Statewide effort for developing Idaho workforce recommended
TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY
William L. Spence
Lewiston Tribune, Idaho (TNS)
Rather than continue Idaho’s piecemeal approach to workforce development, a gubernatorial task force is recommending that a statewide strategy be adopted – and that lawmakers provide funding to implement it.
The recommendations come from a 17-member Workforce Development Task Force that Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter appointed in January.
The purpose of the task force was to highlight opportunities to prepare Idaho students for more productive careers and help meet the in-state demand for skilled workers.
The group is modeled on the Idaho Task Force for Improving Education, which was instrumental in crafting a five-year plan for improving the state’s public school system and boosting teacher pay.
In a report released Monday, the task force concluded that industry, government and the education system are jointly responsible for workforce development and “should elevate (their) commitment to executing a shared vision.”
The group recommended that responsibility for crafting and implementing a statewide strategic plan be given to the Department of Labor’s Workforce Development Council, which currently meets quarterly.
Besides beefing up the council by hiring an executive director and staff, the task force also recommended that lawmakers provide additional funding for workforce training, expand capacity at the state’s six workforce training centers and work with industry to develop more apprenticeship programs.
Other recommendations include strengthening college and career counseling in Idaho high schools, encouraging schools to offer classes that focus on workforce readiness skills and expanding career and technical education programs, particularly in high-demand fields.
The task force recommendations “fully justify what we’ve been saying the past few years,” said Tony Fernandez, president of Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston.
LCSC recently received approval to hire an architect and begin design work on a $20 million Career-Technical Education building in the Lewiston Orchards. The facility will help meet regional needs for workforce training and post-secondary certification.
Fernandez said the task force report didn’t contain any big surprises.
“I think it’s a good summary of what a lot of people have been saying,” he said. “Now, hopefully the governor can parley that into additional support.”
The report notes that by 2020 nearly two-thirds of all new jobs will require some level of post-secondary training or education. It also suggest that if Idaho can’t meet those training needs, it runs the risk of stifling economic growth.
“It is especially worrisome that several of Idaho’s border states are far ahead in their workforce development initiatives,” the report states. “If Idaho doesn’t act now, there’s a real risk … of becoming a talent exporter and losing business to those states.”
Fernandez said that’s been a concern for a number of years, but he thinks the state is taking steps to address the issue. For example, lawmakers this year appropriated $10 million for LCSC’s career-technical facility, contingent upon it securing the remaining $10 million needed to pay for the building.
“Some surrounding states have programs that are more closely aligned with major industries, such as aerospace in Washington, but Idaho is starting to do some of those things,” he said. “I think the time is right to add more support, but the Legislature is doing that, as they showed with us. I think the next few years are going to be a strong couple of years for (career-technical education), particularly here in the valley.”
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Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.
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)2017 the Lewiston Tribune (Lewiston, Idaho)
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AP-WF-07-18-17 1415GMT