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
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2 comments:
Colin,
Found my way here this morning from your que yesterday. The Latino info is great.
I believe you are absolutly right on we are not ready to acknowledge the Latino population as an imprtant sector of our workforce both present and future. I think we see this at the CC where our main focus is to provide ESOL services for the Latino sector, and then we wonder why we do not have more Latino students. Well other than LPP what do we have on campus that is inviting to the Latino sector? No bilingual personnel to answer questions or meet with Latino prospective students. No materials in Spanish and English. No organization to promote learning and fellowship among Latino students. The answer is not an easy one. Onr thing I see in need is a few champions from the leaders of education, industry, government.
Colin I enjoy blogs and think they are a great piece of info sharing puzzle. I started one for my group this year. It's controversial but useful and helpful.
http://gtcccenter4bi.blogspot.com/
Recently, I was in a meeting discussing issues surrounding training programs for immigrants in the state. A colleague, who has been involved in workforce development for nearly forty years, piped up and said, "This is the same stuff we were doing when I started this work--the more things change, the more they stay the same." Of course, he was talking about the parallels between integrating the workforce during the civil rights movement and the issues surrounding integrating immigrants into today’s workforce. Surely, the contexts surrounding these two movements are different in countless and significant ways. However, at the core, the similarities are no less significant: a minority population, economically marginalized people, labor exploitation, deep cultural differences, communication barriers, discrimination, human rights, conflicting workplace cultures...
With no post-its under devoting efforts to "… opportunities and challenges presented by the emerging Latino workforce," I have to ask, what have we learned in forty years? To me, this is an issue of basic human rights. When we start to value the rights of all workers in this state—whether struggling to find jobs after layoffs, improving English language skills to increase opportunities for employment, or working 2 or 3 jobs in hopes of one day working one with good-pay and benefits—we will prove that we have learned a thing or two over the years: we understand and honor a history of struggle for justice and equity, and we are committed to not making the same mistakes twice.
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