Mr. BENDER. I’m Rick Bender. I’m president of the Washington State Labor Council. We represent about 400,000 union members here in the State of Washington. Senator, I want to thank you for the focus on this population. So often, we hear about the need for more baccalaureates, or higher, in terms of our economy here in the State of Washington, but very few people talk about that 75 percent who don’t get a bacca- laureate, but may get a AA degree or go to an apprenticeship or some other type of technical program. There is a real need by em- ployers for these type of skilled workers, and there’s no question, we are facing a shortage. We have about 12,000 apprentices right now in our classes across the State, and these are some of the larg- est we’ve ever had. But we’re going to need to maintain this level for the next 8 to 10 years, because, as you well know, we’re facing the retirement of a lot of baby-boomers right now in this State and across the country. So, this is something that we have to deal with. But I’m proud of the building trades, because they’ve been spear- heading a number of areas, in terms of legislation, to help fill these gaps. They, for example, have, passed, several years ago, Appren- ticeship Opportunity Program, which sets a threshold of 15 percent on our public works projects for apprentices. This should provide more opportunities for young people, for people of color, and women, to come into our construction trades. We think this is a major step forward. The building trades have spearheaded Running Start to the trades, where you can come out of high school and be ready to go right into the trades when you graduate from high school. Then, of course we have the Helmets to Hardhats that was spearheaded by the building trades—which is the Iraq veterans coming out from the war, getting direct access to our apprentice- ship programs. The building trades have been spearheading a lot of programs to provide more opportunities for a whole lot of folks to come into these skilled trades. But we’ve still got a lot of work ahead. There is one area that I have a real concern, and there’s a lot of discussion and debate talking about the need for another year of mathematics to graduate from high school, which we support. But it can’t be just strictly an academic pathway. We think there has to be some type of career, technical education equivalent, some type of applied mathematics that people can go into, other than the academic route. We think this is extremely important, and we hope that we’ll give young peo- VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 13 ple more than just one pathway, which is just academic, but give them a pathway in other areas, as well. Thank you, Senator. [The prepared statement of Mr. Bender follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF RICK S. BENDER Good morning, Madam Chairwoman, and thank you for inviting me to appear be- fore you at this Field Hearing. My Name is Rick Bender and I am the President of the Washington State Labor Council, AFL–CIO. Our organization represents ap- proximately 400,000 working women and men in Washington State. I have been a member of Washington State’s Workforce Board for more than 10 years, working to address the advancement of workers into family wage jobs with benefits and retire- ment security; by and large those are union jobs in Washington State. Washington State ranks fifth in the country in union density with one out of five workers being part of organized labor. Recent surveys of Washington employers state that currently 45 percent of the jobs in demand require 1 to less than 4 years of training—mid-skill jobs. Those jobs generally pay $16.00 to $30.00 per hour, are in construction trades, technician level skills of many occupations, health sciences, etc. The trend to 2015 is that 43 percent of those mid-skill jobs will still be in demand. Here in Washington, we have worked in coalition to create Running Start to the Trades as a pathway for high school students to achieve credit with an apprentice- ship while they are still in high school; much like Running Start which provides community college credit while in high school. We worked to achieve legislation that requires 15 percent utilization of appren- tices on State prevailing wage jobs, so that all public infrastructure investment also provides an investment in training the future workforce. We would be very pleased if you would consider championing similar legislation for Federal Davis Bacon projects so that training was an integral component of our public Federal invest- ment, Senator. We have a shortage in the skilled construction trades at present. For years we had approximately 9,000 enrolled apprentices in any given year. Currently we have more than 12,000 enrolled apprentices and our apprenticeship training centers are bursting at the seams. There will be a continued need to train apprentices for the next 8 to 10 years at current or higher rates, not only for the work that is already sited and bid, but to replace the retiring construction workforce which is the oldest in American history. But our high school faculty and career counselors don’t know about apprenticeship or about the demand for mid-skill occupations. We have begun to address that in Washington by working with the K–12 system and employment training providers and business and labor to expand Navigation 101, which is a career exploration curriculum for high school. Unfortunately, it is not required nor is it available in all school districts in our State. This tool has done a great deal to give real information and choices to high school students that are about aptitudes and real jobs that do not require a baccalaureate route. We are very concerned right now that Career and Technical Education (CTE) and our Skill Centers are at risk. We are working to ensure that additional math re- quirements for high school graduation (third year math) are not required to be aca- demic. We are looking for acceptance of third year math that is equivalent, but can be an applied course that demonstrates job relevance to students. Your assistance in working with educators, employers and labor to