Workforce Investment Act debated at public hearing in Henderson

By Jeremy Twitchell

Friday, May 29, 2009 | 3:05 p.m.

Representatives Dina Titus, D-Nev., and Ruben Hinojosa, D-Texas, were at Nevada State College in Henderson this morning for a field hearing regarding the re-authorization of the Workforce Investment Act.

The act, signed into law in 1998, aims to coordinate and consolidate employment, vocational and literacy training programs.

But after 11 years of mixed results, representatives tasked with retooling it are holding public hearings in Washington, D.C., and other sites around the country to gather input from the businesses, workers and trainers on the front lines of job training programs.

Hinojosa is the chair of the Higher Education, Lifelong Learning and Competitiveness Subcommittee of the House Education and Labor Committee, which is tasked with drawing up the new legislation. Titus is also a member of the subcommittee.

“Whatever we’ve done in the last 10 years is good, but not good enough,” Hinojosa said.

Hinojosa and Titus heard testimony concerning job training needs within the disabled community, the renewable energy industry, high schools and the health care industry.

Titus said she wanted to hold a hearing in Nevada because, with the high unemployment rate, particularly in Clark County, people here will have an enormous stake in whatever form future federal job training programs take.

“This is so important in Nevada, with our unemployment rate,” she said. “You’ve got a lot of construction and casino workers that are out of work and need to find new careers, and expanding our health care and green jobs industries is the key to diversifying our economy.”

Brian Patchett, president and CEO of Easter Seals of Southern Nevada, said government-funded job centers are ill-equipped to deal with the needs of disabled people looking for work.

“We need to start thinking about people with disabilities and people without disabilities together under the Workforce Investment Act,” he said.

Chris Brooks, director of Bombard Renewable Energy, which installs solar panels, said electrical unions have a job training center for careers in his industry. The unions and their members fund the center, but in the current climate, it is struggling because there are fewer people able to participate in and fund the program, he said.

“These programs already exist and are aligned with the aims of the Workforce Investment Act,” he said. “Direct funding of these programs would greatly help with the furtherance of our goals.”

The final two speakers were Chanda Cook, director of community initiatives for the Nevada Public Education Foundation, and Rebecca Metty-Burns, interim director for workforce and economic development at the College of Southern Nevada. Both directed their comments at how the Workforce Investment Act could better prepare high school and college students for the workforce.

Cook said the act could help high school dropouts by providing tax incentives for employers willing to give the former students a chance. More importantly, she said, the act needs to bring all parties involved — employers, schools and students — closer together by bringing programs into the schools.

“One of the most important things we can do with this WIA re-authorization is to create this kind of infrastructure that will benefit all students and not just pockets here and there,” Cook said.

Metty-Burns said a job mentoring program for aspiring nurses at CSN has helped students be more prepared when entering the health care industry. But there is room for improvement by doing a better job screening students for fundamental skills, remediating any shortcomings and matching students to jobs that fit their abilities, she said.

“As we continue to receive feedback (from employers), we become very aware of what they need,” she said. “It’s important to include that flexibility.”

After the hearing, Hinojosa said the comments would be forwarded to legislative staff members who are drawing up the new act. Though public comment was not taken, Titus encouraged the audience of more than 100 to send her their thoughts via e-mail.

Hinojosa said the field hearings play a crucial role in the process.

“That’s where we find out what is the reason we are having problems with this jobless rate that has soared to 8.9 percent nationwide,” he said.

Titus said the act is planned for committee hearings in July and could be before the entire House by August.

“(The hearing) is not something that’s just going to go on a shelf,” she said. “This is happening.”