Students & Families Adult Education Adult & Community Learning Services
Adult and Community Learning Services

Workforce Development Update - January, 2008

Happy New Year! We wish you a happy and healthy 2008!

Hot News!

ABE-ESOL Subcommittee of the MA Workforce Investment Board: A draft report on ABE/ESOL was submitted to and accepted by the MA Workforce Board Association at its December meeting at the Worcester Technical High School; the report focused on the need for increased resources for workplace education. Governor Patrick was in attendance to hear Committee Chair Jerry Rubin deliver the report. New 2008 meeting dates have been set for this subcommittee: Jan. 30, Feb. 27, March 31, April 28, May 28, June 25. All meetings are scheduled at Commonwealth Corporation, 529 Main Street, Charlestown, MA from 8:45 to 10:45 a.m. ABE State Director Anne Serino and Workforce Development Specialist Andrea Perrault have been participating in these meeting, as well as representatives of MCAE and ABE program directors; Anne is an official voting member of the MA Workforce Board.

P-21 WIA Incentive Grant applications will be reviewed by an interagency committee in early January to assess the applications against guidelines specified in the RFP. These are not competitive grants, but changes to proposals may required based on committee recommendations. As with last year's grant application, the regional ABE LWIB representatives were designated as the ABE signatories for the grant application to the state. Active ABE involvement in delivery of services is required.

Pathways to Success by 21 - Check out the latest P-21 Newsletter at http://p21.us/news/news200801.htm.

ACLS News

The MA Worker Education Roundtable develops workshops and materials to assist programs build their capacity to offer ABE/ESOL at workplaces. Consider expanding your program's capacity to reach undereducated workers in your community, and start by checking out the resources identified by MWER . For more information, contact Connie Nelson, MWER Director, at 617-983-3667.

Heads Up! The next series of regional meetings of ABE LWIB representatives with other ABE program directors will be scheduled in April. These meetings are sponsored by ACLS and will feature discussions about ACLS and workforce development policy issues. Save the date notices will be sent out in February.

Workforce System News

On January 1, 2008, Secretary Suzanne Bump highlighted the priorities of the MA workforce system in a Boston Herald article entitled, "Closing Skills Gap Is Essential to Economy."

High Performing Workforce Boards: At the Dec. 12th MWIB meeting, the strategy for developing/certifying high performing workforce boards was presented by the subcommittee and ratified by the full board. This process will be voluntary and is part of the overall strategic vision for the workforce system (see #1 above.). Applications for certifying local boards as high-performing is intended to be graduated over time with professional development assistance provided to those boards who want it.

Workforce Training Funds: The 2007 Annual Report for the Workforce Training Fund is now available. Also, read about the different grant opportunities available to employers through the fund at www.detma.org/wtf/. Consider collaborating with an employer to offer basic skills classes at the workplace.

Career Center Event:
Wednesday, January 23, 12 - 3 p.m., Adecco Staffing is holding On-site interviews for Call Center, Cashier, Demonstrations, and Insurance Agent Positions at JobNet Career Center, 210 South Street, Boston, MA , 617-338-0809. Registration required.

The MA Workforce Board Association Meeting for Dec. was held at the Broad Institute in Cambridge; a presentation on "The Life Sciences Engines: Economic and Workforce Development" was the highlight of the meeting. Speakers included Dr. Eric Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute and one of the principal leaders of the Human Genome Project. Dr. Lander spoke compellingly about the career opportunities in the bioscience area, identifying that this field is the discovery area of the future. Dan Monti, Ph.D., Boston University, presented his paper, "Immigrant Entrepreneurs in the Massachusetts Biotechnology Industry", Dr. Andy Sum, Northeastern University spoke on the BioPharm Industry in Massachusetts and J. Lynn Griesemer, Ed.D., M.P.A, Donahue Institute, University of Massachusetts discussed the Life Sciences Talent Initiative. Check out the Power Point presentations of Dr. Sum and Dr. Griesemer, as well latest news from the MA Workforce Board Association, at www.massworkforce.com.

Statewide Initiatives

Workforce Training Fund - Check on the next deadline for general grants from the WTF. Remember that the applicant must be a business; however, an effective partnership between a business and ABE provider could propose basic skills classes for employees. For more information, go to www.detma.org/wtf/ For information on how ABE providers can connect with businesses to offer ABE or ESOL, contact Rob Vitello at Commonwealth Corporation at rvitello@commcorp.org. Rob was a featured speaker at a SABES training last spring at the ALRI, and again at NE SABES on October 10th..

Funding

Check out www.workforceusa.org to learn about grant opportunities.