ensure that more students grad- uate and join the labor market would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for the opportunity to make these introductory remarks, and I look for- ward to your questions. STATEMENT OF DAVID E. ALLEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKET, McKINSTRY COMPANY, SEATTLE, WA Mr. ALLEN. Thank you, Senator. I’m David Allen. My brother and I own McKinstry Company, a 1,500-person design/build/operate/maintain firm, working in the Pacific Northwest. We’re nearing our 50th birthday, and a lot has changed in those 50 years, including my age. [Laughter.] VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 14 I’m not going to spend much time talking about the academic side of the battle, until the questions come up, because I think I need to make some comments, as an employer, that’s really impor- tant, particularly to some of the young people in the audience and for the record. I agree with what Rick said, that McKinstry hires from appren- ticeship programs. We are signatory to seven labor union agree- ments. We have some 1,000 building trades workers doing every- thing imaginable, from designing, building, operating, maintaining, fixing, energy auditing, facilities all over the West. We also have a lot of the 4-year college-degreed people: in engineering, in pur- chasing, in marketing, and all that kind of stuff. But, I think, from an employer’s standpoint is, we are kind of a microcosm of the problem, because we need sharp young people at all the places around McKinstry. The Senator’s office asked me to address clean technology. I’m the chairman of the board of Enterprise Seattle, the Economic De- velopment Council of Seattle-King County, so I get a pretty cool picture of what’s happening in our region by economic cluster. I’m also the HELP foreman and co-chair of the newly established Washington Clean Tech Alliance, which, as I mentioned to the Sen- ator’s staff, that in my written testimony, it may very well be the next industrial revolution. By ‘‘clean technology,’’ I mean energy ef- ficiency, renewables, alternate energy, biomass, water conservation, remediation, doing the right thing to the Earth. That industry—we think we’re in the top two to four in North America in the fight for our brand as a place for clean technology to prosper. With that said, unlike a lot of our last century’s industries, the clean technology industry is highly solution- and idea-based, so it’s going to require, not only the sciences, which are obvious, but it’s also going to require people that believe in it, people that under- stand it. It’s more about creating an idea, implementing an idea, taking care of an idea. There’s going to be jobs from young people that run green buildings, to engineers that design them, we’re working on two plants right now. The reason we were awarded the project is that no one owns the space. One’s a biodiesel plant award in Washington, and one’s a tire recycling plant. The owners didn’t really have any history of who builds that kind of stuff, because it’s sort of new. Both facilities have asked us to operate it when they’re done. Also something new that comes out of the clean technology. In closing, and I’m anxious for the questions, because there’s a lot to say. I think we look to the community colleges, the voca- tional—and as I told the Senator earlier, we’re in trouble. We need to get into middle schools and high schools and these community colleges and give you guys a better picture of what the opportuni- ties are out there, and where the careers are. With that, I’ll close, so we can get to the questions. Thank you, Senator. [The prepared statement of Mr. Allen follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID E. ALLEN During the past several years, as a result of the perfect storm of rising oil prices, energy dynamics and increased awareness of climate change our State has seen an explosion of investment in research, products and construction of all that is ‘‘Clean Technology.’’ Like many other regions in the Nation Washington State has built an VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 15 early reputation for its leadership in Clean Technology and in fostering growth of this ‘‘new’’ economic sector. Clean Technology with its many ‘‘clean the planet’’ as- pects clearly represents an opportunity to become the next industrial revolution. Nationally, investment in the Clean Tech industry has grown 78 percent in the past year and nearly 400 percent in the past 5 years (source: American Venture Magazine). Clean Tech is now the third largest venture investment category, with projections boasting some $19 billion in investments by 2010 that is expected to cre- ate more than 500,000 new jobs. The most notable and talked about subsectors, re- newable and alternative energy, are growing exponentially but those are just part of the story. Energy efficiency, recycling, bio-synergy (waste to power), sustainable design, product re-engineering and remediation technologies are all creating a buzz. Washington State possesses many of the critical elements required to be success- ful in Clean Technology cluster. It has natural resources second to none. It has a citizenry that is known for its stewardship of the environment. Washington State is regularly recognized for its entrepreneurial and innovative workforce. And those are the attributes that will attract and grow firms in this sector; a sector that will make a significant impact on the Washington State economy and job creation for many years to come. JOBS, SKILLS, OPPORTUNITIES One of the most compelling aspects of the emerging Clean Tech industry is that it brings with it a wide array of jobs/careers across many disciplines. Unlike its predecessor ‘‘industrial’’ industries in the 20th century, Clean Tech will require a much broader workforce representing myriad skill sets and educational back- grounds. Because of the innovative nature of this cluster the field of science will play a key role. Chemistry, physics and biology have made their presence known already and several other science needs are emerging. Engineering is a clear driver of Clean Technology with