Oregon Workforce Investment Board · for the workforce system redesign and resulting implementation the plan. The Public Finance Management Group (PFM) was awarded the contract and

Oregon Workforce Investment Board

September 20, 2013 1:00 – 4:00 pm

Chemeketa Center for Business & Industry Building 626 High St. NE Salem, OR 97301

Oregon at Work Quality Jobs – Skilled Workers

Contributing to a strong state economy and local prosperity

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Table of Contents  

Agenda ............................................................................................................................................3

Implementing the Strategic Plan: System Redesign .................................................................14

Implementing the Strategic Plan: Certified Work Ready Communities ................................16

Update on Oregon Education Investment Board Work ..........................................................17

Committee Reports .....................................................................................................................18

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Oregon Workforce Investment Board Public Meeting Agenda

September 20, 2013 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Chemeketa Center for Business & Industry 626 High Street NE, Salem, OR 97301

1:00 pm Welcome & Opening of Public Meeting by Chair Rosie Pryor

1:05 pm Open Public Comment

1:10 pm Consent Agenda

1:15 pm Implementing the Strategic Plan: System Redesign Update  

3:00 pm Break

3:10 pm Implementing the Strategic Plan: Certified Work Ready Communities? 

3:50 pm Update on Oregon Education Investment Board work

4:00 pm Adjournment by Chair Rosie Pryor

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Oregon Workforce Investment Board Meeting MinutesLocation: Linn County Fair & Expo 3700 Knox Butte Rd Albany, OR 97322

Date: June 21, 2013

Time: 1-4pm

Type of meeting: Oregon Workforce Investment Board (OWIB)

OWIB Staff:

Note Taker: Yolonda Garcia

Attended: Agnes Balassa, Alan Unger, Barbara Rodriguez, Jessica Gomez, Ken Madden, Marvin Revoal, Megan Helzerman, Rosie Pryor, Susan Brown,

Others Attending: Chuck Forster, Clay Martin, Greg Malkasian, Jim Fong, Jordana Barclay, Karen Goddin, Karen Humelbaugh, Kim Freeman, Krissa Caldwell, Laura McKinney, Melissa Leoni, Paul Hill, Rachel Soto, Shalee Hodgson,Tim McGann, Tom Erhardt, Tony Frazier,

Guest Speaker: Randy Bower-PFM, Heidi Patterson-PFM, Audrey Theis, Jo Isgrigg, Kim Parker, Heather Ficht

Workforce Policy Cabinet Carol Lamon, Stephaine Parrish Taylor

Unable to Attend: Barbara Byrd, Camille Preus, Cheryl Roberts, Claire Spanbock, Dave Baker, Dave Baker, Jess Gamez, Kate Wilkinson, Lori Luchak, Rep. John Huffman, Rep. Michael Dembrow, Sen. Diane Rosenbaum, Sen. Larry George, Susan King

OWIB Chair Rosie Prior opened the meeting and requested public comment. No public comments were made. Announcements-Rosie Pryor 

Orientation/Retreat: We are in the process of organizing an OWIB orientation/retreat for all board members (new and standing) on September 20, 2013. The orientating will be held during the morning with the OWIB board meeting taking place during the afternoon of September 20, 2013.

Departing Members: The OWIB extended a special “Thank You” to Cam Preus,

Commissioner Oregon Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development and Laurie Warner, Director Oregon Employment Department. Cam and Laurie are both moving on and will no longer participate in the OWIB.

Welcome New Members: The OWIB welcomed new members Jessica Gomez - Founder

Call to Order 

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and CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices, Inc. and Barbara Rodriguez - Senior Professional in Human Resources Sulzer Pumps

Announcements - Agnes Balassa

State Investment in Workforce Innovation: It appears that $7.5 million of the $10 million requested in the Governor’s Recommended Budget for workforce innovation will be approved by the legislature. The $2.5 million is on the Governor’s “buyback list” for 2014, if the revenue forecasts are sufficiently strong to warrant additional requests for investment from the legislature..

