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Jobs and Workforce Enhancement

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Workforce Enhancement

Recent Legislation

We need to do more than just develop a workforce. We need to create the workforce, train the people, hone their skills and enhance the capabilities of the workers. That makes workforce enhancement one of Councilmember Brown’s top priorities.


DC residents need to be provided with the education and hands-on training necessary to land local job opportunities that provide a living wage. In order to give the workforce adequate skills, the city needs to build training facilities and infrastructure for both youths and adults.


Vocational Training Facilities


The first step in workforce enhancement is having training facilities, such as Phelps Architecture, Construction and Engineering Academy, for young residents to ensure they get the training they need for future jobs.


The School Modernization Funds Resolution of 2007 authorized $30 million to build the Phelps facility, which is slated to be complete in 2009.


But adults, especially those with families who are struggling to make ends meet, need opportunities too. This year, I introduced the Vocational Education Feasibility Act of 2007 (B17-370), which would require the Mayor to conduct a study on the feasibility of building an adult vocational facility by 2009.


The study would include the following analyses:


  1. •An assessment of vacant buildings and facilities appropriate for vocational training in the District;

  2. •Statistical data on the rate at which adults have entered into vocational careers as compared to professional careers in the last 10 years, regionally and nationally; and

  3. •An analysis of the employability and earning potential of certified vocationally trained adults in the workforce in the District.

  4. •An adult vocational facility would be a great opportunity for men and women in the District who have a high school diploma but are struggling to find employment.


Councilmember Brown also authored the Vocational Education Commission Establishment Act of 2007 (B17-24). The commission would analyze the current state of vocational education in the District and complete a detailed review of vocational education programs that were offered to District residents in the past. The commission would offer a complete an assessment of the current need for establishing a comprehensive vocational education program in the District to renew opportunities for residents.


Jobs for DC Residents


The next step is to work on policies that help generate jobs for DC residents. The Jobs for DC Residents Amendment Act of 2007 (A17-185), was authored by Councilmember Brown and is now law. The Act amends the Comprehensive Merit Personnel Act of 1978 by increasing from 5 to 10 the amount of preference points subordinate government agencies give to all qualified District resident applicants for any position over qualified non-District resident applicants.  It also requires:


  1. •All acting subordinate agency heads to be District residents, requires an annual proof of residency certification for the first 7 years of employment by all employees in the District government claiming a residency preference at time of hiring;

  2. •Yearly audits of the residency preference program;

  3. •All independent agencies give a 10-point preference to all qualified District resident applicants for any position over qualified non-District resident applicants; and

  4. •All independent agency heads maintain District residency during their tenure.


The Access to Youth Employment Programs Amendment Act of 2007 (B17-442) is another important tool for providing new job opportunities, which Brown co-introduced. The Act would provides that:


  1. •Participants in the in-school program are working at least 10 hours per week.

  2. •In-school and out of school year-round employment programs are available to students including those considered at risk of dropping out of school or who are economically disadvantaged.

  3. •The Mayor is authorized to fund this measure through the $3.5 million in available funds previously allocated for job training in the fiscal year 2008 Budget Support Act.


Other Important Jobs and Workforce Enhancement Initiatives

  1. •First Source Employment Agreement and Small, Local, and Disadvantaged Business Enhancement Act of 2007 (B17-62)

 

Jobs and Workforce Enhancement