mechanical, electrical, automotive, ceramic, geosciences, thermal and civil engineering some of the leaders. On the ‘‘execution’’ side of Clean Tech positions in the ‘‘executive suite’’ will be in high demand as well. Business and financial management is critical here, as many firms will be of start-up nature and most facing an incredible growth profile. Manufacturing, production and operations positions will be needed and will have to adapt to new processes and industrial paradigms. Skilled crafts and career positions will flourish as well. Construction trades will also be in high demand and in fact are already experiencing upswings due to these new technologies. In addition many technical crafts will be emerging in and around the operation of plants and the de- livery of services etc. The most exciting news here is wages and benefits. Unlike much of the workforce in traditional industrial type jobs, the Clean Tech sector will have primarily high- wage or family-wage jobs with 21st century benefits! In the past few years virtually every Clean Tech type firm we have met, worked with or contracted to have pri- marily high wage positions. The emerging Clean Tech industry is dependent on and committed to working with all interested parties to enhance worker training and education. Because of the fact that many of the processes and applications will be new, training for these positions is a necessity rather than a luxury. We anticipate partnerships with trade unions, apprenticeship programs, workforce development organizations, community colleges, 4-year institutions and local government agen- cies will be required to meet the needs of the future. REGIONAL IMPACTS ABOUND In Washington State there exist some 400 Clean Tech companies with more than 5,000 jobs at the present time. Many of these firms are growing extremely fast. My firm, McKinstry has added more than 250 jobs directly attributed to our energy and Clean Tech work in just 3 years. Many others in biofuels, alternate energy and sus- tainable design have even steeper job growth! In fact, in a recent study Washington State was reported to be a leader in both alternate fuels and green building strate- gies. Our region is currently collaborating with other western States and provinces on fuel cell research and the ‘‘hydrogen highway’’ as well as greenhouse gas reduc- tion programs. Also of note, our unique position as a gateway to the Pacific Rim is making Clean Tech a growth export industry. We are rapidly becoming a center for innovation and new technology, thanks to the University of Washington, Washington State University and PNNL/Battelle, among others. As of this report, new projects in the pipeline represent hundreds of millions of dollars of new investment and thousands of jobs. Research by enterpriseSeattle (formerly EDC of Seattle and King Co.) and its Clean Technology VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 16 Cluster team, indicate however, the growth and activity with new ventures is so ro- bust that we are already depleting our current skilled workforce. WCTA IS BORN In 2002 the Puget Sound Regional Council embarked on creating a regional plan to ensure the economic vitality of our region (and State). Coined the Prosperity Part- nership, it developed a regional work plan that now serves as a great road map for many aspects of our growth. Its final report identified five economic clusters that will drive our economy for many years and set forth to bolster the infrastructure of each of those clusters (educational needs, workforce, economic development strat- egies, etc.) The first four were obvious drivers: aerospace, life sciences, trade and logistics, and IT/software. The fifth, Clean Technology was the ‘‘new kid on the block.’’ Because it was a new idea that needed to be congealed a small group of pub- lic/private volunteers worked for several months and decided to launch a vertical trade organization called the Washington Clean Technology Alliance. In February 2007 WCTA hosted a kickoff event which yielded 35 charter members that represent virtually every element of the industry. From alternate energy to sustainability, re- cycling to clean manufacturing and from public representative to service firms, we have it all! The mission of the WCTA is to help strengthen the Clean Tech Sector by pro- viding information, networking opportunities, and advocacy. Additionally we estab- lished an overarching goal to create a Washington State clean technology ‘‘Brand’’ to compete globally in this sector. We have been active with monthly networking sessions, member promotion, educational panels and sponsorships and will be rep- resenting the State at GLOBE 08, with a trade show delegation. GLOBE is one of the world’s largest and most revered clean technology/environmental conference held every other year in Vancouver, B.C. STATEMENT OF CARLOS VELIZ, CEO, PCSI DESIGN, BOTHELL, WA Mr. VELIZ. Thank you, Senator, for the invite today. My name is Carlos Veliz, the CEO of a company called PCSI Design, located in Bothell, Washington. I’m also on the board of trustees at Everett Community College, and also the chair for Snohomish County for the Washington State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Bienvenido a los que hablan Espanol. There’s a lot of things that are here today and that we’re going to be reviewing, and I’m going to try to touch on them as best I can. My topic today, or the area that I was asked, was ‘‘building bridges.’’ Mine was building bridges between the corporate small business and the educational system. Being that I’m on the board of trustees, you always walk around with your trustee hat on, and you’re always seeing what’s going on in the community. But one thing that our company has been doing over the past 6 years is speaking at the middle school level, and not in the sense of pound- ing the mindset that, ‘‘You have to go to a university, you have to get your 4-year degree, you have to be involved in the areas that are going to take you to either a free scholarship or what have you.’’ What we try to do in our mentoring program that is engaging with our students is find out where their wants are, find out where their wants are today. What is their passion? What we’re losing, I believe, in our school system today—whether it’s K–12, whether it’s high school or the college—is that we’re forgetting to do some touchpoint strategies with people’s passion, because the kids today aren’t the kids of yesterday, and there’s a different model that we have today and, they’re shaking their heads, ‘‘Yes,’’ you know, going, ‘‘Yes, he understands,’’ but there’s a different model today, and we have to find a way to build that bridge between what the VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 17 model is today of these students that do have a lot of passion for a certain career. I’m almost positive that most of them don’t just want a job. I’m sure that they’re looking for something that they can build on and be proud and be productive into our community. I love living here in Washington State. One of the things that we do here at our company, at PCSI Design, is that we go out of the State to bring the work back, because we talk about, ‘‘Wow, the work’s leaving.’’ As I speak of some of these things, you’ll see that there’s a pattern that talks about building the bridge between the corporations, small business, and education. Well, if we can go back in the educational system and try to implement some of those ca- reer mindset, going into the passion of these students and doing that, then we’re going to create those more small businesses. If we can get the small businesses to go mentor and go back into the schools, because they have the closer ties, then the corporations will feed the small businesses. We have a lot of bandwidth in our communities here, and I just don’t think that we finish the job. I think that we start a lot of things, and we just don’t follow through. These are some of the things that I hope we can get some Q&A here today. But I’ll close off with it—because there’s a lot of things I want to talk about—but I’ll close it off with this. Here’s a question. And don’t answer it, please, because I’ll answer it for you. [Laughter.] Do you know who designed the black box for the Xbox for Micro- soft, the original black box? Do you know who designed the snow skis for the Apache helicopters and for the Black Hawk heli- copters—which is a snow—it’s snow ski kits? Do you know who de- signed the Lamont fitness spin bike and/or recumbent bike? Now, you’re probably going, ‘‘Well, it must have been the companies that you just mentioned.’’ Talk about struggling, and talk about going through the paths that some of these folks mentioned, my com- pany, PCSI Design, is the company that designed those products for those companies. We’re the only product design company in the State of Washington that is certified 8A, small business, and MBE. Now, you’re saying, ‘‘That’s great.’’ Well, no, it’s not great. We are, in 2007, going to 2008, and why in the world am I the only one? We have a lot of path to pave here, and I hope that we can start building those bridges sooner than later. Thank you, Senator. Senator MURRAY. Very good. Before Judy speaks, let me just say that we have three students here with us today who have—because I felt it was really important that we hear from business, we hear from education, we hear from labor leaders, but we also hear di- rectly from young people who have gone through the process, or are going through the process. Because we can talk a lot about policies and resources at the top, but, if it doesn’t translate and work for the generation that is the recipient of it, it isn’t going to work. I felt it was very important to hear their voices. I especially want to thank J.D., who you’re going to hear from in a minute, Meisha, who’s to my left, as well, and, down the row here, David, in just a few minutes. Thank you very much. J.D. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 18 STATEMENT OF J.D. OSBORN, IN DEMAND SCHOLAR, SNOHOMISH, WA Mr. OSBORN. Thank you, Senator. I’m really happy to share my perspective on this whole issue. I’m 20—like she said, I’m J.D. Osborn, 20 years old. I graduated in 2006 from Snohomish High School, and I was one of the recipients of the In Demand Scholar, which is why I’m here today. Well, first off, I started my first internship when I turned 18. I started in a machine manufacturing place as a machinist, and then, from there I went on to being a CAD technician for two other companies, and now I’m working for Carlos, here, at PCSI Design as an intern. I’m in sophomore status at Everett Community Col- lege right now, and I plan on transferring to Western Washington University after this year. The things that worked for me most, as far as education, is—I’ve always enjoyed the classes that restricted rules. I’ve always felt like rules have boxed me in and limited my creativity. A lot of the classes that I’ve liked are very relevant to what’s going on today, like green technology, the green jobs you mentioned earlier. That stuff ’s all very interesting to me. To have that in an educational setting, kind of, let’s you lose focus on the grade aspect of education and, kind of, gain an aspect on the importance and relevance of the subject. Senator MURRAY. OK, thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Osborn follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF J.D. OSBORN The In Demand Scholarship that I received my senior year in high school acted as an incentive for me to continue my education. Although I would have most likely continued my education either way, the scholarship provided more than enough rea- son to continue on. As a kid I always enjoyed building things and creating but it wasn’t until my jun- ior year in high school that I actually got involved in the wonderful world of manu- facturing. I started interning in the field at a young age, I believe 17, because of the program I was involved in while in high school. Each internship acted as a step- ping stone to the next. I went from a machinist at Aerospace Manufacturing Tech- nologies to a CAD technician for Accra Manufacturing and then QPM Aerospace and now I work at PCSI Design as a Mechanical Designer. I have been working for PCSI Design for a little over a year now. It has