OWIB Member Recruitment: Three potential business members are currently working through the application process in September. The Governor’s Office is working to fill the fill the non-profit and youth positions that are vacant as well, but the biggest gap is in business membership. Alan Unger commented that he has never seen Senator Larry George at an OWIB meeting and would like to request that the Senator begin attending the meetings. Agnes suggested that legislative membership should be discussed after the end of the session. She noted that positions were appointed by leadership in the House and Senate.

Approval of Past Meeting Minutes A motion was made by Alan Unger and seconded by Marvin Revoal and unanimously carried to approve the minutes from the May 3, 2013 meeting. In April, 2013, the state agencies that house workforce programs (Community Colleges, and Workforce Development, Employment and Human Services) and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) agreed to jointly fund a contractor to provide expert recommendations to guide the implementation of the workforce strategic plan goals. DAS issued a request for proposals for professional service consulting to lead a team of policy advisors, agency directors, and members of state and local workforce investment boards, to develop a plan for the workforce system redesign and resulting implementation the plan. The Public Finance Management Group (PFM) was awarded the contract and began work on May 15, 2013. Randy Bauer and Heidi Patterson of The Public Finance Management Group (PFM) presented and over view of the State of Oregon Workforce System Redesign project plan. Highlight of the plan include the following: The three primary goals of the Strategic Plan include the following:

1. Meeting OWIB Recommendations 2. Reducing the Transactional Costs of Doing Business 3. Integrating Service Delivery

Overview of Project Processes

Data Review, Benchmarking and Best Practices

Action: Work plan for Greater Alignment and Integration of The Workforce System

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Interviews with Executive Leadership, Site Visits, Staff Interviews and Stakeholder Input Performance Metric and Organizational Analysis Customer Service Evaluation High-Level Findings, Research and Analysis Findings and Recommendations Implementation Workshop and Communications Plan

Project Timeline

Initial Project Task – Comprehensive Project Plan The PFM Team will facilitate the development of a detailed Project Plan that will include the following:

o Key Activities o Key Challenges o Milestones o Deliverables o Communication and Project Reporting Methods (including external stakeholders) o Project Approach o The Project Plan will be developed collectively with feedback and refinement

from Executive Leadership and OWIB. Comprehensive Project Plan Deliverable Due Dates

The OWIB discussed the expected outcomes at the end of PFM’s work. Alan Unger asked what the OWIB would receive at the end of the project. Randy Bauer stated that the board would receive a plan for aligning Oregon’s workforce system. The goal is a system that is more efficient and aligned toward the achievement of state plan goals. Marvin Revoal commented that

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at the end of the project he hopes to see something more substantial than what Oregon already has in place and something that will encourage progress. He noted that he was looking for concrete and actionable items. Alan Unger suggested that entrepreneurship be included in the analysis in some form. Rosie Pryor asked for comments from the state agencies involved in letting the contract. Karen Humelbaugh with Community Colleges and Workforce Development stated that her agency is excited and looking forward to the final products and so far it has been a good process. Stephaine Parrish Taylor from the Department of Human Services stated that her agency was impressed with the diversity of the requested information and felt the project research will give a good view of the current state of the workforce system. A motion was made by Megan Helzerman and seconded by Alan Unger and unanimously carried to approve the PFM project plan.

Sector Strategies and How State WIBs Have Supported Them-Shalee Hodgson Shalee Hodgson provided a short over view of Sector strategies. The OWIB prioritized sector strategies as one of three initiatives to achieve better results for Oregon’s job seekers and companies. In order to help OWIB better identify the opportunities to support the implementation of sector strategies, CCWD contracted with Audrey Theis of Key Links and Jo Isgrigg at Oregon Healthcare Workforce Institute. Both Audrey and Jo provided presentations regarding their industry sector. Below are the highlights of the presentations: Manufacturing- Audrey Theis Facts about manufacturing in Oregon

Oregon’s manufacturing sector is diverse Oregon’s manufacturers are small Manufacturing has a larger portion of workers in high-wage jobs Expect many manufacturing job openings Projected job openings primarily through replacement/retirements All regions will have job opportunities

Is Oregon prepared? Do we have the policies and programs in place to provide our manufacturers the skilled workers they need to grow and compete?

Scan of Workforce Challenges Changing nature of work: Automation and technology are driving up productivity and requiring fewer workers; remaining jobs require higher skills.

