Louisiana's Proposed Comprehensive Workforce Redesign Package

The newly elected governor of Louisiana is moving quickly to reform his state's workforce development system. You can read a summary of what's going on here. Here's the press announcement:

Mar 25, 2008
^{Governor Bobby Jindal Announces Comprehensive Workforce Redesign Package; Says Reforming Workforce System is Key to New Louisiana}

Governor Jindal unveils his workforce redesign package at a press conference Tuesday with Secretary of Labor Tim Barfield and Secretary of Economic Develpment Stephen Moret (l to r) looking on.

BATON ROUGE – Today, Governor Bobby Jindal announced his workforce development package of bills, which will be introduced in the regular legislative session beginning Monday. Jindal underscored the workforce development reforms in the package as the third major step to a New Louisiana, following his first special session on ethics reform and the second special session to cut business taxes and increase investment in economic development priorities. Jindal was joined by Department of Labor Secretary Tim Barfield and Department of Economic Development Secretary Stephen Moret at the announcement.

The governor’s plan for comprehensive workforce redesign includes five key steps: Strengthening and prioritizing community and technical programs to match workforce needs, meet market demand, and fill available jobs; Immediately responding to urgent workforce opportunities and challenges; Maximizing the input of business and industry to realign and integrate Louisiana’s workforce strategy at the statewide and regional level; Expanding the career options of high school students; And recruiting and train new workers to fill thousands of available jobs.

Jindal said, “The workforce agenda we are laying out today is the next critical step toward a New Louisiana – a Louisiana that is the greatest place in the world to raise a family and start a great career, a Louisiana where our children do not have to leave home to pursue their dreams. To ensure this, we need to have a workforce that is second to none. We have already reformed our ethics laws and eliminated business taxes – reforming our workforce system is the next step to jumpstart our economy, grow businesses, and create quality jobs that are ready to be filled with highly-trained workers.

“As of today, we already have nearly 100,000 job opportunities across our state – these are thousands and thousands of jobs, many in the growing industries of transportation, healthcare, manufacturing, and construction. That’s the good news. The bad news is that our Louisiana employers are struggling to fill these positions – and year after year more sit vacant.

“While our state's unemployment rate is at its lowest point in 30 years, thousands of Louisianians are still outside the labor force entirely. Only about 60 percent of those over 16-years-old are an active part of our workforce – ranking us well below the national average. This combination of existing job vacancies coupled with a high percentage of Louisianians not entering the workforce has a name…it’s the Training Gap.

“We have open jobs and unprepared workers and that is something our state must solve. The Training Gap has a ripple effect across the economy of our entire state – stretching from new businesses looking to invest here…to our existing businesses who cannot find the workers to grow and succeed.

“Over the next five to ten years, most jobs in Louisiana will require more training than high school but less than a traditional four-year college degree. Yet, only about 12 percent of our high school graduates currently pursue training at a community or technical college. If we do not dramatically transform the way we train our high school graduates, the gap between the skills of our workforce and the work will widen and cripple our economy.”

Governor Bobby Jindal’s Comprehensive Plan to Redesign Workforce Development

Louisiana is open for business, and thousands of good jobs are available across the state.  In fact, there are nearly 100,000 job opportunities statewide, and Louisiana’s unemployment rate is hovering at its lowest point in the past 30 years.  At the same time, however, thousands of citizens are outside the labor force entirely.  Of the civilian population age 16 and older, only 61.6% are participating in the workforce—well below the national average (66%). 

Region	Unemployment Rate: (%, Dec. 2007)
United States	5.0
Monroe	4.2
Shreveport	4.1
New Orleans	3.8
LOUISIANA	3.8
Lake Charles	3.7
Alexandria	3.5
Baton Rouge	3.5
Lafayette	2.6
Houma	2.5

Louisiana is experiencing a “skills gap,” whereby the training and education of our citizens does not meet the requirements of available jobs.  Because of the shortage of skilled workers, economic opportunities are lost for our citizens and for the state.  Finding qualified employees is one of the top obstacles to business growth for companies in Louisiana, and workforce issues are among the top two concerns for roughly 70 percent of business development prospects for the state.
Furthermore, because businesses cannot find the qualified employees they need to grow, Louisiana’s citizens have fewer opportunities to move up, earn more, and provide for their families.  The lack of economic mobility discourages many Louisianans, including thousands of young people who have left our state in search of greater opportunities. 

