State Two-Year Plan
Submitted Under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998
State of Arkansas for the period of July 1, 2005 -June 30, 2007
Plan Development Process
Describe, in one page or less, the process for developing the State Plan.
1. Include (a) a discussion of the involvement of the Governor and the State Board in the development of the plan, and (b) a description of the manner in which the State Board collaborated with economic development, education, the business community and other interested parties in the development of the State Plan. (§ 112(b)(1).)
2. Include a description of the process the State used to make the Plan available to the public and the outcome of the State's review of the resulting public comments. (§ 11 l(g), 112(b)(9).)
At the direction and guidance of the Arkansas Workforce
I nvestment Board, Arkansas began
developing its State Plan in February 2005, when preliminary guidance was
provided by the U.S. Department of Labor.
A preliminary meeting with all partners was conducted to: outline
the expected process for the plan's development, distribute agency assignments
and develop a calendar with timelines for completion.
Upon receipt of the find planning guidance via the April 12
Federal Register, subsequent meetings and discussions were conducted
with:
* Representatives of the Institute of Economic Advancement (1EA)
from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) regarding their
assistance with the assemblage and formatting of the plan, and
* Representatives of UALR and state-level partners to coordinate
the efforts required to provide labor market and economic data.
* The Governor and the Workforce Investment Board Chair to ensure
that the Governor's vision was fully articulated in the plan.
* The Governor's Liaison, to ensure that the plan accurately
conveyed the Governor's vision for the State's workforce system.
A website was developed by UALR to post all plan submissions, as
they became available, for review by interested parties.
By April 22, 2005, agency representatives submitted information
for their respective sections of the plans. Each participating agency held
public review of their individual plans, as required by their respective
programs.
During it's May 10, 2005 meeting, the Executive Committee of the
Workforce Investment Board was presented with access information to the website
to facilitate the members' review and comment of the State Plan. Members were
asked to submit any input on an ongoing basis.
On May 15, 2005, a public notice was published to announce the
beginning of the official 30-day public comment period, with links to the
website. Comments, suggestions, etc. received during this period were
incorporated, as appropriate, into the plan.
A final draft was prepared and submitted to the Executive
Committee of the Workforce Investment Board on May 26, 2005.
The Executive Committee of the Workforce Investment Board met via
teleconference on May 31, 2005 and approved the final draft and its submission
to the Department of Labor's National Office.
I.
State Vision
Describe the Governor's vision for a statewide workforce
investment system. Provide a summary articulating the Governor's vision for
utilizing the resources of the public workforce system in support of the
State's economic development that address the issues and questions below
States are encouraged to attach more detailed documents to expand upon any
aspect of the summary response if available. (§112(a)and
(b)(4)(A-C).)
A.
Arkansas Workforce Investment Board
Vision
A Globally-recognized workforce in Arkansas - educated, trained
skilled - with the character and work ethic needed to excel in a changing
economy.
Mission
To establish a unified, flexible, accountable workforce training
system implemented through the collaboration of business, industry, labor, and
citizens and characterized by accessible and responsive one-stop workforce
systems.
The system will offer employers a resource for workers in
existing and emerging occupations and empower Arkansans to receive employment
services as well as job-specific training.
B.
What are the State's economic
development goals for attracting, retaining and growing business and industry
within the State? (§112(a) and (b)(4)(A-C).)
The Governor has shared a clear vision for Arkansas' economic
development that defines a stronger partnership between economic development
education and the public workforce system to attract, retain and grow Arkansas'
high growth industries.
He enthusiastically supports the President's High Growth Job
Training Initiative, as implemented by the U. S, Department of Labor's
Employment and Training Administration, and will mirror this initiative in
Arkansas.
This strategic effort will prepare workers to take advantage of
new and increasing job opportunities in high growth/high demand and
economically vital industries and sectors of the State's economy.
The Governor's strategic goals for attracting, growing and
retaining businesses within Arkansas are defined below:
* Identity the workforce skill sets needed in high growth, high
demand industries and adapt Arkansas' education and workforce development
systems to prepare Arkansas' citizens for the business opportunities and skill
demands of today and tomorrow.
* Maximize state-level resources to focus efforts on recruiting
and retaining high growth businesses and creating high wage jobs in
economically critical industries.
* Maximize the stale's resources to support statewide economic
development activities through research, information, service, training, and
education.
* Increase public workforce system access to all populations
(youth, working adults, persons with limited English proficiency, mature
workers),
C. Given that a
skilled workforce is a key to the economic success of every business, what is
the Governor's vision for maximizing and leveraging the broad array of Federal
and State resources available for workforce investment flowing through the
State's cabinet agencies and/or education agencies in order to ensure a skilled
workforce for the State's business and industry? (§112(a) and
(b)(4)(A-C).)
Arkansas' workforce development partners, defined broadly to
include the wide array of education, workforce development and economic
development partners, have a history of collaboration directed toward meeting
the needs of Arkansas' workforce and business customers. All partners are
charged with being demand-driven and asked to continuously improve their
responsiveness to customer needs through customer contact and use of improved
labor market information.
The Arkansas Workforce Investment Board will continue to identify
opportunities for cross program integration to address unmet needs for
Arkansas' citizens and businesses.
A key strategy is to use the National Governor's Association's
(NGA) Pathways to Advancement Project's State Team to identify
gaps and recommend specific state policy changes to the Governor to support the
success of career pathways programs.
D.
Given the continuously changing
skill needs that business and industry have as a result of innovative and new
technology, what is the Governor's vision for ensuring a continuum of education
and training opportunities that support a skilled workforce? (§112(a) and
(b)(4)(A-C).)
The Governor recognizes that workforce preparation is honed by an
education system that focuses on achievement of sound academic and workplace
skills, and continues throughout a person's lifetime. This vision anticipates
life-long learning supported by a fully integrated workforce system.
In his April 2, 2005 press release, the Governor announced that
two Arkansas initiatives were touted as national models in a recently released
manual from the National Governors Association (NGA) Center for Best
Practices.
The initiatives, Arkansas Smart Core Curriculum and Universal
Access to Advanced Placement, are featured in "Getting it Done: Ten Steps to a
State Action Agenda," which was released during the 2005 National Education
Summit on High Schools. The guidebook is a component of NGA Chairman Virginia
Gov. Mark Warner's "Redesigning the American High School" initiative.
E.
What is the Governor's
vision for bringing together the key players in workforce development including
business and industry, economic development, education, and the public
workforce system to continuously identify the workforce challenges facing the
State and to develop innovative strategies and solutions that effectively
leverage resources to address those challenges? (§
112(b)
(10).)
The Governor sees the Arkansas Workforce Investment Board (State
Board) as the catalyst for bringing these partnerships together. The State
Board brings Arkansas' key business leaders to the table with leaders of
education, workforce and economic development, to increase awareness of
challenges facing business and the workforce system. This creates opportunities
for innovation and development of successful strategies.
The Governor's vision is that the State and Local business-led...