been the best job of my life so far! I graduated in 2006 from Snohomish High School and I’m currently in sophomore status at Everett Community College. I’m getting my prerequisites out of the way in the most efficient manner. I plan on transferring to Western Washington Univer- sity sometime next year. They offer a very good engineering technology program where I can both learn theory and apply it to real world situations. I will be gaining an engineering degree in Plastics with an emphasis in Vehicle Design. WWU just started offering this specific degree this year which is great because before I couldn’t decide which one to choose, plastics or vehicle design. The reason I chose this spe- cific field of engineering is based on my work experience. Plastics and light weight materials such as resin-infused composites are the wave of the future because they are lighter and stronger. I predict that the demand in this field will only grow through my years of education ensuring a job upon graduation. Dedicating my life to solving future problems addressing issues like global warming is very self satis- fying to me and I hope to make a positive difference every day of my life for the rest of my life. Some of the most enjoyable classes I have taken and learn most successfully in were the classes with very little structure and addressed real world situations fre- quently. They spoke deeper to me than textbooks or worksheets which allowed me to lose focus on the grade and gain focus on the material. Let me give a couple ex- amples of great classes I have taken and why. I will talk about them in chrono- logical order. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 19 The first class was Science Fiction or commonly known as Scifi. Everyday I came to this class I left with something positive that I would take to my lunch table and share with my friends. A lot of it was based on the future and the cutting edge of technology. Everyday we engaged in class discussions and most of the time we would get way off track but we would all be awake, engaged and learning. The second class I want to talk about is my CAD and Precision Machining class. The technology in this class was very advanced and blows any engineering class that I’ve taken at Everett Community College out of the water. The teacher had in- terest in every single student’s success. Personally, he acted as my counselor and advisor and if it were not for him I would not be here today. He pushed me beyond what was required for the class and showed me how the things I was doing applied to the real world. I remain in very close contact with this teacher today. Onto college, I took three English classes from the same teacher. In these classes we learned all about semiotics, the specific reason to why things are the way they are and advertising/marketing techniques. I have hated my English classes for as long as I could remember but these three quarters were some of the best classes I have ever taken. I never knew that I would actually use the knowledge from my English classes as a fundamental basis for my engineering studies. My research paper was on a new building that just opened at Everett Community College. My perspective on architecture before and then after is something I hold priceless in my thoughts everyday. It was at this point that I learned the importance of edu- cation. The last class I would like to address is my speech class. The instructor in this class takes a different approach to public speaking. There are basically four types of speeches and she teaches this by letting the students pick their own topics, giving advice to make your speech great and limiting the rules and specifications, allowing you to be as creative as you’d like. In conclusion, I would like to close with my vision of what I feel programs should be like for future students in my position. The four examples I have presented have a few things in common which I feel should be the foundation of all structure in all education situations. The elements are bringing relevance to every class meeting, limiting rules to allow more creativity, and having teachers that take interest in the student’s success. I hope you can find my perspective as both relevant and helpful to solving this issue with the lack of pathways to career success for my generation and the next! Thank you. Senator MURRAY. Meisha. STATEMENT OF MEISHA NASH, STUDENT, NEW MARKET SKILLS CENTER, TUMWATER, WA Ms. NASH. My name is Meisha Nash, and I’m currently a New Market Skills Center student, and I’m here today to tell you a little about myself and the different experiences I’ve had in and out of school systems. Originally I’m from North Carolina. In elementary school, I re- ceived straight A’s. I loved school and the teachers. Basically, it was all I had. When I went to high school, there were so many people that I became a face in a crowd so large, the teachers barely had time to notice me. With this drastic setting and curriculum change, I was overwhelmed. I developed severe depression and eventually turned to drugs. I never had the support of a stable family life. So, without the school setting that I loved, I was ready to give up. I continued to struggle in school while maintaining a job that supported my increasing drug addiction. I eventually came to the conclusion that I did not want to be going in the direction I was going in, and I did not want drug use to be my future occupation, so I entered myself into a rehab program and got my drug addic- tion under control. After that, I continued to struggle in school and was far behind my fellow classmates. I figured it would be much easier to get my GED, and I was under the impression that it VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 20 would be equivalent to getting a high school diploma, so, when I was 16, I dropped out of school and, within 2 weeks, received my GED. For the next 2 years, I worked as hard as I could. While stay- ing with family members, I ended up supporting them, as well as myself. I knew I wanted to get back into school, but did not have the resources or the means to do so. In January 2006, I was given the opportunity to come to