Information: Current Status of Sector Implementation

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Skills gap is widening: 82% of manufacturers nationally report a moderate-to-serious skills gap in skilled production. Poor work readiness skills: Three greatest hiring challenges: lack of technical skills, lack of work experience and lack of soft skills/work ethic. Career training and apprenticeships have declined: Investment in career training are low; emphasis has been on four-year college attainment.

Oregon-Unique challenges 20+ different trade association/business organizations with manufacturing workforce agenda No aggregated business voice regarding priorities for workforce strategies and/or investments No Governor’s Competitive Council on Manufacturing (to integrate economic and workforce issues) Business Oregon Key Industries: (4 of 5 are manufacturing-related, but none is labeled “manufacturing”) Oregon Business Council Clusters: (12 of 23 are manufacturing-related, but only one is labeled manufacturing)

Six regions targeted manufacturing Common Strategies

Working with employers to initiate work experience, OJT and apprenticeship programs Collaborating with Employment Department to promote the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) and NCRC Plus Partnering with community colleges to identify and train individuals in high-demand occupations Outreaching to schools to inform students about the changing nature of manufacturing and career opportunities/wage potential. Exploring industry certifications as tools for validating skills.

Potential Role for the OWIB in Support of Local Manufacturing Sector Strategies INFORMATION BROKER Serve as a clearinghouse for local/regional sector strategy initiatives Encourage and share (cross-pollinate) ideas and effective practices Host statewide manufacturing webinars as a vehicle for information exchange Host an annual manufacturing workforce summit ADVOCACY Promote the benefits of industry-based certifications as third-party validation of skills. Advocate for competency-based instruction (not seat time) and accelerated models of instruction. Expand STEM skill development, both in-school curriculum (Project Lead the Way) and extra-curricular (FIRST Robotics)

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Support consortia models of small manufacturers to address workforce issues. OVERSIGHT Use sector strategies to play an active role in aligning workforce development priorities with education reform and with the state's economic development strategies/ priorities. Key players: State agencies that have staff delivering services at the local level (long-term, system integration) Community Colleges and K-12/Perkins CTE Economic development partners, state and local Develop and monitor key metrics for sector strategy implementation – what does success look like? FUNDING Support for a long-term commitment of resource (from more than WIA), to fund system integration and staff development capacity. Resources and staffing capacity limits have been the greatest limitations. Funding Initiatives: Re-Fund the Back to Work Oregon Initiative Reinstitute the Employer Worker Training Fund Launch a “Summer Jobs in Manufacturing” program for high school students

Healthcare- Jo Isgrigg Employment in Oregon’s Health Care Industry

Healthcare accounts for 10% of Oregon nonfarm labor market Average annual employment is Oregon’s health care industry is on the rise Health care has the most job vacancies by industry on Oregon Economic Contributions of Oregon’s Health Care Workforce

Oregon’s health care industry contributed a total of 325,528 jobs, or 14% of the state’s job market, in 2008 through direct, indirect and induced employment. In 2008, the total value-added contribution to the state’s GDP by the health care workforce was nearly $23.3 billion, or roughly 14% of the state’s GDP. Oregon’s health care workforce contributed an estimated $1.98 billion to state and local taxes in 2008. In 2011, on average one physician contributed 23 direct, indirect and induced jobs to the state’s labor market.

Oregon’s Future Health Care Workforce Demand The OED projected 76,000+ additional health care workers will be needed between 2010 and 2020. 36% of RNs and 40% of LPNs are 55 years of age or older. Oregon’s growing and aging population. This number does not include the professional, financial, analytical and technology workers needed by the health care industry.

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Health care reform is changing the roles of health care providers and the impact on workforce demand is evolving. Beginning January 2014, an estimated 400,000 more Oregonians will have access to health care coverage

Challenges: A Dynamic Health Care Environment Health system transformation focuses on improving health, increasing the quality, availability and continuity of care and reducing the cost of care through an integrated and coordinated health care system. The health care industry is being asked to do things never done before:

o Create new roles for health professionals o Have the right number and mix of health professionals in place o Incorporate new workforce competencies o Work in new ways with each other and with patients.

