Transcript Slide 1

Rekindling the Dream
How can you be such an angry
young man? Your future looks
quite bright to me!
Angry Young Man, Styx
Future? I don’t even have today,
man.
SC High School Drop Out, 2005
Poor people are not taught that they are
in charge of their own lives, or that
they can change their lives through
the sheer force of their own ambition.
Self-reliance and ambition are not
parts of the culture of poverty.
Carol Apt
ACC Newsletter, Winter 2007
Quotes from Rapid Response Staff
• “115 have been laid off—none of the employees expressed an
interest in going into any type of training at this time.”
• “Around 75% of X company’s people do not have a high
school education or GED. They are not interested in returning
to school. Some of them cannot read or write at all but are not
willing to admit that. Many of the others are functioning at
such low grade levels they would run out of funds before they
could finish remedial training, but once again, most of them
are too embarrassed to admit it. For that reason, most of them
refused to go through WIA assessment.”
Population
Over 18 versus
Labor Force
Not in Labor Force
997,807
Unemployed
172,483
Employed
1,874,063
Labor Force = 2,046,546
(Employed + Unemployed)
Employed = 1,874,063
(Persons ≥16 working at least one hour/wk)
Unemployed = 172,483
(Not employed, available and actively seeking employment)
Not in Labor Force = 497,807
(Persons in population 18 years and older minus the labor
force; based on 2004 Census Data, ≈.5 M over the age
of 65)
Recent ETS Report: America’s Perfect Storm
• Data from NAEP reveal that between 1984 and 2004
the average size of the Black-White and the HispanicWhite achievement gaps remained large and stable.
• International surveys of students and adults indicate
that while our average performance is no better than
mediocre, our degree of inequality (the gap between
our best and least proficient) is among the highest in
OECD countries.
Perfect Storm (cont.)
• Large numbers of our nation’s adults do not
demonstrate sufficient literacy and numeracy skills to
fully participate in a competitive work environment
• “We estimate that by 2030 the average levels of
literacy and numeracy in the working-age population
will have decreased by about 5% while inequity will
have increased by about 7%.”
Workforce Gap
• 90 percent of the fastest growing jobs
require technical skills training
• 48 of the 50 best paying jobs require a
minimum of two years post-secondary
education
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Rekindling the Dream—We can
help
Workforce Investment Act
• Federal program with dual customer base
–Participants
–Businesses
• South Carolina received $63M for the 06-07
program year
Distribution of Funds
State Allotments
15%
15%
15%
85%
85%
15%
70%
Dislocated
Worker
Adult
Programs
Youth
Statewide
Rapid Response
Local Area
One-Stop
$
$
$
UI
WagnerPeyser
↓
Workforce
Investment
Act (WIA)
↓
↓
Unemployment
Insurance (UI)
$$$
Core Services
(Resumes, job
Matching and
Searches, etc.)
Intensive Services
(Assessment,
money for training,
money for support
services)
Self Service Opportunities
$
TANF
Voc Rehab
Adult Ed
Veterans
Etc…
↓
Other Partners
Different Levels of Jobs and
Workers
Beginning Jobs/Emerging Workers
Better Jobs/Evolving Workers
Best Jobs/Excelling Workers
$3.2M in Competitive Grants
Samples of awards:
OCTech: developing career pathways and providing instruction in
nursing assistant, pre-employment manufacturing, patient care
technician, and truck driving
First Steps: developing career pathways for child care workers
and providing training from the lowest to the highest jobs and
skill levels
Lexington/Richland 5: tripling the hours for adult education
focusing on closing literacy and numeracy gaps, especially
targeting the prison population, and assisting with the transition to
the workforce
Sample of WIA Participant Results
In 05—06, SC workforce development invested
roughly $1900 in each of 10,889 adults seeking
employment.
4800 adults are still receiving services.
Results for the other 6,055:
84% employment rate
90% employment retention rate
Average earnings
gain of $2906.
Increase Adult Participants
From July to the end of January, WIA has
served 20% more adults than during the
same period last year.
We will be partnering with CAP agencies in
the coming months to discuss more direct
referrals, etc.
People of WIA
• Serrenyun Tolden—single mother, used WIA funds
for Lander’s Business Administration program,
transportation, child care, and textbooks. She
graduated with a 3.0, is working at the Department of
Revenue, and is pursuing a masters in Accounting.
• Keith Beall—high school drop out, laid off
manufacturing worker, used WIA funds to get GED,
go to Tri-County Tech for his EPA certification,
tuition, books, transportation, and a living stipend.
Now stably employed by Total Comfort.
In a global economy, the government
cannot give anybody a guaranteed
success story, but you can give people
the tools to make the most of their own
lives.
Philip Bobbitt, The Shield of Achilles: War,
Peace, and the Course of History
www.sccommerce.com