Wash- ington and stay with my aunt and uncle for a few months break from the chaos I was living in. A few weeks after I arrived, I read an article in the newspaper about a young mother who had earned her GED and returned to school to get her diploma. This sounded interesting, so I decided to look into the program. I found out that, not only could I get my diploma, I could also earn college credits at the same time, at no cost. This was exactly what I needed, and, within the next week, I decided to make my stay here permanent and began attending school. I had no idea if I could actually support myself here, but I knew I would give my best effort. It would have been impossible if I had not had the help and support of so many caring people that I met in my school and community. They have done so much to help me with my financial situation, such as transportation and food vouch- ers, to make it easier to concentrate on my education. But what I am most appreciative of is the moral support they have given me, telling me that I am worth it and I deserve the opportunity to do the best I can in life. For that, I may never thank them enough. With this newfound confidence and skills and abilities I have learned, I will go much further in life. I will be getting my high school diploma this June, and I’m in my third quarter at South Puget Sound Community College. I was recently hired by Sodexho at New Market, as a cashier for the culinary arts program. While attending this program, I have found what I love to do. I plan to get a degree in culinary arts and business, and one day I plan to own my own restaurant. I know I’m a long way from achieving my dreams, but I now know that it is possible. Thank you. Senator MURRAY. That’s great. Thank you very much, Meisha. Sorry, you get to follow that. [Laughter.] Mr. GULLIOT. I beg your pardon? Senator MURRAY. I’m sorry, you get to follow Meisha. [Laughter.] STATEMENT OF DON GULLIOT, SECRETARY-TREASURER, WASHINGTON STATE ASSOCIATION OF ELECTRICAL WORK- ERS, SEATTLE, WA Mr. GULLIOT. Good morning, Senator Murray and members of the committee. Thank you for the opportunity today to address you. My name is Don Gulliot. I am the business manager of Local Union 77 with the IBEW. We represent the employees that provide you power from the utilities in our State. Thank you for inviting us to comment this morning. Local 77 represents 6,800 utility and construction workers in our State. This includes investor-owned public utilities, municipalities, REAs, and Federal and nuclear power plants. We currently have VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00024 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 21 approximately 68 collective bargain agreements in the State. Today, what I’d like to speak to, which is a common thread, is the aging workforce and what we are doing, and what we are not doing, about it. The other thing is regional training centers, what our union is doing, and what our international union is doing, and what we’re doing with the junior colleges here in the State of Washington; workplace safety, which goes along with training—on-the-job train- ing; and a concern about the use of foreign workers and the reduc- ing of carbon emissions. That’s what I’m prepared to speak to today, and that concludes my presentation, at this time. Senator MURRAY. OK. STATEMENT OF DAVID HARRISON, CHAIR, WASHINGTON’S WORKFORCE TRAINING AND EDUCATION COORDINATING BOARD, OLYMPIA, WA Mr. HARRISON. Senator, I’m David Harrison. As you know, I am chair of the State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board, which is a partnership of education, labor, government, and business to help skill Washington for a high-skill, high-wage econ- omy. You already know that, from what you’ve heard already, that we face huge challenges in this State, and we’re addressing those challenges, all the more so because of what you’re doing in the other Washington, and your relentlessness on these matters. So, next time you’re at 38,000 feet over North Dakota, being served the mystery snack, know that we appreciate it. [Laughter.] Today, November 28, is the day in our history where knowledge, skills, and information are most critical, not just to our human op- portunity, but to our economic vitality. Until tomorrow. This is, as you well know, a central strategy for our State, to prepare for the future. In that context, both you and the Governor have expected us to get it, and get it done, primarily by emphasizing and respond- ing to the central matter, which is the skill gap, the gap between what employers need and workers have. The existence of such a gap, as you know, makes employers less competitive, and makes it less likely that youth entering the workforce will receive a sustain- able wage. The annual employer survey by the Workforce Board shows that we’re meeting only about 70 percent of the demand for people with 1 to 2 years of postsecondary training. This is numerically, the big- gest single skill gap in our State, just that particular element of the skill gap translates to around 25,000 people short. And as your obsession, to the extent we can put young people on a pathway, and keep them on the pathway, we can and will close that gap. We have numerous initiatives in progress to close the gap. My written testimony calls out high-demand programs of study at the commu- nity and technical colleges, opportunity grant program, increasing support of skill centers, and, as you know, Navigation One-on-One, which is an all new, all school counseling model that helps put youth on a pathway. It would not be whining, I don’t believe, to say that we are not always seeing our Federal partner with us in these matters. As you VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 22 try and sharpen the focus of the national government on the young person’s transition to work, we do have further schemes and dreams, and I want to quickly call out three. The Board and its partners are intent on using the reauthorized Perkins Act to create and sharpen clear programs of study. We worked hard on Perkins. The resources behind Perkins are a big deal, because those dollars, as John would attest, go