Challenges: Employer-Identified Competencies Interpersonal Skills

o Cultural competency o Interdisciplinary collaboration o Etiquette in a technology-rich environment o Customer service o Conflict resolution o Treating patients with mental health concerns

Technical Skills o Writing o Charting o EPIC/HIT and computer skills o Data mining and translation into better outcomes

Management Skills o Systems thinking o Lean practices/efficient, quality care o Project management o Critical thinking o Handling meetings

Financial o Understanding budgets o Understanding of reimbursement and payment structures

OWIB Role in Support of LWIBs and the Health Care Industry Serve as a convener with LWIBs, health care industry and health policy leaders to coordinate and align health care workforce development strategies and collaborative efforts. Serve as a clearinghouse and disseminate information on best practices and state health and education policy issues impacting the health care workforce. Raise the profile of WIBs and support LWIB sector strategies. Advocate for funding

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Local Presentation on Sector Strategy Implementation-Kim Parker and Heather Ficht Kim Parker from Workforce Investment Council of Clackamas Counyt and Heather Ficht from Worksystems, Inc. provided a short overview on sector strategies from the local perspective. Kim and Heather shared information regarding what has been done in their areas to implement sector strategies. Table 1

Ask the governor to convene two summits – one for manufacturing and one for healthcare to bring together employers statewide to work together related to issues facing those industries

OWIB members feel that their role is to provide advice and input but that they are not there to do the heavy lifting

Members felt like the OWIB should be making recommendations to the governor about education funding and increasing funding for CTE in particular

The Employer Workforce Training Fund should be reinstituted/funded

Members want to know what the locals would find valuable from the OWIB

Unclear about the actual role of the OWIB

Why is the workforce system investing time and effort into filling jobs at places like Wal-Mart? Federal and State Workforce funds should be used to target jobs above entry level as well as focusing on retention and soft skills

The system should focus on communication, coordination and reducing duplication of effort – there should be flexibility about how this is implemented locally

Table 2

Technical assistance particularly with small boards convening clearinghouse

Focus on the foundation skills o Skills/competences (soft skills) o Knowledge o Education for everyone k-20

Innovative Employer engagement comprehensive plan with education

Maximizing multiplier plan o Seamless systems o Comprehensive engage

Table 3 Speak in aggregate to one manufacturing voice, OWIB to help convene and facilitate

develop clear message. o Information advisory o System coordination o ID co\ross kills between sectors

Action: Determining How OWIB Will Support Sector Strategies

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o Consolidate to get a single voice o Process vs. product-change the image of manufacturing o Conviening function o Information & advocacy o Systems coordination o Forming the message/agenda/vision

More accountability for progress o Emerging workforce o Build staff capacity o Improve cross program work

Take Audrey’s slide “to do’s” and work with manufacturing partners /associates

Identify & address issues including but not limited to “pass the drug test”

Slow response time of community colleges

Advocate for streamlining academic constraints o 2yr degrees but student can get key industry skills in much shorter time o Alignment with education reform so students get work/career readiness-real skills

connected to sectors. Use CIS connection. o Connect OWIB & OEIB to effectively incorporate work readiness

outline/proficiency in joint required achievement impacts o Measure for success-business, especially manufactures have improved talent pool o Fill the gap of the upcoming surge of retiring workers.

Table 4 Advocacy is one of the highest priorities

OWIB can create accountability to make sure we are making progress

Take a look at the emerging workforce

Supporting funding efforts to better integrate statewide systems and staff capacity Due to time constraints, this topic was not discussed and will be carried over to the next OWIB meeting on September 20, 2013. System Innovation The committee chair has met with Governor’s staff and efforts to reconvene the committee to discuss next steps are in development.

Action: Selecting a “Report Card” Format

Committee Reports

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Sector Strategies Alan Unger has taken on the role of Committee Chair. The Sector Strategies committee last met on June 13, 2013, minutes for the meeting were provided in the June 21, 2013 OWIB packet.

Certified Work Read Communities The CWRC/NCRC Committee has not formally met since the last OWIB meeting. However, beginning in July, the Committee will begin meeting on a bi-monthly basis on the third Tuesday of every other month from 3:00 – 4:30pm. The first meeting on this schedule will be July 16th.

