Industry Skill Panels and High Skills, High Wages Strategic Fund

Contact: Mike Brennan
Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
128 10th Ave., SW
P.O. Box 43105
Olympia, WA 98504-3105
Telephone: 360.586.8683
E-mail: mbrennan@wtb.wa.gov

State Website: http://www.wtb.wa.gov

Local links: http://www.wtb.wa.gov/IndustrySkillPanel.asp

http://www.wtb.wa.gov/HSHWStrategicFund.asp

Participation: Seven Industry Skill Panels and five Strategic fund Grants were funded by the Workforce Board between July 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

Who is Served: Targeted industry clusters, their employers and workers in identified regions across the state.

Program Description: Industry Skill Panels are partnerships of businesses, labor, education, and training providers that identify skill gaps in their industry and develop actions to reduce or close the gaps. The Workforce Board administers state and federal funding for the panels and monitors their progress.

Examples of Skill Panel activities include:

• Developing and enhancing industry skill standards and expanding their use.
• Researching and assessing skill gaps in an industry, and its related cluster.
• Assisting in the design of training curriculum.
• Facilitating resource sharing between employers, education and training providers.       
• Informing investment decisions by education and training providers.
• Developing policy recommendations for state policy makers and program administrators.

Other Program Characteristics: The Workforce Board requires applicants to link proposals to their regional cluster strategies. Proposals must focus on industries in which there is a regional concentration of firms or employment, including employment opportunities in family-wage jobs.

Program History: The Governor requested and the Legislature funded Industry Skill Panels for the first time in 2000.

Planning Cycle: Two-year grants.

Outcome Measures: There are four areas of measurement, with a number of measures in each area, including:

• Impact on workers.
• Business impact measures and employer satisfaction.
• Partnership development, management and capacity.
• Sustainability measures.

Funding and Regional Division: Eligible applicants include the 12 regional Workforce Development Councils (WDCs), community and technical colleges, Centers of Excellence representing the targeted industry, Chambers of Commerce, local Economic Development Councils, apprenticeship trusts, and private career colleges.

State Funding: $340,000 (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009).

Federal Funding: $36,000 (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009).

Statutory Authority: State – Chapter 103, Laws of 2008, Federal – P.L. 105-220 Sec.134(a)(3)

High Skills, High Wages Strategic Fund

Program Description: The High Skills, High Wages Strategic Fund creates opportunities for workforce and economic development partners to plan and implement strategies for advancing regionally targeted industry clusters. Strategies supported by these grants may be based on foundations already established by Industry Skill Panels or related initiatives, or may be in earlier stages of formation. The grants require a co-venture partnership between regional Workforce Development Councils and Economic Development Councils, (including Associate Development Organizations), as lead agencies governing the project. The Workforce Board administers federal funding for the grants and monitors their progress.

Strategic Fund activities include:

• Advancing the competitive position of regionally targeted industry clusters through workforce and economic development partnerships.
• Increasing cluster-specific worker training and employment opportunities focused on middle skill jobs.
• Enhancing resource, policy, and practice development between workforce, economic development, employers, and education and training providers.   
• Developing policy recommendations for state policy makers and program administrators.

Other Program Characteristics: The Workforce Board requires applicants to link proposals to their regional cluster strategies as well as their workforce and economic development strategic plans. Proposals must focus on targeted industries and their related cluster where there is a recognized regional concentration of firms or employment, including employment opportunities in family-wage jobs.

Program History: The Workforce Board authorized the grants during 2008-2009 in direct support of High Skills, High Wages, the state’s strategic plan for workforce development.

Planning Cycle: Two-year grants.

Outcome Measures: There are four areas of measurement, with a number of measures in each area, including:

• Coordination with regional economic and workforce development strategic plans.
• Employer satisfaction, and the impact on the regional economy.
• Partnership development, management and capacity.
• Sustainability measures.

Funding and Regional Division: Eligible applicants are Workforce Development Councils (WDC) jointly with at least one Associate Development Organization (ADO). The WDC must serve as the lead fiscal agent for all funded activities. In regions with multiple ADOs, preference will be given to applications that involve as many ADOs as needed given the region and targeted cluster.

State Funding: None.

Federal Funding: $619,803 (July 1, 2008-June 30, 2009).

Statutory Authority: Federal – P.L. 105-220 Sec.134(a)(3)