Putting a face on our workforce 7/6/07

We have a Post-it problem. At a recent strategy meeting of a policy task force I found myself staring at my last remaining Post-it. Each of the approximately 50 people in attendance were given three Post-its to attach to one of about a dozen recomendations that would go to the North Carolina Workforce Commission. Most of the recommendations had between five and fifteen post-its. Except for the one in front of me that read "Prepare both companies and the workforce service-delivery infrastructure to deal with opportunities and challenges presented by the emerging Latino workforce." Zero Post-its. What was more strange was that the adjoining flip-chart listed the same exact recommendation except with the words "aging workforce" instead of Latino workforce. Lots of Post-its there.

It struck me that we still do not see Latinos or other minority workers as an important part of our future. We just do not have the vision for it. Even though the facts are in front us - see the 2007 State of the NC Workforce report located at http://www.nccommerce.com/workforce/swr/, an excellent publication. One recommendation that did get votes was "Provide equal access to quality education and training for the State's entire workforce ..." To me the message is that we must make the case for all workers. An inclusive campaign rather than seeking out programs for special populations. But the challenge is to broaden the image so that people see all the faces.

Colin Austin

Are we ready for immigration reform? 5/25/07

Attention is focused on Washington this week as the Senate debates an overhaul of the immigration system. An idealogical tug-of-war is going on to determine who should be considered a resident, a worker, and eventually a citizen. But behind the news updates is an important issue that is hardly being considered. That is, how are we going to train 10 million new immigrant workers?

Our efforts in Latino Pathways are certainly timely and an important model for moving forward. At the same time it is clear from our work that concerted effort is needed to connect and adapt existing training and employment services. Most of the educational providers in North Carolina do not have the staff or support services in place to manage this new flow of adult learners. Our JobLink centers have little experience working with immigrant populations. There are many new and growing Latino community-based organizations, but few have any connection to the workforce system.

The prospect of massive work authorization makes Latino Pathways all the more important. While we have made important strides in organizing career pathways, we may be called on to go to scale sooner than we thought.

Colin Austin