There are several long-standing causes of the workforce crisis in Louisiana, including:

• Bureaucratic silos:  While workforce development is repeatedly identified as a state priority, Louisiana has done a very poor job in preparing and training potential workers. There is little coordination across programs, which are operated in various agencies, including the Departments of Economic Development and Labor, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS).  The system is remarkably complicated, making it difficult for both employers and job seekers to access and utilize.
• Little cooperation at the regional level:  Federal programs and other services are not well aligned or integrated at the regional level either.  The specific needs and labor force characteristics in each region make this a critical component to effectively prepare workers.
• Weak capacity to address urgent needs:  The state currently has limited capacity to address workforce issues that arise suddenly as a result of employer or industry need or due to unforeseen events, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
• Lack of focus on community and technical colleges:  Louisiana only recently created a community and technical college system. Twenty-five percent of Louisiana’s post-secondary students are enrolled in community and technical colleges, significantly lower than our peers such as Georgia (38 percent), Mississippi (52 percent), and Texas (54 percent). Yet, economic projections show that over half of Louisiana jobs in 2014 will require more training than a high school diploma but less than a traditional 4-year college degree.
• Student achievement and preparation for the workforce:  In a 2007 national Chance-for-Success Index, Louisiana ranks #49 in the nation based on 13 indicators that highlight whether young children get off to a good start, succeed in elementary and secondary school, and hit crucial educational and economic benchmarks as adults. 

The failures of the state’s workforce development system cannot be addressed with piecemeal programs and policy changes.  Governor Jindal is committed to systemic transformation of Louisiana’s approach to workforce development.  This reform will require an extensive, sustained effort over several years.  Initiatives must be stronger, well coordinated, and better designed to meet the needs of Louisiana’s businesses to advance economic development and the quality of life of our citizens. 

 

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#1: Strengthen and prioritize community and technical colleges to match workforce needs, meet market demand, and fill available jobs.

 

While Louisiana got a late start with community and technical colleges, enrollment has more than doubled since 1999.  According to the Public Affairs Research Council (PAR), the Louisiana Community and Technical College System (LCTCS) provides “accessible, affordable access to job skills training for any citizen who wants a good job.”   As of 2007, over 52,000 students were enrolled statewide, including 17,000 at Louisiana Technical College campuses.  Experts note that LCTCS is expected to continue to grow organically in the coming years due to enhanced admissions requirements in state four-year universities and an increase in higher education enrollment in general across the state. 

To accelerate this growth, Louisiana will:

• Utilize guiding criteria in the funding formula for two-year institutions that will better account for real program costs and create incentives for strengthening high-demand programs.  A concurrent resolution will be introduced as part of the governor’s package in the 2008 regular legislative session, urging the consideration of this criteria by the Board of Regents.
• Begin to develop “centers of excellence” at LCTCS campuses to focus on key industries in each economic region and coordinate workforce development planning and activities across relevant public- and private-sector entities.  Regular interaction among business leaders, the community and technical college system, Workforce Investment Boards, state agencies, local stakeholders, and four-year universities will consolidate sector-specific information and translate research into curriculum development, flexible workforce training, and quality practice in such high-demand fields as marine manufacturing, cyber security, energy exploration and production, and emergency response.
• Establish a “Day One Guarantee” for Louisiana employers that hire workers with LCTCS degrees and/or certificates.  The state will provide additional training at no cost for workers who do not demonstrate reasonable standards of performance.  The Board of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges will likely adopt this measure as soon as April, and the system will bear the costs within its existing budget.

#2: Immediately respond to urgent workforce opportunities and challenges.

As noted above, Louisiana lacks the capacity to rapidly address workforce-related opportunities and challenges that emerge suddenly.  To change this, Louisiana will: 

• Appropriate $10 million annually to establish a standing training fund for high-demand, high-cost training programs at LCTCS, as determined by market demand and economic and employment projections.  These dollars will supplement the higher cost of high-demand occupational training and jump-start the response of frontline LCTCS programs.  These funds are included in the governor’s executive budget for 2008-09 as presented to the legislature, and the Workforce Education Fund will be created through the governor’s proposed legislation in the 2008 regular session (HB1018 and SB420).
• Establish the Louisiana “Fast Start” program to support the Louisiana Department of Economic Development (LED), in partnership with LCTCS, with customized, turnkey workforce training solutions for business expansion and recruitment.  Based on the nationally recognized Georgia model, the governor has included $3 million in the 2008-09 executive budget for LED to initiate this service for those businesses seeking to relocate to Louisiana and to others expanding within the state.

#3: Maximize the input of business and industry to realign and integrate Louisiana’s workforce strategy at the statewide and regional level.

In order to design relevant training programs, stakeholders should jointly determine the drivers of Louisiana’s economy and the curriculum required to prepare workers for the future.  Yet, agencies tend to compete with one another for funding, and business leaders report a lack of faith in the state’s workforce system. Workforce development must be completely re-designed in Louisiana—both in determining demand and delivering training.  The statewide workforce institutions and the regional Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) should be re-defined and empowered as the entities to promote coordination among state agencies and industry in order to define market demand and provide services that will meet the needs of employers and job-seekers. 