toward better curriculum and better articulation between programs of study at the high school level and what happens at the community and technical college. As you know, that pathway, to be a pathway, has to be clear. Second, I wanted to call out the fact that, as you well know, we’re running on fumes with regard to WIA youth dollars, and WIA youth direction; so, as you work on the future of the Workforce In- vestment Act or in other venues, whatever you can do to sharpen the sense of pathways and the resources and approaches that the national government takes to these matters would be treasured, as we, at the same time, in the State, I think, are looking for—and the Governor’s looking for—continued improvements to how career and technical education works, and how it connects to the commu- nity and technical colleges. If you can help make a WIA that con- nects to those challenges a little bit more sharply, that would be a wonderful thing. There are considerable WIA youth resources, including discre- tionary resources we use now for dropout prevention in really excit- ing ways. And then, last, a big dream, and that is more support and incentivization of work-based learning for young people. As you know, there are really exciting models in and outside of the skill centers as to how employers connect, not just with existing workers and the older worker or the skilled worker, but the young person on the path. We can keep the path broader, well lighted, keep the ditches further away from the path if employers are there with us. There are some great examples—robotics in Mukilteo, healthcare in Yakima, all the very exciting construction industry work that’s going on in schools in Spokane in all these cases. Whatever you can do to connect those schemes to the weight the Federal Government moves the employers would be a wonderful thing. So, just those few schemes and dreams. Thank you, again, for all your work. Senator MURRAY. Thank you. [The prepared statement of Mr. Harrison follows:] PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID HARRISON Honorable Chairman Senator Murray and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to speak and present written remarks to the Employment and Workplace Safety Subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. Senator Murray, your leadership on workforce development issues has been a beacon to the Washington workforce community. We appreciate your commit- ment to helping students prepare for careers and meeting the workforce needs of industry. We believe that enhancing career pathways for students is an indispen- sable strategy both to help students succeed and to help companies compete. As promising as are the efforts we will all discuss today, they represent only a begin- ning of a job that must be done. A vital role of Washington’s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (Workforce Board) is to identify the skill and training needs of businesses in Washington State and the supply of trained individuals provided by educational in- VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 23 stitutions and to advance strategies to close the gap between the two. Our analysis based on projected job openings and employer surveys have consistently shown that the greatest gap in meeting employer demand is for mid-level postsecondary train- ing—training that is more than 1 year but less than 4 years in length. Such train- ing is provided by our community and technical colleges, apprenticeship programs, career and technical education programs in comprehensive high schools and ‘‘skills centers’’ (local school district collaboratives that focus on CTE preparatory coursework). Since 1998, this system has only been meeting from 66 percent to 77 percent of projected employer demand annually for persons completing these mid- level programs. In order to close this skill gap at the mid-level by 2010, we would need 26,000 more community and technical college student FTEs than were enrolled in 2005. Under Governor Gregoire’s leadership, we have been redoubling the efforts to close the gap. At the community and technical college level, we have addressed ‘‘high employer demand programs of study’’ which are undergraduate certificate or degree programs in which the number of students prepared for employment per year is substantially less than the number of projected job openings in that field—state- wide, or in a sub-state region. In Washington, these high demand programs of study include accounting, aircraft mechanics and technicians, auto diesel mechanics, con- struction trades, education, healthcare practitioners, science technology, transpor- tation, and installation, maintenance and repair. In addition, we have sought to expand access to this outstanding community and technical college system. A major success toward accomplishing this objective was an appropriation of $25 million in the 2007–2009 State-operating budget to expand the ‘‘Opportunity Grant Program’’ which provides wrap-around support services and financial aid to low-income adults for 1 year of training in mid-level high demand programs of study. This will enable low-income students to reach the ‘‘tipping point’’ of education required for economic self-sufficiency. The initiatives to confront the skill shortage at the earlier steps of the pathway are equally critical, as too many high school students face a situation where no path is clear to them. In ‘‘High Skills, High Wages,’’ Washington’s 2006 Strategic Plan for Workforce Development, the Board has established the following system objec- tive: ‘‘There should be secondary CTE programs throughout the K–12 system that enable students to explore career pathways and complete preparatory coursework that matches their aspirations. The career pathways should be ar- ticulated with postsecondary education and training and result in industry cer- tification.’’ The recently re-authorized Perkins Act is a tool in furthering this objective. The Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act of 2006 provided for the development and implementation of career and technical education (CTE) ‘‘programs of study’’ that include a nonduplicative progression of courses that align secondary education with postsecondary education. The Workforce Board and its K–12 and community and technical college partners are in the process of planning the implementation of the Perkins Act, including designing a process for develop- ment and approval of CTE programs of study. The focus of the No Child Left Behind Act, on the other hand, has presented ob- stacles to furthering career pathways. Many local school districts are assigning more coursework centered on test performances, causing a reduction in skills courses in some districts. In response, the Workforce Board is working on a number of initia- tives with its partners to ensure career pathways are available to students through- out the State, including the following: • We completed a study and recommendations for the 2007 legislative session on improving access to ‘‘skills centers’’ and many of those recommendations are being implemented; • In preparation for the upcoming legislative session, we are working with the Of- fice of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) to secure funding for imple- menting ‘‘high demand’’ CTE programs of study and the development of articulation agreements between secondary and postsecondary programs that provide a program of sequenced courses and ensure all students have access to dual enrollment options; • The Board is part of a legislatively mandated advisory committee to the Legisla- ture that is examining how CTE programs can guarantee rigorous academic content and thus be recognized as meeting academic course equivalencies; and • The State Legislature has implemented a grant program that enables local school districts to work with apprenticeship councils on aligning curriculum to pro- vide direct or preferential entry for students who complete pre-apprenticeship pro- grams. VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE 24 While we are making important progress in this State in building multiple career pathways for students, much remains to be done. Tech Prep programs have devel- oped a number of articulation agreements between individual high schools and indi- vidual community colleges. The skills centers in the State have been increasing their course alignment with postsecondary opportunities as well—New Market and Sno-Isle Skills Centers have been leaders in this effort. However, more resources need to be allocated to the development of model curriculum and accompanying ar- ticulation agreements that can be replicated statewide. This is a time-intensive process that involves bringing business, labor, and K–12 and postsecondary faculty together to establish standards and develop curriculum frameworks. While some States (California and South Carolina) have been successful in securing significant State resources for this work, additional monies allocated through the Perkins Act would go a long way to making sure these opportunities exist throughout the State. An important part of career pathways for students is work-based learning. We need to do more to involve business and labor and provide opportunities for students to learn at workplaces. This can take the form of co-ops, internships, pre-apprentice- ship programs and other strategies. Some examples in this State include the men- toring by Electroimpact in the robotics program in the Mukilteo School District and the ‘‘Youth Works’’ internships provided by Memorial Hospital for a number of high school students in Yakima County. Much more needs to be done in this respect. Congress should explore providing incentives to business and other mechanisms to increase work-based learning opportunities for students. It is critical that we continue to acknowledge the vital role that career and tech- nical education plays in providing opportunities for secondary students to achieve academic success and prepare for careers. We know that secondary students must be engaged and motivated to learn. Career and technical education provides the rel- evance for many students needed for their engagement, as well as an opportunity to learn academics in a ‘‘hands-on’’ manner. Career and technical education pro- grams of study options are a necessary tool for ensuring all students learn the skills they need to be successful in today’s economy. STATEMENT OF BOB DREWEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PUGET SOUND REGIONAL COUNCIL, SEATTLE, WA Mr. DREWEL. Well, thank you, Madam Chair, for this oppor- tunity. My name is Bob Drewel, and I am the executive director of the Puget Sound Regional Council. I just want to take a moment to join the chorus of thank-yous to you, and I do this with apprecia- tion and admiration and affection for your boundless energy and passion and care for the citizens of this State and this Nation, and we’re very grateful for your leadership. The Puget Sound Regional Council is the home to a coalition known as the Prosperity Partnership, and our goal is to develop 100,000 new jobs in this region by the year 2010. I might add that two of the co-chairs of this organization, Mr. Bender and Dr. Mitch- ell, are on the panel here this morning, so I’ll try and be as useful as possible when you have two of your bosses in the room. Fundamental to our effort is the linking of the education system with the demands of the workforce. This is particularly important in a State like Washington, which is, by many measures, the best educated in the United States. Again, the size and the scope of this program is not only in this State, but in the Nation. Washington has more engineers per capita, and ranks in the top 10 in life sciences, recent graduates in science and engineering, and com- puter scientists. Seattle was recently named as the best-educated city in America, with over half of its adults holding a bachelor’s de- gree. Of course, this means for our citizens to be competitive for a job in this State, you must be educated beyond high school. Research by the Partnership for Learning on behalf of the Col- lege and Work-Ready Agenda, tells us that 77 percent of the jobs VerDate Nov 24 2008 15:05 Apr 06, 2009 Jkt 035165 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\39476.TXT DENISE
