The State Board of Education is seeking input on a proposal that would update high school diploma standards, including math and science requirements. The goal is that this diploma will have currency both in the workforce and at institutions of higher education by clearly identifying the essential skills needed for success in both school and work.
 
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INITIATIVE TRACKER 

MEET TARGETED WORKFORCE NEEDS OF  INDUSTRY

 

Business Initiative Leaders

 

Eileen Drake, PCC Structurals;  Elizabeth King, ESCO Corporation; Don Skundrick, LTM, Inc.  

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Public Sector Partners   

 

Lucy Baker, Oregon Business Leadership Network; Claire Berger, Workforce Policy Coordinator, Office of the Governor; Mimi Bushman, Workdrugfree; Lita Colligan, Workforce Policy Advisor, Office of the Governor; Tom Olson, Oregon Employment Department; Greg White, Executive Staff, Oregon Workforce Investment Board.

 

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Meet Targeted Workforce Needs of Industry

Objective:  Creating and retaining a world-class workforce is an integral part of a prospering economy.  If Oregon is to compete globally, it must be able to attract, retain, and train a workforce that can compete with any in the world.  To achieve this goal, we must create new high performance work environments and flexible, responsive education and job training programs that are competency-based, responsive to the demands in a rapidly changing labor market, and are tied to new technologies, customer needs, and evolving production processes.  To address the upcoming labor shortage, Oregon must drastically expand its pool of qualified workers, and we must take steps to ensure that all Oregonians are able to participate in the workforce.

Recommendations:  (click on any individual recommendation to check progress)

Connect Education and Training with Skills that Meet Employer and Worker Needs

Oregon must take steps to ensure that students are prepared for the demands of the industries in which they will be employed.  To meet this goal, employers and industry associations should work with the various education boards and workforce systems to develop curriculum and credentials to better connect education with economic opportunities.  Specific recommendations include:  

Renew the Value of the High School Diploma

Employers should participate extensively as the Board of Education reviews the high school diploma requirements. Employers should advocate for: aligning high school graduation requirements with entry requirements to Oregon’s colleges and universities and with workplace credentials used for employee selection and advancement.  Student demonstration of proficiency should also be a requirement of graduation, using assessment tools that assure consistency throughout the state and that document both basic and workplace readiness skills.  

     Develop a Standardized Skills Assessment Tool and Work Readiness Certificate  

Employers should work with Oregon Workforce Investment Board (OWIB) to develop the assessment tool and readiness certificate.   These items should be used by all Worksource Oregon centers and in all Oregon community colleges, and should be consistent with the assessment tools and certificates utilized by the education system.  Test this concept, prior to adoption, to understand the financial implications and ensure that it has value for businesses and workers, and has currency in the marketplace.  

OWIB should take the lead in developing the policy, and should identify flexible resources to assist businesses with training needs, especially for low-skill adult workers.  

     Tailor Community College Training Programs to Better Reflect Employer Needs

Oregon desperately needs to develop a culture of continually monitoring employer needs as they change over time.  Larger structural reforms are needed, but a good start includes increasing collaboration between employers and community colleges.  Recommendations include:

  • Involve business leaders in academic instruction and in developing skills assessment tools, utilizing employers as technical training instructors/partners, including education system staff in workforce development discussions, and forming common agreements on worker readiness standards and certification.  

  • Modularize training & build flexibility into curriculum.  Community colleges should build modularized training and career pathways for adult workers.  These programs should adhere to the standards and certification discussed above.

  • Review OBP Cluster Submissions to identify clusters with specific workforce challenges, such as the need for regulatory (FDA) training for the bioscience industry, replacement workers in the metals industry, entry level through high level candidates to fill jobs in the semiconductor industry, etc.

     Continue to Support Three Critical Workforce Priorities

 

Engineering. Increasing the number of engineers through the leadership of the Engineering Technology Council (ETIC). Develop a state-supported marketing campaign to highlight the

benefits and general interest and options for careers in mathand science that reached a broad audience.  Meet our goal of doubling the output of engineering majors and creating a top-tier program by 2009.

 

Manufacturing.  Manufacturing is at the heart of many of Oregon’s most important traded sector industries.  With looming retirements, we need to secure a pipeline of talented new employees.  Build on the Cross-Industry Skills Standards project, using the career pathways model that reduces cycle time in training.  The state should also work with employers and manufacturing associations to develop a sustainable  media/communications campaign to promote Oregon manufacturing and careers.