With the adoption of the governor’s proposed legislation in the 2008 regular session (HB1104 and SB612), Louisiana will be better positioned to adequately prepare and guide workers to available jobs by establishing a re-designed, well-coordinated framework:

• The Louisiana Workforce Commission will replace the existing Department of Labor.  This new model will move Louisiana toward a business approach to workforce programs and away from a bureaucratic system, involve multiple stakeholders, and create a more comprehensive system.  The Commission will maintain the current responsibilities of the Department, such as receiving and appropriating federal funds and chartering the regional Workforce Investment Boards.  In addition, the Commission will be required to coordinate with other state agencies to integrate the delivery of all education, training, employment, and apprenticeship programs across the state. Inter-agency agreements will be signed to coordinate the administration, functions, and funding streams for more efficient and effective delivery of workforce training.
• The Louisiana Workforce Investment Council will replace the existing Louisiana Workforce Commission in the office of the governor.  Among the 29 members, business and industry will nominate 13 representatives from key industries to serve alongside organized labor, parish and municipal leaders, and cabinet members from key state agencies.  The Council will:
  • Create a common vision for an integrated workforce delivery system across the state;
  • Advise the governor with strategies to meet the needs of the state’s employers and workforce;
  • Direct the Occupational Forecasting Conference to determine official information necessary to plan and budget for workforce development; and
  • Serve as the state’s workforce investment board in accordance with federal law. 
• The membership of Louisiana’s 18 Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) will now be led by business leaders—half which must represent small businesses—in partnership with local government, organized labor, community-based organizations, educational agencies, and other groups. Regional WIBs will continue to be directly responsible for the planning and oversight of all workforce training and services.  Similar to the state-level integration of programs, WIBs will be encouraged to consolidate workforce training and support services into a real “one-stop” center with job training, employer information, and childcare easily accessible to job seekers and employers alike.  Through financial incentives and program waivers, the 18 boards will also be urged to coordinate their activities over time and better align with the state’s eight economic regions. 
• Other improvements include:
  • Streamlined management of the one-stop delivery system with common registration and intake, screening for needs and benefits, case planning and tracking, training, performance reporting, and customer satisfaction tracking.
  • A uniform, statewide client application and enrollment process to determine eligibility for workforce training and services.
  • An online comprehensive labor market information and job matching system accessible to employers, job seekers, and others, which will provide a workforce development report card, skills matching services, resume creation, job searches, market information, projected workforce growth and demand statewide and regionally, and links to service providers for education and training, childcare, health and other social services.

#4: Expand the career options of high school students.

Positive, effective relationships between public school districts and four-year and two-year colleges is critical to inform and prepare students for education, training, and career choices beyond graduation. Due to a lack of resources, initiatives such as dual enrollment, industry-based certification, and articulation agreements currently rely on ad hoc partnerships between the school district and local colleges or universities.  Dual enrollment, in particular, faces a funding crisis as school districts do not transfer Minimum Foundation Program dollars when a student receives post-secondary credit. 

In response:

• The governor has included $4 million in the 2008-09 executive budget for dual enrollment, which allows students to earn credit for college courses and workforce training while still in high school.  Interest and enrollment continues to increase, as this opportunity provides vital assistance to students as they move from one level of education and training to the next.
• To expand career and technical education program offerings in middle and high schools, $4.5 million is allocated to the Department of Education in the executive budget.   The bulk of these funds will be utilized in classrooms across the state.  Schools may apply for funding to implement career-oriented activities, work-based learning opportunities, and industry-based certification programs in such areas as web design, nursing, and automotive technology.
• Louisiana will also raise awareness of the variety of career options available to our students.  Marketing campaigns will boost recruitment to community and technical colleges and highlight the fact that many high-paying jobs require more training than a high school diploma but less than a four-year degree.  LED, the Board of Regents, and the Department of Education plan to expand the scope and target audience of the new Louisiana e-portal for high school students, parents, guidance counselors, and businesses.  Since fall 2007, over 100,000 students have registered at the one-stop site for college, career, and workforce readiness. 

#5: Recruit and train new workers to fill thousands of available jobs.

Because employers need to fill nearly 100,000 jobs, Louisiana must take aggressive steps to recruit workers to our state and to recruit and train our out-of-work citizens: 

• Louisiana will design and conduct a national marketing campaign on a pilot basis in 2008-09 in order to fill jobs in high-demand fields for which additional training cannot adequately address market needs.
   
• Target populations, such as citizens without high school diplomas or the underemployed, will be recruited across the state and the region.  Entry-level workforce development programs can prepare these workers to find and fill available jobs.