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Posts Tagged ‘Workforce Development’

Peace Corps, Nukes & Unemployment

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

Great to learn that President Obama and Dimitry Medvedev of Russia signed the “new START” treaty this week in an effort to reduce the number of nukes by one-third. It is just a start but a solid one with proliferation and a complete breakdown between US and Russian relations during the previous administration. Is the world safer? Not really, but at least the big boys are talking, agreeing to keep a lid on things and and an eye on new entrants into the nuclear bomb family of nations.

Simultaneously, a bill is coursing through Congress to put some more money into creating Peace Corps jobs that I believe should have a Department of Labor contribution in it. Is the “More Peace Corps” bill a State Department activity? Of course. But isn’t also a smart way to boost unemployment in a small but meaningful way.  A couple of thousand PCV jobs are always welcome and these kinds of jobs are just what is needed. They build new skills, meet national security interests if deployed properly and send the signal that the US is investing in its people in creative ways.

The confluence of national security interests and reducing unemployment should not be a novel concept. I do not believe there is any linkage of this sort between the Departments of State and Labor. There certainly are linkages between the Departments of State and Defense but one more player at the table is needed.

Until we see foreign aid, the crippled economy and unemployment as national security issues, the kinds of action needed by Congress and the bureaucracies will be harder to come by and a signature of the way the US leads through creativity and innovation.

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Sad Results of Illiteracy, Substance Abuse & Mental Illness - A Day At Framingham Women’s Prison

Saturday, March 27th, 2010

A strange and new form of heavy, helpless sadness overcame me during a recent tour of the Framingham Massachusetts Women’s Prison on April 18, 2010 as the most recent stop on the year-long Leadership MetroWest Academy . 

It began with the first stop where young women in their late teens to mid-twenties in blue jeans and MCI t-shirts were processed on their way to court - shackled, handcuffed, searched and loaded into the back of an unmarked white van.  A few made eye contact as if to look for someone to acknowledge their humanity.  Most never bothered to see who we were and went through the motions in a zombie-like way. What awaited them outside the prison walls, I did not know.

The sadness grew heavier as we toured medium and maximum security units. MCI Framingham was clean, the staff showed inmates respect and most of the staff smiled, were polite with us and the inmates, and traded light-hearted banter with the Assistant Superintendent (Warden) and guards who led us on our 3-1/2 hour tour.  The sadness came from seeing women confined with no privacy and very little ahead that promised to improve their lives. It grew with repeated references to recent suicides that the staff were shaken by because they could not prevent them.

The Superintendent dropped some stats on us that resonated all day long: over 600 prisoners in a facility designed for 450, average reading level is 6th grade, 85% of the crimes for which inmates were admitted involved substance abuse, over 70% of inmates on some form of mental health treatment plan.  Most had been subject to some form of childhood or sexual abuse. Of the 600+ inmates, the guards felt that maybe 120 or so were dangerous and were better off locked up for their own sakes and the public’s. Prisoners ages ranged from 17- to 78-years-old. Average cost per year of housing them: $45,000 per inmate. Average number of children per inmate: 2-1/2. Whoa.  That’s 1,500 children out there with their mom in prison.

The statistics helped explain but not lessen the sadness.

There were a few encouraging stops along the way - the program where six inmates are training puppies to be assistance dogs for disabled children and adults, the cosmetology and restaurant program, the industrial embroidery program and the GED and remedial classes. But for the most part, the sadness got heavier.

As a society, we must think about how we deal with illiteracy, learning disabilities and behavioral health.  For most of these women, responsible parenting, early childhood education, dropout prevention and early intervention in substance abuse and mental health would have set them on a different course.  This passage of health care reform is a step in the right direction - more working poor will have some coverage down the road and kids 18-26 will be able to stay on their parents’ policies.  But so much more is needed.

I hope that sadness is never one I feel for someone I know or love.  I also hope I never lose touch with that sadness and urgency to do something about it.

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Gary Indiana’s Response to High Dropout Rates

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

 

Gary, Indiana’s leaders share profound concern and inspiring commitment to their young people, many of whom are being left behind by the 21st Century.  Over the past three years, Gary’s leaders produced their Multiple Education Pathway Blueprint. The blueprint may serve as a catalyst for  education attainment that leads to employment and supports economic development in Gary and NW Indiana.

In-School Portfolio of Options: In 2008, the Gary Community Schools unveiled a set of ten specific strategies known as the “The New Secondary Experience.” The objective was to implement best practices from work being done in other cities that were possible with limited resources.

The ten components include:

  1. Collecting and utilizing school-based data to provide early indicators of students at-risk of dropping out by: a) identifying all students falling behind, b) classifying students by credits earned, and c) using KidTrax data systems to foster connectedness between community and in-school activities,
  2. Transforming schools to allow students to pursue interests, talents and abilities
  3. Eliminating all social promotions and engage students and their parents in developing a plan for credit recovery and intensive remedial education
  4. Implementing “Double Dose” classes for students falling behind in mathematics and language arts
  5. Implementing extended day strategies supported by existing Title XX and remediation funds
  6. Engaging employers and workforce specialists to provide career and job awareness, exploration, mentoring and employment
  7. Implementing immediate instructional interventions and exploring the use of technology options to support teachers and counselors
  8. Implementing reading and literacy classes at the high school level to provide remediation for those students not reading English at grade level
  9. Providing credit recovery and acquisition opportunities for all students classified as behind their grade level in credits earned after regular school day, and
  10. Developing an individual Career Pathway Plan for all Gary students

New Pathways Options through “Magnet Schools”: In the winter of 2008, faced with a $22 million budget shortfall, the Gary Community Schools Board designed and passed a sweeping secondary school re-organization built on principles of “The New Secondary Experience.” The strategy, “Magnet Schools,” requires students, parents and faculty to choose where their talent and interests lie in selecting one of four schools that will offer choice of 1) Leadership/Military Academy & Gifted/Talented Focus, 2) Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM),  3) Career and Technical options, and 4)Visual & Performing Arts.