Green Jobs Council The Green Jobs Council has been on hiatus during the legislative session. The committee will convene after the session to determine whether legislative actions have an impact on Green Jobs and consider next steps.

Meeting adjourned at 3:59pm.

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Action - Implementing the Strategic Plan: System Redesign Background:

In February 2012, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 4141 relating to workforce development. It called on the Governor’s Office and the Oregon Workforce Investment Board (OWIB) to form an advisory committee to consider initiatives to improve the ability of Oregon’s public workforce system to serve the state’s businesses, job seekers and workers.

At about the same time, the Governor’s Office, in conjunction with the OWIB, set a priority to redesign the state’s workforce system using vision and strategies set out in the Oregon At Work strategic plan. This plan focuses on increasing system alignment and accountability for outcomes. The plan includes a common set of system outcomes and a revised “governance structure” that creates compacts for outcomes and a state/local decision making structure for the workforce system.

Fragmentation is inherent in the federally funded workforce system, which is made up of a variety of programs across several state agencies with similar missions, but different program and outcome requirements. Oregon’s existing workforce system includes 14 programs/funding streams across three state agencies that help people become and stay employed, and several additional programs that include workforce develop as part of their mission

In April 2013, the state agencies that house primary workforce programs (Community Colleges & Workforce Development, Employment and Human Services) and the Department of Administrative Services (DAS) agreed to jointly fund a contractor to provide expert recommendations to guide the implementation of the strategic plan goals. The Public Finance Management Group (PFM) was awarded the contract and began work on May 15, 2013.

During the June OWIB meeting, the PFM work plan was presented. The timeline for the work plan was necessarily ambitious so that any recommendations for structural changes to the system could be ready for the 2014 legislative session. In the intervening months, PFM has performed a great deal of research and outreach with Oregon’s workforce system. As a result, they developed a number of high level findings as well as a comprehensive report that includes draft recommendations to improve and enhance Oregon’s workforce system for the citizens and businesses it serves in a time of limited resources. The draft recommendations are currently being reviewed and will be disseminated at the Board Meeting.

During the OWIB meeting, members will review the purpose of the system redesign effort and receive the draft recommendation from PFM. Next steps for vetting and refining the recommendations will be provided. OWIB members are asked to consider:

1. The implications of the recommendations.

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2. How well the recommendations address OWIB’s and the Governor’s stated priorities 3. The timeline for the various milestones 4. The robustness and strategy of the engagement model.

Recommended Action:

1. Approve continued forward progress to refine and finalize the recommendations for the 2014 Legislative Session.

2. Assist with efforts to vet recommendations.

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Action - Implementing the Strategic Plan: Certified Work Ready Communities

Background: In OWIB’s strategic plan Oregon at Work, one of the three strategic initiatives is Certified Work Ready Communities (CWRC). CWRC is a way to show work readiness in a community by documenting the talent pool creating a competitive advantage. This is accomplished using the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC) to certify the foundational skills of citizens and building local partnerships to assure that skills are well matched to the needs of the labor market. The basic building block of the CWRC is the NCRC. The NCRC is a nationally recognized portable certificate that documents skills in the following applied areas:

Reading for Information Applied Mathematics Locating Information

In order to be a certified, a community must achieve a specific number of certificates, relative to that county size, in each of three categories- emerging workers, transitioning workers and incumbent workers. Oregon’s initiative launched in January 2012 and the Oregon Legislature recognized its importance by funding CWRC/NCRC with $2.1 million of a $7.3 million Workforce Initiative Package in the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development’s budget. Oregon’s CWRC goals by 2015 are to have:

100,000 NCRCs earned 4,000 Oregon businesses supporting the initiative 2/3 of Oregon counties certified

During this agenda item members will receive information on the current status of the CWRC project an overview of initial data regarding the effectiveness of the NCRC. Time will be provided for a more in-depth conversation on the initiative and its future direction. OWIB Members will be asked to consider the following:

What data regarding the NCRC and CWRC would board members like to see and how often?