Health Care. Establish a public-private healthcare workforce institute to provide consistent and reliable research about healthcare occupational shortages and develop policies and resources to resolve the shortage.  Review and apply strategies outlined in the Oregon Nursing Leadership Council's strategic plan, Solutions to Oregon's Nursing Shortage, and the Oregon Center for Nursing's annual report.  

 

      Increase Participation in the Competitive Workforce

 

 

Diversity:  Launch OBP Diversity Task Force with the Goal of Developing A Comprehensive Diversity Initiative Before the Fifth Annual Leadership Summit.  For Oregon to be  globally competitive, its public and private entities must be a reflection of the communities that they serve.  The demographics of Oregon and the nation are changing rapidly, and its future workforce will, and should, change accordingly.  The bottom line:  Diversity is a business issue.  Oregon companies are being presented with a new pool of potential talent, a new customer base, and new consumer preferences.  Making diversity a top priority will be critical to the success or failure of these companies in the future.  This effort must be statewide and begin with delivering a quality education to every Oregonian, from grade school through graduate school.  The OBP Diversity task force will convene in early in 2006 to begin developing this initiative.  Please contact the workforce initiative leaders to become a part of this effort.

 

Increase  inclusion of people with disabilities in the competitive workforce.  individuals with disabilities represent a highly qualified worker pool that, with proper accommodation, can bring much needed skills and talent to the workforce.  We must adopt business strategies that demonstrate that recruiting and retaining workers with disabilities is good for business.  The Oregon Business Leadership Network, together with  Oregon businesses and  public sector partners, should work to:

 

  • Develop a public/private clearinghouse of accommodation resources and brokerages that provide quick access for businesses to Oregon resources around workplace accommodation in a way that meets business needs within sectors.

  • Initiate a dialogue between businesses and state resource organizations around creating mechanisms for a smoother interface between accommodation expertise and Oregon business.

  • Maintain an interactive website that provides a forum for business-to-business networking, and establish strategic links with national, regional, state, and local expertise on accommodation.

  • Provide a series of business-led forums on linking accommodation strategies and measures to business plans

      Make Strategic Investments in Early Care and Education

 

Over the next decade, it is projected that 85 percent of Oregon’s 

workforce will consist of working parents. Our future economic 

success is tied to making childcare accessible for workers, affordable 

for employers, and of the highest possible quality for children. Oregon 

businesses and public sector partners should work together to:   

 

  • Create a committee of policy makers and business leaders to evaluate Oregon’s existing employer child care tax credits. If necessary, recommend changes to make them more attractive to business, and advocate for those changes at the Legislature. If the tax credits are viable in their current form, assist in educating employers about their availability.  

  • Champion the use of structural indicators to assess and improve the quality of childcare in Oregon communities. There are seven structural indicators that lead to high quality childcare.  A pilot project to evaluate facilities and distribute quality information is currently taking place in the tri-county area.

      Build a drug-free Oregon Workforce

Businesses in five of nine Oregon Business Plan Bus Tour stops in 2004

identified drug use as a key obstacle to hiring otherwise qualified workers,

and the percentage of Oregon employers identifying on-the-job drug use a

great concern has risen to an all-time high.  Oregon employers (public and

private), under the leadership of the Workdrugfree Employer Task Group,

should: 

  • Mount a statewide campaign to increase the number of drug-free workplaces from 25% to 75% by 2008.  The campaign should include employer-to-employer education and mentoring, technical assistance and training, and a drug-free workplace certification program.  It should also engage insurers and legislators in exploring financial incentives that encourage drug-free workplace programs. 

  • Raise legislator awareness around the impact of drugs on business competitiveness and continue to engage them in developing legislation to better align employer responsibility to accommodate medical marijuana cardholders with workforce safety and productivity needs. 

  •   Assist Oregon's Workforce Investment Board to adopt a Substance Abuse Prevention Standard for job seekers that meets employers needs.  Include a workforce development agency policy statement and supervisor and staff training, and insure improved linkage with substance abuse evaluation services.  Evaluate the standard through a demonstration project.

  • Assist the State Board of Education in creating a Career-Related Learning Standard to prepare students for employment in a drug-free workplace.  Assist education agencies in strengthening school drug policies and administrator training and encourage state agencies to include student preparation for the workforce in drug prevention initiatives.  

