Younger Workers Committee Meeting

October 30, 2013: 1:30 PM
Frances Perkins Conference Room Maine Department of Labor
45 Commerce Drive, Augusta ME 04330

STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD 120 STATE HOUSE STATION AUGUSTA, MAINE 04333

YOUNGER WORKERS COMMITTEE (YWC) October 30, 2013 MINUTES

Present: Members: Denise Smith, Scott Good, Merle Davis, Lisa Hartnett, Kristen Chandler, Meg Harvey, and via Polycom: Janie Small, Mike Jordan Staff: Peaches Bass

ACCEPTANCE OF MINUTES

The minutes from the September 12, 2013 meeting were accepted.

STATE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT BOARD (SWIB)

Peaches Bass informed the committee that the SWIB is hosting a presentation by Garrett Groves of the National Governors Association on November 13. The presentation, America Works: Education and Training for Tomorrow?s Jobs, is a follow up to a presentation he gave in May on industry partnerships and sector strategies. Peaches encouraged people to attend.

CHAIR AND STAFF Peaches announced the appointment of Denise Smith as chair of the Younger Workers Committee. Everyone was pleased and thanked Denise for stepping into the role. Peaches also explained that until a dedicated staffperson can be assigned, she will provide staffing for the committee. She explained that she will handle logistics for the committee, minutes for meetings, and other necessary functions.

Committee members suggested contacting Kaplan University to see if they had any student interns available to serve as committee staff. Peaches will also contact the Augusta CareerCenter to see if they had a WIA youth participant for whom this would be an appropriate placement.

MISSION/VISION STATEMENT

Merle Davis walked the committee through a simple and clear exercise designed to draft a mission statement for the committee. Everyone stated why they are serving on the committee. The common themes were: ? Identification, creation, and development of opportunities for youth ? Directing and guiding youth to those opportunities ? Enhancing services ? Creating new pathways ? Removing barriers
? Helping young people transition to training and education ? Channeling funds to the areas where ?we get the biggest bang for the buck? ? Ensuring consistency among programs around the state while retaining local and regional integrity ? Connecting youth with industry partnerships ? Identifying and sharing best practices ? Helping the network of youth programs/services become known and utilized ? Create communication pathways

Scott Good suggested emphasis on ?transition.? He suggested that encourage implementation of the best ideas. Meg Harvey added that it?s important for the committee to keep in mind that it has a role to advise the SWIB and that it?s not individual programs, but a committee. She asked, how does the Workforce Investment Act define youth. The consensus was under the WIA youth are 14-21 year olds.

There was a brief discussion on work permits. Peaches offered to have a speaker from the Wage and Hour Division come to the next meeting to discuss child labor laws. Everyone liked the idea.

Merle noted that everyone expressed passion for aiding youth, including helping them navigate programs and services, as they transition to self-sufficiency, including a stable pathway to work.

Using the template provided by Merle, the committee drafted and accepted the following mission statement:

The mission of the Younger Workers Committee is to identify opportunities and create communication pathways for Maine?s younger workers so they can achieve their educational and occupational goals.

2014 MEETING SCHEDULE

The committee approved the following meeting dates for 2014:

January 15, March 12, May 14, June 25, September 10, and November 12. The meetings are scheduled for 1:30 ? 3:30 pm at the Maine Department of Labor. Peaches encouraged committee members to host a meeting in their areas, which would offer them the chance to showcase their programs.

ADJOURNMENT

Denise asked if there was any more business before the committee. Hearing none, she adjourned the meeting at 3:30 pm.

NEXT MEETING

The next meeting is January 15, 1:30 ? 3:30 pm, at the Frances Perkins Conference Room at the Maine Department of Labor. Polycom will be used to connect to ACAP in Presque Isle and the Machias CareerCenter.

Attachments Oct 30, 2013 Minutes