Senate Bill No. 19
(By Senators Burdette, Mr. President, and Boley,
By Request of the Executive)
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[Introduced January 14, 1994; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization and then to the Committee on
Education.]
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A BILL to amend chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article twenty-three,
relating to creation of a governor's work force development
council.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand
nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article twenty-three, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 23. GOVERNOR'S WORK FORCE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL.
§5-23-1. Governor's work force development council created;
legislative findings; purpose of council; quarterly reports;
conclusion of work.
(a) The Legislature finds that new technologies, production
processes and management structures are redefining skill needsin the work place from narrow, mindless, repetitive duties to
knowing how to learn, perform multiple duties, communicate,
perform effectively as part of a work team, think creatively and
solve problems. These changes have profound significance for
both our traditional educational systems and our systems for
upgrading the skills of the existing work force. An estimated
seventy-five percent of the work force in the year two thousand
will consist of persons who are already in the work force.
However, over one-quarter of West Virginians between the ages of
eighteen and sixty-four do not have a high school diploma and
nearly two-thirds have less than two years of postsecondary
education. The association between skills and opportunity for
individual Americans is powerful and growing. Individuals with
poor skills are faced with low earnings and limited choices.
West Virginia must develop an evolving education and job training
system that helps West Virginians become economically self-
sufficient and competitive through a continued lifelong learning
process. West Virginia currently spends a significant amount of
state and federal dollars on education and training programs, but
such programs are spread over several different agencies in
several different departments. The opportunities for slippage,
service gaps and mismatch in the educational continuum required
for gaining and maintaining competitive work force skills are
unsatisfactory. West Virginia must look to improvements in its
current efforts in developing the needed lifelong learning
system.
The Legislature further finds that West Virginia lacks a
work force development system which is adequately responsive to
the needs of employers seeking to start, expand or improve the
competitiveness of their enterprises in the state through
measures which include appropriate education and training
programs to improve the competitiveness of their work force.
(b) Therefore, the governor's work force development council
is hereby created to develop and implement a plan of action to
address the findings set forth in this section. At a minimum,
such plan of action shall accomplish the following:
(1) Common core competencies and competency certificates for
all education and training programs which are based on universal
and transferable work place skill requirements and will serve as
a warranty to employers that the worker possesses the core work
place skills needed to be an effective employee;
(2) Strong linkages between public education, higher
education, and the wide range of state job training programs to
ensure that West Virginians receive the maximum benefit from work
force development resources and maintain sufficient options to
pursue their career goals;
(3) Strong coordination with state, local and regional
economic development strategies and the work force needs of
employers to ensure that work force development programs lead to
viable employment opportunities, including curricular and
programatic flexibility to ensure that instructional programs
will be easily and routinely modified, added and eliminated toreflect changing work force skill requirements and job
opportunities;
(4) Client focused service delivery which provides easy
access for individuals and businesses to appropriate,
professional, nonstigmatizing work force education and training
assistance which helps them achieve their goals as quickly as
possible;
(5) Modification, consolidation or elimination of
conflicting, duplicative and unnecessary work force development
programs, delivery systems and administration, including any
areas in which federal program waivers are needed to improve
service delivery; and
(6) Designation of those communities that have developed
integrated workforce development systems as work force ready
zones.
(c) The governor's work force development council shall be
composed of the governor, who shall be the chair of the council,
or the governor's chief of staff serving as the governor's
designee; the secretary of commerce, labor and environmental
resources, or the director of the bureau of employment programs
serving as the secretary's designee; the secretary of education
and the arts, or the assistant director for community colleges in
the higher education central office serving as the secretary's
designee; the secretary of health and human resources, or the
director of the office of work and training serving as the
secretary's designee; the state superintendent of schools, or theassistant superintendent for technical and adult education
serving as the superintendent's designee; the chair of the West
Virginia development council, or another private sector member of
the council serving as the chair's designee; a labor
representative who shall be a member of the joint apprenticeship
and training council appointed by the governor; a small business
representative who shall be from a firm with twenty-five or less
employees appointed by the governor; an industry representative
appointed by the governor; and the chair of the joint commission
for vocational-technical-occupational education, or the executive
director of the joint commission serving as the chair's designee.
(d) Beginning in the first quarter of the fiscal year, one
thousand nine hundred ninety-four -- ninety-five, the governor's
work force development council shall make quarterly reports to
the Legislature at such time and in such form as the president of
the Senate and the speaker of the House of Delegates shall
direct. Such quarterly reports shall advise the Legislature of
the progress of the council in developing a plan of action, of
its accomplishments in implementing such plan and of problem
areas or potential problem areas, including recommendations to
the Legislature regarding the need for statutory amendments and
the appropriate level of budgetary, regulatory and/or
administrative authority of the council to improve
accountability, coordination and performance throughout the
state's work force development system.
On or before the thirtieth day of November, one thousandnine hundred ninety-five, the governor's work force development
council as created and composed under the provisions of this
article shall conclude its work with the issuance of a final
report summarizing its accomplishments and its recommendations
for ensuring continued progress in the development of work force
competitiveness in West Virginia, including continuation of the
council in the same or a modified form, or an alternative
oversight structure, as it deems appropriate.
(e) To achieve greater efficiency in the blending of
resources in public and postsecondary education, technical and
adult education, job training partnership act, job opportunities
and basic skills, employment services and other work force
development programs, the governor's work force development
council and the state steering committee for development and
implementation of a statewide school-to-work opportunities system
shall coordinate their work to the extent feasible and desirable.
West Virginia's vision that all West Virginians will possess a
core of knowledge, skills and personal attributes that enables
them to make smooth transitions among the changing career
opportunities and job requirements brought about by changing
technologies and international competitiveness has implications
for both the formal systems of public and higher education and
the large variety of education and training programs for students
and adults preparing for entry into the work force, retraining
for new careers, or updating their work force skills. While the
development of a school-to-work opportunities system is targetedprimarily at the formal educational systems, the huge need for
maintaining a competitive work force dictates consideration of a
melding of resources in the development of these separate
initiatives.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a Governor's
Work Force Development Council which will develop and implement
a plan of action to improve accountability, coordination and
performance throughout the state's work force development system.
The Council will focus on major areas identified by the
Legislature's "Investing In People" initiative and will
coordinate with the state's federal School-to-Work Opportunities
System initiative.
The Governor's Work Force Development Council will be
composed of the Governor, the Secretaries of Commerce, Labor and
Environmental Resources, Education and the Arts, and Health and
Human Resources, the Chair of the West Virginia Development
Council, the State Superintendent of Schools, a labor
representative, a small business representative, an industry
representative and the Chair of the Joint Commission for
Vocational-Occupational-Technical Education or their designees as
specified in the bill. The Council will make quarterly reports
to the Legislature beginning July 1, 1994 and will conclude its
work on or before November 30, 1995, with the issuance of a final
report.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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