How should we look at return on investment for this initiative? What is an acceptable return on investment? Should we target services to those who gain the most?

Recommended Action: Based on the discussion above, refer any recommendations to the CWRC/NCRC committee for operationalization.

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Information - Update on Oregon Education Investment Board Work

Background: In order to meet the statewide goal that Oregonians be ready for college and careers, the Oregon Education Investment Board (OEIB) has initiated an effort to better the terms “college and career ready.” The OEIB has brought together an interdisciplinary team of educators from early childhood to university programs, workforce development experts and advocates to provide input on the definition. This definition will be critical to future efforts to assess whether the goal of college and career readiness is met, and to invest in strategies to improve the college and career readiness of Oregonians.

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Information - Committee Reports

System Innovation: July 24, 2013 meeting minutes attached. Sector Strategies: September 10, 2013 meeting minutes attached. Certified Work Read Communities: Committee report attached. Green Jobs Council: The Green Jobs Council has been on hiatus during the legislative session. The committee will convene after the session to determine whether legislative actions have an impact on Green Jobs and consider next steps.  

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OWIB Systems Innovation Committee Meeting

July 24, 2013 11-12:30pm

Present: Agnes Balassa Andrew McGough Cheryl Roberts Karen Humelbaugh Ken Madden Marvin Révoal Sou Souvanny Yolonda Garcia Revisit the purpose and goals of the System Innovation Committee – Agnes Balassa and Marvin Révoal Chair Marvin Révoal welcomed committee members and provided background information regarding the Systems Innovation Committee’s desire to increase skills and provide services not just run people through the standard minimum procedure. Marvin reminded the committee that the Governor has charged this committee to get better outcomes with the resources we have. Review of system data – Agnes Balassa Agnes walked the committee through a PowerPoint presentation on OWIB goals and workforce system performance. Governor’s Charge to OWIB is to transform the workforce development system to achieve better outcomes for Oregon’s businesses and for all Oregonians who can and want to work.” Produce a highly-skilled workforce, to advance more Oregonians, including minorities, people of color and those with disabilities, into family wage jobs and help Oregon businesses compete in a global economy.

Agnes asked the committee how the OWIB can make better use of its leverage to achieve strategic goals. The committee discussed how the OWIB’s strategic plan will help meet the Governor’s charge. The committee discussed the OWIB training outcome and the committee would like to see OWIB provide more training opportunities.

The committee also discussed the relevance of the success stories posted to WorkSource website. The committee feels that success stories should reflect a higher quality of jobs, not Wal-mart jobs.

Cheryl Roberts ask how the community colleges would be involved in the plans. Cheryl would like to see the community colleges called out in OWIB strategic plan. Agnes

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stated that she and Ben Cannon will be meeting soon to map out how community colleges will be part of the plans.

Next Steps Agnes and Ben Cannon will meet. Agnes will review reports to see what training data we currently have

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OWIB Sector Strategies Committee Meeting

September 10, 2013

Present: Agnes Balassa Alan Unger Jim Fong (substituting for Tim McGann) Karen Humelbaugh Rachel Soto Shalee Hodgson Susan Brown Susan Buell Tracey O’Brien Yolonda Garcia Update on OWIB decision from June 21 meeting The committee reviewed the minutes from the July 11, 2013 Sector Strategies meeting. Agnes gave an update of the Oregon Business Council. The Oregon Business Council will meet again in December and Agnes believes it would be a good opportunity for the Sectors Committee to collaborate with them. Regarding chamber, Agnes recommends connecting to the statewide chamber instead of individual chambers. At this point Agnes believes we need more information to find out where Locals are accessing their data so the Sectors Committee will know where to focus their efforts. Tracey asked the Sectors Committee if they wanted to pursue advocating for a refund of the Employer Workforce Training Fund in the 2015 legislative session. The Sectors Committee agreed to advocate for the refund of the Employer Workforce Training Fund in the 2015 legislative session. Tracey O’Brien and Alan Unger will flesh-out a legislative strategy and present it at the next Sectors Committee meeting on October 10, 2013. Surveys: Training & LWIBs Shalee Hodgson presented a draft survey she would like to send to Worksource and Employment Department staff. Shalee asked for feedback regarding what questions should be included in the survey. The Sectors Committee discussed the intent of the survey and who the targeted audience should be. The Sectors Committee decided to