 

 

Objective:  Better Connect Education And Training With Skills That Meet Employer and Worker Needs  

 

Recommendation Progress

Renew the Value of the High School Diploma

 The State Board of Education is seeking input on a proposal that would update high school diploma standards,  including math and science requirements.  The goal is that this diploma will have currency both in the workforce and at institutions of higher education by clearly identifying the essential skills needed for success in both school and work.
Develop a standardized skills assessment tool and accompanying work readiness certificate  Employer focus groups were conducted earlier this year to determine the level of interest and potential use of the workforce readiness certificate in the employment process. Overall, there is strong employer support  to move forward with the work by choosing an assessment tool that fits employer needs and assembling a group of employers to guide the process. Next steps will be to collect and analyze assessment tools and formalize the employer advisory group.
Define the state’s role in incumbent worker training A policy on current worker training was formally adopted by the Oregon Workforce Investment Board. The policy includes investment principles that guide the state in funding current worker training.  The principles are focused in the areas of connecting regional to statewide needs, investments in traded sector companies, workers gaining transferable skills through attainment of certificates/credentials, and training workers for jobs that enhance their  economic stability.  
Involve business leaders in academic instruction and in developing skills assessment tools, utilizing employers as technical training instructors/partners, including education system staff in workforce development discussions, and forming common agreements on worker readiness standards and certification  The NorthWest High Performance Enterprise Consortium was awarded a grant to implement the Oregon Manufacturing Workforce Strategy in which involving business leaders in academic instruction is one of their strategies.
Modularize training and build flexibility into curriculum  Oregon Community Colleges have been granted $424,600 to expand Career Pathways while another $350,000 has just gone out in an RFP for Incentive grants to further expand Career Pathways. Pathways to Advancement is a systemic framework that focuses on easing student transitions across the education continuum and helps Oregonians attain certificates, credentials or degrees that lead to demand occupations and higher wages.  Seventeen community college presidents have endorsed the  program.  A career pathway is an articulated sequence of educational and training courses and student supports that enable students, beginning in high school and across the educational continuum, to progress to the next level of education and employment.  
Review OBP cluster submissions to identify clusters with specific workforce challenges Funded consortia-building projects in workforce development for bioscience, food processing, metals, semiconductors, wind turbines, and wood products industries. Also, partnering with Oregon Inc. to align cluster strategies.

 

Objective:  Continue to Support Three Critical Workforce Priorities

 

Recommendation

2006 Progress

Engineering

 

Manufacturing The NorthWest High Performance Enterprise Consortium was awarded $499,962 to implement  the Oregon Workforce Manufacturing Strategy.   Manufacturing 21, the Lane County RV Consortium, the Gateway Consortium in Salem, and other manufacturing coalitions continue to implement and make visible training programs for manufacturing occupations.
Health Care The Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute has been established and a director is being hired. Initial research on health occupations has been completed by the Oregon Employment Department. The Northwest Health Foundation for the Institute was awarded $200,000 to establish the private-public partnership called the Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute.  The role of Institute will be to develop a coordinated statewide response to critical needs in the healthcare workforce.  

Objective:  Increase Participation and Stability in the Competitive Workforce

 

Recommendation

2006 Progress

Launch OBP Diversity Task Force

The OBP Diversity Task Force met in spring of 2006 to discuss ways in which the Oregon Business Plan can communicate the importance of diversity to the competitiveness of Oregon companies.  The committee determined that the best way to do this was to engage a more diverse array of Oregonians in the activities of the Oregon Business Plan, including the development of initiatives and the Annual Leadership Summit
Increase inclusion of people with disabilities in the competitive workforce

 

1.  Develop a private/public clearinghouse of accommodation resources and brokerages that provide quick access for businesses to Oregon resources around workplace accommodation in a way that meets business needs within sectors. The OBLN has initiated the planning phase for the development of a Small Business Center at the clearinghouse website.  The new resource will be designed by small businesses successfully employ workers with disabilities.  The Small Business Center will link micro enterprises and small business to models and resources to tap the talent of workers with disabilities and employer incentives helpful to small business.   In the Summer 2006, the OBLN is developing partnerships with Incight, business, education, and workforce resources to a links business with the emerging talents of students with disabilities from Universities, Community Colleges, Colleges, and High Schools. 
2. Initiate a dialogue between businesses and state resource organizations around creating mechanisms for a smoother interface between accommodation expertise and Oregon business.  The OBLN is collaborating with workforce partners to develop overviews of disability specific information for individual Oregon industry sectors and will be working with sectors to open dialogue.
3. Maintain an interactive website that provides a forum for business-to-business networking, and establish strategic links with national, regional, state, and local expertise on accommodation. Oregon businesses are contributing best practices around inclusion to the OBLN clearinghouse of business resources, training, and materials.
4. Provide a series of business-led leadership forums on linking accommodation strategies and measures to business plans. The OBLN and its business partners in collaboration with state resources provide regular forums on key aspects of hiring, retention, and inclusion for people with disabilities that link strategies to business outcomes for successful hiring, retention, and recruitment.  Forum topics include:

