State Workforce Board meeting

June 2, 2017: 9:30 AM
Career Center, 151 Jetport Blvd, Portland

STATE WORKFORCE BOARD MEETING JUNE 2, 2017 Present: Fred Webber (Chair), Doug Ray, Tracey Cooley, Mel Clarrage, Richard Freund, Jeremy Kendall, Jeanne Paquette, Jim Howard, James Page, Scott Good, Jonathan Mason, Guy Langevin, Jennifer McKenna, Liz Rensenbrink, Laura Zajac, Nicole Morin-Scribner, David Duguay, John Leavitt, Ed McKersie, Gail Senese, Renee Kelly, Staci Grasky, Senator Amy Volk, Representative Ryan Fecteau (phone), Terry Young (phone), Joanne Harris (proxy), Susan Hammond (proxy), Ryan Bushey (proxy) Staff: Garret Oswald, Joshua Howe, Cheryl Moran WELCOMES & INTRODUCTIONS ? Fred Webber Fred opened the meeting with welcomes and introductions and announced the resignation of Jeanne Paquette, Commissioner of Labor after 6 years of service. She has accepted a new position with USM. She was a strong supporter of what we do at the State Workforce Board (SWB). Congratulations! Job well done! Fred then asked Commissioner Paquette to speak. Jeanne Paquette ? This is a great Board and hopes the work continues on. Glad to have new members. She appreciates the opportunity to have served on the SWB. She strongly stated we need to keep Maine moving forward. Both the Commissioner and John Butera will be meeting with 2 stores that will be coming to Maine. They are based in New Hampshire and will employ 40 ? 50 employees. What really struck her is the reason why those companies decided to come to Maine. They stated, Maine is heads above New Hampshire being able to work with the resources in reference to workforce development. Fred asked for approval of the March 31st meeting minutes. David Duguay motioned. Jonathan Mason seconded. Minutes approved unanimously as written.

CHAIRS REPORT ? NEW MEMBERS Garret Oswald welcomed 3 new members Laura Zajac, Guy Langevin, David Duguay and asked them to introduce themselves.

UPDATES Apprenticeship Program Expansion ? Joan Dolan, Director of Apprenticeship & Strategic Partnerships, MDOL Fred Webber opened the discussion by stating how apprenticeship is a big part of WIOA and how Europe (Switzerland & Germany) have shown the way.
Joan Dolan reported, currently there are 24 sponsors in the process of being registered in the state. Six (6) have registered so far. Last year, there were ten. She also reported that she attended the Apprenticeship Forward Conference that was held in DC last month ? 600 people attended. Based on a 2016 jobs report, 53% require training beyond high school to prepare for middle skill jobs however; only 43% did which leaves a 10% gap to fill those middle skill jobs.
President Trump supports and wants to create 5 million apprenticeships. Currently, there are 500,000. Primary funding for Maine comes from the state general funds. In Maine, 1200 apprenticeships have been served. The average starting wage is $16.44 with a completion wage of $23.44. The apprenticeship program can be 1 ? 5 years in length.

Since Maine is a small state, the 3 primary areas we are focused on are Healthcare, Information Technology, and Manufacturing. Currently, she is in the process of registering the Associated General Contractors of Maine (which have larger and smaller companies), and the Job Corps Center. She is working closely with the Maine Library Association, Maine Marine Trade, and Maine Manufacturers of Maine. She pointed out that they are really trying to go where they can have a bigger impact. Pre-Apprenticeship can be for adults as well as youth. The Maine Apprenticeship Program sub-committee will be getting together at the end of the month to put together a strategic plan to expand apprenticeship. Nicole Morin-Scribner stated there are 200 vacancies not only at St. Mary?s but at their other locations because they are unable to hire skilled applicants. That?s the problem. Garret Oswald wanted to let all Board members be aware that all sub-committee meetings are open to the public. Joan announced their next meeting will be held on June 22nd from 9am ? 10am at Maine General Hospital in Augusta. Ed McKersie asked can we quantify the gap? Joan answered, not sure if we can. Jennifer McKenna ? Veterans have the ability to utilize their GI Bill benefits when they are in a registered apprenticeship program. Garret Oswald stated apprenticeship is expanding in type of programs. Joan stated ?Hybrid? is the approach of how she is trying to register the apprenticeship programs. They also use WIOA and CSSP funding streams for low-income customers if they need supportive services. She passed out a copy of the Sector Partnership Policy Toolkit handbook and briefly went over. Fred Webber stated Colorado seems to be ahead of the curb when it comes to apprenticeship. Joan suggested taking a delegation from Maine to Colorado.
Garret Oswald stated if anyone is interested to let him know and he will notify Joan.