The Boston ABE/WFD Committee held a Funders' Forum in November. Representatives of the Boston philanthropic community learned about ABE/ESOL services in Boston and to learn more about specific system gaps. Anne Serino, Administrator of ACLS and Conny Doty, Director of the Mayors' Office of Jobs and Community Services made introductory remarks. A follow-up meeting to discuss the report submitted by the facilitator will occur in January. Already an attendee representing a business foundation has identified ABE as a needed point of information for a larger group of business foundation representatives. Stay tuned for follow-up or attend ALI meetings in Boston.

Conferences and Meetings

"Workforce Development Institute" (2008): January 23-26 in New Orleans, LA at the Sheraton New Orleans; sponsored by American Association of Community Colleges. Go to www.aaca.nche.edu.

"Cutting Edge Recruitment and Retention Strategies for Successful Youth Programming": Thursday, January 24th, Sponsored by Commonwealth Corporation and Pathways to Success by 21; Holy Cross from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m..

"Today's Knowledge Economy: Renewing the Connection in Merrimack Valley Cities": Friday, January 25, from 7:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., sponsored by MassINC at Wannalancit Mills at the University of Mass at Lowell. Go www.massINC.org

Commonwealth Workforce Coalition: Boston Network - A Networking Event: January 29, 2008, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 noon at Maverick Landing Meeting house, 31 Liverpool Street in East Boston. Register by Jan. 22nd by FAXING Rachel Ennis at 617-727-5990.

Commonwealth Workforce Coalition: "Sharing Skills, Building Connections": Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the DCU Center in Worcester. For more information, contact Rachel Ennis at rennis@cedac.org; On-line registration will begin on January 7, 2008 at http://cwc.cedac.org

TESOL Annual Conference takes place in New York City from April 2-5 at the Sheraton New York and the New York Hilton Hotels. Go to www.tesol.org for information.

"Make It Happen!": 88th Annual American Association of Community College Convention, April 5-8, 2008 in Philadelphia, PA.

Integrated Models Get Better Results! - April 15, 2008 at the Best Western Royal Plaza: an ACLS-sponsored conference highlighting strategies that connect with learners' lives. SAVE THE DATE!

4th Annual National Offender Workforce Development Conference, "Rockin' to Reentry" takes place from April 13-16, 2008 at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. The conference program is not yet available. For more information, contact dpennington@ncda.org.

A Connecting Activities conference is scheduled for May 14 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester. Contact Keith Westrich at kwestrich@doe.mass.edu, or go to www.P21.us (Calendar) for more information.

MATSOL Conference: Developing the Academic Language of English Language Learners, Friday, May 16, 2008 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at the Sheraton Four Points oin Leominster, MA. For more information, go to www.matsol.org, or e-mail advocacy@matsol.org

SABES

Contact your SABES Workforce Coordinator for information on SABES WFD activities. Laurie Sheridan is the statewide SABES Workforce Coordinator; Contact her at 617-482-9485 or lsheridan@worlded.org. This year, look for intensive workshop sessions on integrating career awareness into the ABE/ESOL curriculum; it's valuable for both teachers and counselors in that it provides strategies on which to partner to facilitate students' attainment of their goals. Go to www.sabes.org and scan the calendar for workforce related sessions. SABES Workforce Development Specialists include Dori McCormack at SABES West; Cathy Gannon at Central SABES, Kathleen Howell at SABES SE, Patricia Pelletier at SABES NE, and John Zhang at the ALRI.

Publications

The Facts: Postsecondary Access and Success and Frequently Asked Questions about College Access and Success are available through the Pathways to College Network News. www.pathwaystocollege.net.

The Aspen Institute has just released Sector Strategies in Brief based on Sector Strategies for Low-Income Workers: Lessons from the Field by Maureen Conway, Amy Kays Blair, Steven L. Dawson, and Linda Dworak-Munoz. Both publications can be downloaded from the website www.aspeninstitute.org.

MASSINC has published a report entitled Mass Jobs: Meeting the Challenges of a Shifting Economy authored by Andrew Sum, Ishwar Khatiwada, Joseph McLaughlin, Jacqui Motroni, Sheila Palma, and Paulo Tobar. www.massinc.org

Resources

The Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University is under the direction of Professor Andrew Sum and Professor Paul Harrington. Check out the Center's website for the latest news about their work: www.clms.neu.edu

US Department of Labor sponsors www.careeronestop.org and www.careervoyages.gov to help you learn more about resources to help your students find a job or career.

Get the Achieve, Inc. newsletter at www.achieve.org

Publications

The following material was cited by the Teagle Foundation as providing important insight into the educational needs for today's world:

Our Underachieving Colleges: A Candid Look at How Much Students Learn and Why They Should Be Learning More by Derek Bok

How College Affects Students by Ernest T. Pascarella and Patrick T. Terenzini

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School, Ann Brown, editor