“Oldest and Closest”: An immediate strategy to arise from MEP Blueprint planning process is for the Gary Community Schools and its partners to rapidly identify its 2008-2009 students missing the least number of credits and who were oldest students at risk of “aging out” for immediate interventions. It was estimated that roughly 10% of the students most likely to drop out were in this category. Intensive time and resources for students in need of assistance to secure credits or a satisfactory ISTEP score to graduate could produce momentum and early success.

 

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The Power of Getting Not Out Of Your Life

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

In a few shevelopmentort days of presenting the Get Not Out of Your Life campaign to various partners, leaders showed through their reactions the power of looking differently upon one’s condition.

Remaining open to possibilities and taking a step to strengthen skills, literacy and credentials are essential to overcoming fear, hopelessness and loss of control in one’s life. It is not easy to adapt or overcome limitations, but doing so is very often more self-imposed than merely one’s fate.  Get Not Out of Your Life is focused on older adults, pregnant teens, kids who have dropped out, the working poor in search of family-supporting  jobs, Spanish-speakers looking to succeed in high-skill jobs and those who struggle with reading. 

From a social marketing perspective, the Get Not Out Of Your Life campaign is special in that it places the emotional needs of displaced adult workers and off-track youth and young adults first.  Institutions and there products are a distant second.  It has the potential, if implemented thoughtfully, of branding a region or organization as one that puts those in need first.

Getting Not Out Of Your Lifecampaign materials is designed for those who undestand and value servant leadership.  It is not for self-promoters or those wishing to place their organization’s name out in front.  That, they will have to on their own.  What will be interesting to see is if elected officials see the power of Getting Not Out Of Your Life as an expression of their commitment to public service.

As further reactions and suggestions emerge, I will try to capture them here.

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Stimulus That Works in Global Markets

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Promising news this week that the US is out of recession, manufacturing output is on the rise and durable goods orders were up in October 2009 was contradicted by unemployment climbing above 10% for the first time since 1983. Indeed, unemployment slowed to one-sixth the rate of January 2009 and looks like it is heading in the direction of jobs growth in early 2010.

How employment expands is really what matters. As several stimulus attempts that worked reach an end or are already over, the US government and states should do more of those things that created good jobs, especially in 21st Century, energy- and planet-saving manufacturing. The future of US economic and jobs recovery lies, in part, in manufacturing. At a time when the rules are being re-written, so can the industries that emerge. America must move from 70% of its economy driven by consumption and retail to high-demand goods that will be bought by domestic and foreign consumers and their governments.

The US government and the states have an opportunity to show leadership by choosing where to invest in manufacturing stimulus. Cash For Clunkers worked. So do more of that. Stimulate purchases of energy efficient large appliances - I’ve read where that is in the works but have seen nothing. The stimulus around energy efficiency in buildings - municipal, state and private should find a way to grow - it means jobs and lower energy costs for cash-strapped cities, towns and states. But look outside our borders.

The Chinese are pumping billions into rail transportation - compete for that market. The Scandinavians are investing in alternative fuels and geothermal technologies to heat homes and buildings. The Indians are seeking ways to improve housing for its underemployed hundreds of millions. These are but three areas where manufacturers and the public sector should collaborate to manufacture things others will buy. The weak dollar is an asset in late 2009 that can be exploited by selling US goods competitively on global markets if America is agile enough.

Investment in small enterprises as well in those “too big to fail” is necessary with an outward view of the world while the US continues to stimulate the kind of consumption that puts people to work, reduces energy consumption and aids in lowering personal and public debt.

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Resiliency & Recovery

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

There is so much conflicting information around that even in the midst of an economic recovery it is hard to feel confident about the next move any of us should make. 

Oil prices are down, the US trade deficit is the lowest in a decade, companies are emerging from bankruptcy, the bankers are paying back billions they borrowed from the US taxpayers, housing starts are up, earnings and equities are stable and creeping up for many, etc.  Looks good, right?

How then do we balance good news with the bad? Increasing unemployment (ten states now over 10%), states slashing services or frozen in budget crises (NC and CA are two with which I have some first-hand knowledge), real estate development continuing to crumble, consumer confidence still down seem to be daily themes. 

One course of action was always the best one: pursue your dreams or “vision” with an eye to moderation, personal and professional growth, diversify revenues, look to cut costs and build relationships.

It was the lack of moderation and placing money or power before values that got us here.  Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich, in his terrific blog, http://robertreich.blogspot.com says that the recovery will never begin in a way that resemble the crash of 2008-2009.  Rather, it will be a long slow recovery made possible by consumers, workers, investors and policy makers making choices that result in long-term investment in people, infrastructure and innovation.

I agree and think that is what each of us must do - invest our time, creativity  and dollars in knowledge, tools, skills and technology that will make us more resilient and valuable.

- Bradley Bauler - 07-18-2009

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