Mayor Alvin Brown’s Workforce Development Transition Committee offers a mission statement – “Educate, Equip and Empower” – as well as a motto: “Lifelong Learning”.
It also calls for Brown to designate or appoint a workforce leader on staff, hold a “Workforce Development Summit” and appoint a Workforce Development Council that could convene an annual workshop about relevant issues.
The committee offered 11 recommendations.
• The mayor should consider designating, appointing, contracting for or employing at least one person who will be responsible for coordinating and improving workforce development in Duval County.
According to the committee, the leader would assist and improve communications and alliances among job seekers, employers and educational institutions
He or she would also staff a Workforce Development Council to inform workforce trainers and the school system about workforce needs.
The committee said workforce development could fall under the scope of a senior staff member serving as the education czar, “however we strongly recommend that these two positions (Education and Workforce Development) remain separate.”
• The mayor should establish a Workforce Development Council of local leaders in economic development, education and training, employer services, employment services, workforce transportation, workforce housing, small business development, programs for target populations (such as veterans and ex-offenders) and labor market projections.
It would meet regularly to advise the mayor about opportunities to increase the quantity and quality of jobs in Jacksonville.
The council could be launched through a “Mayor’s Workforce Development Summit” and could convene an annual workshop under the direction of the designated senior staff member.
• The mayor should invest in the future employment capabilities of youth by educating, equipping and empowering them by providing summer jobs and mentoring opportunities.
The committee said the mayor could create a youth training and employment effort as part of his “Learn to Earn” initiative.
The workforce council could help find mentors, summer internships for students and business partners.
“As a long-term strategy, the mayor should work with the Duval County School Board to restore career counselors in the high schools,” said the report.
• The mayor or his designee should identify, research and secure all federal, state and private funding resources available for workforce development.
• The federal dollars sent to the region should be proportionally allocated and spent based on the demographics and unemployment figures in the region and the urban core as documented by the Workforce Development Council or another appropriate authority.
For example, if the urban core has a 40 percent unemployment rate, it should not receive a disproportionate amount of the federal dollars, said the report.
• The mayor should make workforce literacy a priority for funding allocations while also maintaining focus on early literacy programs.
• The mayor’s chief education officer should work closely with all Duval County Public Schools, private schools, the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce and all colleges and universities to “optimize the impact of high school Career Academies” on preparing the future workforce for Jacksonville’s employment needs.
• The mayor should continue funding the Jacksonville Commitment scholarship program to make sure no Jacksonville high school graduate is denied the opportunity to attend college because of limited income.
• The mayor should seek other organizations that will provide access and opportunities for workforce development for people who might not fit established organizations or agency requirements.
For example, it said, reading programs could be put into place at prisons to improve reading skills for prisoners before they are released.
• The mayor should work with faith-based organizations and nonprofits to continue workforce development efforts. “Funding is a must,” it said.
• The mayor should develop a “marketing consortium” to promote his vision.
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Workforce Development Transition Committee
Co-Chairs: The Rev. James Sampson and Steve Wallace
Members: Hank Bonar, Clyde Collins, Steve Diebenow, Bruce Ferguson, Chris Force, Sunny Gettinger, Carolyn Girardeau, Juan Gray, Charles Hutcherson, Davalu Parrish, Jason Parry, Duke Wadsworth
In transition
Mayor Alvin Brown and his staff are reviewing reports submitted Aug. 8 by 18 transition policy committees. The committees consisted of 217 people and another 125 subject area experts and staff. More than 110 meetings were held over a month. The Daily Record will summarize one report daily and include the names of the committee co-chairs and members. The Workforce Development Transition Committee report today is the last of the 18 reports.