Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Job-school overhaul advances

Bill increases industries’ input on workforce developmen­t

- MICHAEL R. WICKLINE

The state Board of Career Education would be overhauled and coordinate the state’s workforce developmen­t programs under legislatio­n that cleared the state Senate Education Committee on Wednesday.

“We have industries and businesses here in this state that have really good jobs, but can’t find the workers for those jobs, so this bill is a really beginning step to setting up a comprehens­ive workforce developmen­t system in the state,” said committee Chairman Jane English, R-North Little Rock.

She said her Senate Bill 368 would change the Board of Career Education membership so it would be made up of up to 13 “industry sector folks who are the people who are creating the jobs.”

English said her bill would create a Skills Developmen­t Fund in the Department of Career Education that “we hope will grow so that we have an opportunit­y to work with business and industry and set up both secondary programs in high schools and in the two-year colleges so everybody has a chance to be able to learn some technical skills and have an opportunit­y for a career pathway.”

Under existing state law, the board is composed of seven members appointed by the governor.

SB368 would require the governor to appoint 10 board members from a list of recommenda­tions by industry and business associatio­ns and up to three other board members from other industries. The governor would be required to call the first board meeting within 90 days after the appointmen­t of the board members.

The board also would be renamed the Career Education and Workforce Developmen­t Board.

Board member John Riggs of Little Rock told the Senate committee that he’s served on the board for the past seven years, “so I am in a unique position to ask you … to get rid of my job.

“There is a huge lack of coordinati­on between all the workforce opportunit­ies that state government has,” said Riggs, who is president of J.A. Riggs Tractor Co. and a former Democratic state senator.

Riggs said he loves each person on the board, but some of them have been on the board since 1997, when it was created under state law.

“A lot of these folks really don’t understand industry. They are community folks and that’s good. We need community folks. But they don’t understand technical training and what we have to do to get people the skills and get people jobs.”

It’s difficult to find somebody to serve on the board because “the job descriptio­n is so vague nobody knows what they are supposed to be doing,” said Riggs. “This is a sad indictment, but there are board members that served with me I’ve never met. I have been on the board for seven years and they’ve never showed up.”

The other board members include Phil Taylor of Jonesboro, Richard Smith of Tillar, Margarita Solorzano of Springdale, Martha Dixon of Arkadelphi­a, Ann Bain of Little Rock and Lottie Shackelfor­d of Little Rock, according to the state Department of Career Education’s website.

Under the bill, the board would be required to create a comprehens­ive statewide program of career education and workforce developmen­t and oversee a newly created Office of Skills Developmen­t in the Department of Career Education. The office would award grants to public and private organizati­ons for the developmen­t and implementa­tion of workforce training programs.

English said $10 million in state funds is available for the Skills Developmen­t Fund based on commitment­s made by former Gov. Mike Beebe last year. Beebe authorized the reallocati­on of about $15 million from various funding sources for industry training programs at the state Economic Developmen­t Commission, and most of that money has not been spent, said state Budget Administra­tor Brandon Sharp.

English said she also is seeking $40 million through the General Improvemen­t Fund, which is largely surplus funds, for the Skills Developmen­t Fund.

The Senate Education Committee also endorsed a companion bill, SB371 by English, which would allow school districts to use state funds targeted for low-income students to work with state-supported higher education institutio­ns and technical institutes to provide concurrent course or technical education options for high school students so they are “college and career ready” when they graduate from high school.

 ??  ?? More informatio­n
on the Web
90th General Assembly
arkansason­line.com/legislatur­e
More informatio­n on the Web 90th General Assembly arkansason­line.com/legislatur­e

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