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create two surveys one for field workers and one for OWIB members. Shalee will work on retooling the surveys and will forward the first draft to Jim Fong for review and input. Dashboard Update Shalee Hodgson has been working with a group of individuals on creating a Sector dashboard. The dashboard will give a quick view of sector data and will provide the Sectors Committee with sectorial information in order to support its strategies. Shalee is currently in the process of selecting the best data sources to pull from and laying the groundwork for the dashboard. Shalee will update the Sectors Committee on the dashboard progress at a future meeting. Sectors 101 update Shalee Hodgson walked the Sectors Committee through a draft PowerPoint presentation she created with the intent of helping orient individuals who are unfamiliar with sectors strategies. The Sectors Committee provided feedback regarding the order and the content of the PowerPoint presentation. Shalee will revise the PowerPoint presentation to reflect the Sectors Committee feedback and bring a revised version to the next Sectors Committee meeting for further review/feedback. Planning for OWIB retreat--Sectors presentation At the retreat on September 20, 2013 the Sectors Committee will have the opportunity to share information regarding the work that it does. This can be an excellent opportunity to recruit new Sectors Committee members. Tracey O’Brien and Alan Unger will work on a quick presentation for the September 20th retreat. Next meeting is October 10, 2013 at 10:30am.  

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CWRC/NCRC Implementation Committee 

July 16, 2013, 3:00 – 5:00 pm 

________________________________________________ 

Meeting Summary 

Members:  Barbara Byrd, Dave Williams, Gerald Hamilton, Greg Malkasian, Paul Hill, Kim 

Parker 

Absent:  Duncan Wyse, Joanne Truesdell, Agnes Balassa, Ryan Deckert, Karen Goddin 

Other Attendees:  Shalee Hodgson 

Staff:      Karen Humelbaugh, Evelyn Roth, Todd Nell 

2013‐2015 Legislation Session 

Karen Humelbaugh reported that the Governor requested Workforce Initiative package was funded 

at $7.2 million for the following four workforce initiatives: 

1. Certified Work Ready Communities 2. National Career Readiness Certificate 3. Sector Strategies 4. Back to Work Oregon 

This specifically includes funds for 36,000 NCRC’s, 20,000 NCRC Plus certificates and $750,000 for 

CWRC coordination through the Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIB). 

Federal Sequestration Impact and Funding 

Oregon received a slight increase in the regular Formula WIA funding for 2013 so overall, including the 

federal sequestration cuts, Oregon’s budget was reduced by approximately 8%. 

The Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development (CCWD) recently received a 

Department of Labor Training National Emergency Grant for $2.6 million that will focus on both on‐the‐

job training and classroom opportunities. These funds will be distributed and activities implemented 

through the seven LWIBs across the state. 

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NCRC Program Update    

Current Program Numbers (as of 7/15/13) Certificate Totals   24,853  

• Bronze        2,678    (10.8%) • Silver         13,321   (53.6%) • Gold            8,537   (34.4%) • Platinum        317    (1.2%) 

Business Letters of Support – 1,167  

As of July 1, proctoring responsibilities for NCRC testing sessions in the WorkSource Oregon centers shifted from WIA staff to Oregon Employment Department (OED) staff as part of OED’s contribution to the statewide CWRC/NCRC program. Various options for proctor training were offered by CCWD across the state during May and June and are on-going. Preliminary NCRC Performance Analysis – Through a partnership with Employment Department’s Economic and Research Division, work is under way to develop performance reports in three initial topic areas (Placed into Employment, Job Retention, and Wage Gain). In addition, customer surveys will be issued over the next month to both NCRC earners and businesses who have signed Letters of Support. We anticipate presenting information in more detail on these two subject areas at the next committee meeting.  