The ADA for business: January, 2006 (In collaboration with the NWEEO/Affirmative Action Board)

•        Accommodation and Supervision issues around Mental Health in the Workplace:  The Real Deal Series: an interactive discussion on accommodation and supervision issues between Oregon Business and JAN, the Job Accommodation Network.  May, 2006 (Statewide via teleconference)

•        Disability Awareness and adaptive equipment in the workplace.  August, 2006 (Portland), September, 2006 (Salem)

•       Internships and Summer Hires for students with disabilities, October, 2006 (Portland)

•       Job Developers as a business resource, (December, 2006)

Make Strategic Investments in Early Care and Education  
1.  Create a committee of policy makers and business leaders to evaluate Oregon's existing employer child care tax credits.   The Oregon Employment department has discussed the credits with a number of Oregon employers in person and by survey. There are two primary reasons credits are not being used: No taxable income (1); employees do not require child care (2). Neither reason would be materially affected by modifying the credit, except in the unlikely event the state increases the tax burden that business must bear. Business who take the credit are now required to receive certification from the child care division. We are considering some additions to the application form which will provide more detailed information about actual usage, including: # of employees projected to be served under the credit; projected amount of credit to be claimed. Right now, it appears that the heaviest users are corporate child care centers who use the credit to offset child care provided to their employees.

 
2.  Champion the use of structural indicators to assess and improve the quality of childcare in Oregon communities A pilot project with child care centers is underway in Multnomah County. Support from both private and public sources has been broad and enthusiastic. Funders include Oregon Child Care Division; Multnomah Commission on Children, Families, and Community; Hanna Andersson Foundation; Penney Family Fund; Jubitz Foundation; and the Oregon Community Foundation. Initial data is expected this Fall. Plans are underway to expand the pilot to family child care in a rural area. Foundations expressing interest in this new phase include the Cow Creek Foundation and the Ford Family Fund.

 
Build a drug-free Oregon workforce  
Mount a statewide campaign to boost the percentage of certified drug-free workplaces from 25 percent to 75 percent by 2008 The campaign to encourage Oregon employers to adopt drug-free workplace policies was launched on June 6 with the naming of Bend, Klamath County and Prineville-Crook County chambers of commerce as initial pilot sites. Don Skundrick, Drugfree Workforce Initiative Chair, said the goal is to improve the competitiveness of Oregon employers.  “This campaign will help businesses overcome the three biggest obstacles to drug-free worksites – lack of expertise, fear of the cost and not knowing how their workforces will be affected.” To measure progress toward the 75% goal, initiative leaders will meet Aug. 10 with Graham Slater, Oregon Employment Dept., to design a statewide employer survey to be conducted Fall 2006 fall in order to have data for the 2007 Oregon Leadership Summit.  In April, the initiative received a $10,000 grant from the American Society of Safety Engineers, Columbia Willamette Chapter, to support the work of the chamber-led pilot sites.
Raise legislators awareness of the impact of drugs on business competitiveness Executives of Columbia Forest Products, Hoffman Construction, IBEW, Medford Fabrication & US Bank briefed legislators and state agency leaders June 27, Northwest Natural, on the impact of drugs in the workplace and workforce.  Eileen Drake, PCC Structurals & Workforce Initiative Chair, called for a second session this fall to focus on specific solutions to employer concerns in the 2007 legislative session.  Unemployment insurance statutes related to drug and alcohol adjudication, revised in response to the OBP white paper, became effective March 12th.       
Assist Oregon's Workforce Investment Board in establishing a Substance Abuse Prevention Standard for job seekers that meets employer needs.   Oregon Workforce Investment Board members have scheduled a Sept. 23 work session to develop a “Job Seeker Substance Abuse Prevention Policy” for clients of Oregon’s public workforce system.  The policy will address the “biggest surprise” of the 2004 OBP bus tour – employer difficulty in hiring otherwise qualified job applicants precisely because they cannot pass a pre-employment drug screen.
Assist the state board of education in creating a career related learning standard to prepare students for employment in a drug-free workplace Oregon Department of Education officials will forward to the Board of Education new language to be embedded in the high school graduation requirements. The language will insure students are aware of the impact of substance abuse on employability and job success.  Drugfree workplace expectations already have been added to Program Quality Criteria for Professional Technical Education.     

*This is a new initiative of the Oregon Business Plan in 2006

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