Gig Economy Project ? Garret Oswald Garret - The Gig Economy Platform demo was shown at the last SWB meeting and has since pushed forward. They have discussed the potential of this project and he feels it is custom-made for Maine (older workers, People with Disabilities (PWD), and the hospitality industry). He announced on June 15th, there will be one more demonstration by Wingham Rowan to the Hotel & Innkeepers Board. At the meeting in October, this will be presented to the full Hotel & Innkeepers Board to buy-in; hopefully this will relieve pressure to this particular industry.
Fred Webber ? Every day the hotel and motel industry is hurting for employees. Garret stated because of this it can hurt the Maine Brand. Richard Freund ? As stated by Wingham, the challenge is employer demand.

Dashboard ? Joshua Howe Josh opened the discussion by stating his main task is to shepherd the State Plan and provide how the Workforce System is accomplishing their task. This will be accomplished through a Dashboard ? where are we going? Our federal partners approved the State Plan October 2016 although the Plan started July 2016. The Dashboard is a working document that the Steering Committee is using. It consists of 6 objectives and inside is each criteria. There are 161 line items ? 20 completed, 121 in process and the rest have not started however; most of the items are above 85% complete. The Steering Committee is reviewing this at the monthly meetings. We will have the opportunity for Plan modification in year 2. One part of WIOA is to collect common measures. This can be complex due to clients being served. Garret Oswald pointed out everything put on here has to be real data. Richard Freund stated the purpose of this Dashboard is to see where we are and to set new goals. Garret Oswald stated once the Plan is implemented, the Dashboard will report out on the progress of the System. Each year federal funding has decreased which gives us the opportunity to be creative. That is our strength. Fred Webber stated that?s why partnerships are critically important as we will be doing more with less. Garret Oswald stated a live copy will be sent to the SWB when completed.

Legislation Doug Ray stated this Legislative session ends June 21st. Much of this session has been centered around the November Referendums; Minimum Wage and Tip Credit. A lot of companies have put expansion on hold until this has been addressed. John Butera has been approved through the Legislature yesterday (June 1st) as Labor Commissioner. The 3% surcharge is still lingering out there. We do not want to lose customers to other states. Student Loan Forgiveness ? needs to be simplified. This can be a good tool to recruit. The Governor still is committed. Senator Amy Volk ? Minor Work Laws ? Senator Volk stated this may help with the worker shortage in the Hospitality Industry. Budget ? Some progress has been made in the last couple of days. Representative Ryan Fecteau stated he believes the Legislature will get there to pass the Budget. A government shutdown is the last thing they want. Garret Oswald mentioned there is an obligation in the WIOA Act to have a cost-sharing agreement around the CareerCenters which needs to be in place by January 2018. Cuts and Technology ? we need to respond to because how do we continue to provide quality service with these cuts. Apprenticeship Grants ? We do not receive from the Feds which is problematic. We fund our own Programs. We hope Senator Volk and Representative Fecteau will participate in this guidance. L. D. 1378 ? ?An Act to Create the Maine Family First Employer Award? ? According to Julie Rabinowitz, it looks like this will pass. This award will recognize employers that do a really good job. Cheryl Moran will help shepherd this. Senator Amy Volk stated this will give the employer a chance to showcase how much they value family and flexibility. If a person is denied a license due to a criminal record, please advise them to appeal. There have been a lot of times Commissioner Anne Head will grant the license. Veterans License Bill ? the vote has been carried over. Criminal Record ? this Bill is to have their record (non-violent offense) sealed after 7 years if no other violation. The vote has been carried over. Ban the Box ? applied to private employers. The vote has been carried over. Public Sector ? passed in the Senate. Marijuana Law ? there are implications due to conflict with Federal Law and the D.O.T.

Formation of Workgroups; • The Future of Service Delivery & CareerCenters ? 21% cut ? departmental, 39% cut to WIOA (substantial) • Legislative Initiatives for 2018 session: workforce shortage • Family First Employer Program ? L. D. 1378 Garret Oswald stated Board members are not obligated but we can use some input. He stated on Monday June 5, he will email a brief explanation of the projects/workgroups that members are invited to join this summer. Scott Good and David Duguay volunteered to be Co-Chairs of the Future of Service Delivery & CareerCenters workgroup.

CareerCenter Tour ? Mike Roland At the end of the meeting, Mike provided a tour of the CareerCenter.

Meeting adjourned

Next meeting will be held on July 28 from 9:30 ? Noon at the Penobscot Job Corps Center, 1375 Union Street, Bangor.

Respectfully submitted by Cheryl Moran

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