CWRC Implementation Update  

As of July 1, Phase 2 Pilot Communities (comprising an additional 15 counties) began efforts on their two-year implementation phase:

1) Workforce Investment Council of Clackamas County (Clackamas county) 2) Linn, Benton Lincoln Workforce Investment Board (Linn, Benton, Lincoln counties) 3) The Oregon Consortium/Oregon Workforce Alliance

Pacific NW Works (Columbia, Clatsop, Tillamook counties)

Umpqua Training and Employment (Douglas county)

South Coast Business and Employment Consortium (Coos, Curry counties)

Mid-Columbia Council of Governments (Hood, Wheeler, Sherman, Gilliam, Wasco counties)

Marketing/Outreach Activities

A Governor’s press release is drafted (NCRC Program Reaches Major Milestone) and ready for release once we reach our next milestone of 25,000 NCRCs.

Statewide NCRC materials have been revised to incorporate CWRC language and logos and have been distributed to NCRC testing locations around the state

ACT is sponsoring half-page CWRC advertisements to run for six months in the following publications: Oregon Business Journal, Oregon Business Magazine, and Cascade Business News

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CWRC will be a session topic at the fall conferences of Associated Oregon Counties (AOC) and Oregon Economic Development Association (OEDA)

Education - partnership engagement in this area continues and includes the development of a one-page handout jointly developed by the Department of Education and CCWD titled High School Diploma and the NCRC. Discussions also continue among community college partners around the development of attaining credit for the NCRC

Upcoming opportunities for Committee and board members as well as partner leadership and staff to take the NCRC - Sessions are scheduled for August 20th, September 19th, and October 17th. Please contact Evelyn at [email protected] if you are interested in attending one or more of these sessions

Aligning NCRC Goals – Achievement Plan 

Background: 

As part of the initial Certified Work Ready Communities planning, an overall North Star Goal of 100,000 

NCRCs earned over a three‐year period was established with the target end date of June 30, 2015.  

While various state and local partners have contributed both funding and efforts towards this goal over 

the past year, we had hoped that the remaining gap in funding needed to attain the 100,000 NCRC goal 

by 7/30/15 would be bridged by legislative general fund support. While the initiative did receive 

legislative funding for this initiative, approximately 20,000 of the initial goal of 100,000 NCRCs currently 

remain unfunded in the Achievement Plan.  

Discussion Question: Does the Committee want to lower the North Star Goal to 80,000 NCRC’s or remain 

with the original goal of 100,000? 

Discussion: 

Dave Williams and Greg Malkasian wondered how much of the 20,000 NCRC gap is restricted by funding 

to reach the 100,000 goal or if with more time, we could still reach our original goal.  Karen Humelbaugh 

responded that initiative partners continue to have conversations around using more alternative 

methodologies (i.e. developing additional testing locations outside of the WorkSource Center sites) to 

help increase the number of NCRCs earned over time.  

Both Gerald Hamilton and Greg Malkasian emphasized that if we can demonstrate that the NCRC brings 

greater value to both the job seeker and the business by showing return on investment, this would help 

in building more support among the business communities. It’s important that we continue to conduct 

the research to see if the NCRC really does provide value as we need the business support to provide the 

critical mass needed to make this a success statewide. 

26  

Kim Parker, Paul Hill and Shalee Hodgson agreed with the statements above and suggested that we 

actively research and pursue other untapped markets such as our education partners (both K‐12 and 

community colleges) and apprenticeship systems. Barbara Byrd also agreed with the previous 

statements and Paul Hill commented that he’s had a conversation with Steve Simms (BOLI 

Apprenticeship Division) about the NCRC initiative. 

Committee Recommendation – maintain the existing North Star Goal of 100,000 NCRCs and pursue 

other target populations to expand the program including the development of NCRC return on 

investment information. 

Other Business 

Oregon’s Work Ready Community initiative will be a focus topic at the September 20th OWIB Quarterly 

meeting as well as the Workforce System Realignment efforts.  Agnes Balassa, Barbara Byrd and Karen 

Humelbaugh will work on developing the CWRC/NCRC portion of the meeting agenda. 

This meeting was the first time the committee used the Blackboard Collaborate web conferencing 

system to conduct their meeting. Karen Humelbaugh requested committee feedback on the system and 

asked if this is a practice we should continue. Members supported the use of technology in lieu of 

physically traveling to a central location and provided a list of suggestions for improvement that staff 

will implement at the next meeting.