I. Background
During the 2003 Maryland legislative session, the General Assembly included language
in the Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (GWIB) FY
2004 Operating Budget requiring the GWIB to "Identify
Inefficiencies within the State’s Own Workforce
Development Delivery System" (full text of the budget
language is in the Appendices). An interim report was
submitted to the General Assembly on December 31, 2003. This
final report provides information on the development of the
ten opportunities for improvement that were identified in the interim report.
II. The Mission, Focus, and Structure of the GWIB
The GWIB’s mission is to guide a nationally recognized workforce development system
that aligns itself with the educational system as primary
driver for economic development for the State. The GWIB is
the State’s chief coordinating body on workforce
development. The GWIB is composed of 41 members, with 51%
coming from business. It is responsible for developing a
strategic plan and policies to help forge a coordinated
workforce system from a multiplicity of education,
employment, and training programs. It brings together and
focuses various workforce development partners and
stakeholders on an outcome: a properly prepared workforce
that will meet the current and future demands of Maryland employers.
III. Partner Agencies on the GWIB
Several partner agencies collaborate with the GWIB and each other to plan and
implement the workforce development system in Maryland. The
GWIB establishes the vision and principles through the
Sub-cabinet. The following partner agencies are members of the GWIB:
- Department of Human Resources (DHR)
- Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (DLLR)
- Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE)
- Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC)
- Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED)
- Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS)
- Department of Juvenile Services (DJS)
- Maryland Department of Aging (Aging)
IV. Maryland’s
Workforce—A Key Economic Asset for the State
The quality of Maryland’s current and future workforce is
vital to the economic future of the state. Maryland’s continued
economic strength is directly linked to its ability to produce and
continuously develop a highly skilled workforce. Not long ago, it
did not take a college education or advanced training beyond high
school to make a decent living and to meet the demands of the
labor market. Today, education and training beyond high school
means the difference between subsistence living and
family-sustaining careers. A workforce with a higher level of
preparation also means the difference between a Maryland economy
that lags behind the nation, and one that leads it. Failure to
produce the higher skills demanded by growth industries results in
an inability to attract and maintain industries that will propel
Maryland’s economy forward.
In the past few years, Maryland’s economy has changed
dramatically, and the workforce must keep up with business’
changing needs.
- Historically, Maryland’s major industries were the Federal
government, manufacturing, healthcare and financial services.
Today, those industries are technology, biotechnology and
healthcare.
- During the early 1990s, the Federal government decreased
procurement as well as the civilian Federal workforce in order
to help balance the budget. By 2008, one-sixth of the Federal
workforce is expected to retire, creating more job
opportunities.
- Between 1990 and 2000, jobs in areas such as national
security and international affairs decreased. The events of
September 11, 2001, however, saw an increased need for skilled
workers in these areas.
- In the 1990s, hospitals implemented cost containment
measures and reduced their workforces. Today, Maryland faces a
shortage of more than 5,000 registered nurses. If we fail to
address it, that number is predicted to jump to 17,000 in the
next ten years. There are similar acute shortages all across
the board in healthcare.
- Both the financial services industry and the manufacturing
industries have been major players in the success of
Maryland’s economy in the past. Recently, the financial
services industry has suffered and several large manufacturing
plants either closed or downsized, leaving thousands of
workers displaced. These workers had been employed in the
plants for many years, and the majority of the displaced
workers had limited transferable skills or advanced education.
These examples illustrate that the State needs to respond
quickly by producing workers that can meet the demand of today’s
economy. A major international event, the aging of the population,
new scientific breakthroughs, consumer demand, and economic
cycles, all play a part in the direction of the economy.
Maryland’s ability to hold its competitive edge depends on its
ability to forge an education and training system that can stay
ahead of rapid shifts in demand for new and increased skills. For
example:
- In biotechnology, which has emerged as a growth industry,
the Hopkins/UMD biotech corridor in Baltimore City is
predicted to need some 8,000 workers over the next 10 years.
According to the 2003 MSDE Report Card, Baltimore City high
schools have a 54.18% graduation rate. This represents the
cumulative effect of a high dropout percentage in grades 9-12.
This enormous high school student dropout problem and low
graduation rate must be addressed in order to solve the worker
shortage.
- Maryland’s construction industry estimates it could hire
at least 7,500 workers today, but cannot because applicants
lack basic skills, literacy or transportation.
V. Maryland’s Workforce Drives Economic Development
Maryland offers a wide array of resources to businesses. Its highly educated workforce
and strategic location are extremely attractive to companies
looking to either relocate to, or expand in, Maryland. A
successful workforce system is demand driven. Today,
GWIB’s motto is "workforce development is
economic development," and businesses cannot
expand in, and will not come to Maryland unless there is an
available highly skilled workforce.
A significant challenge in Maryland and the rest of the United States is what many term
a "skills mismatch." Currently, there are
thousands of less educated Maryland job seekers and
low-income incumbent workers who want to work or advance in
their careers, but do not have the skills or the know how to
obtain the skills that businesses demand. With Maryland’s
unemployment rate (currently 4.0%) approximately one-third
below the national average, businesses in many industries
are facing significant worker shortages. This will become
more problematic as Maryland companies seek to expand.
Many job seekers lack the resources to pursue additional education and training, which
would enable them to move into careers that offer benefits
and family-sustaining wages. These Maryland residents lack
the educational foundation that all businesses look for and
increasingly cannot find in applicants. Many Maryland
businesses today express concern that a substantial number
of high school graduates do not even possess the basic
literacy and job readiness skills necessary to succeed in the workplace.
In short, Maryland faces a troubling dichotomy when it comes to its workforce. For example:
- Maryland ranks first among states in the percentage of people age 25 and older with
a bachelor’s degree. It ranks second in number of
workers with graduate or professional degrees. However,
according to the Maryland Association for Adult
Community Continuing Education, 20% of Maryland
residents function at the lowest literacy levels,
putting Maryland toward the bottom of U.S. adult literacy rates.
- Maryland has one of the lowest poverty rates in the nation but the number of
individuals living in poverty increased by 14% between 1990 and 2000.
- The percentage of Maryland residents age 25 or higher with less than a high school
diploma fell from 22 percent to 16 percent between 1990
and 2000. On the other hand, according to the Office of
Children, Youth and Families’ "Maryland Results
for Child Well-Being," only 40-50% of children in 3rd,
5th and 8th grades scored even at
the satisfactory level in reading and writing.
These statistics are alarming not only from an economic development perspective, but also
just as importantly, from a public policy perspective. Both
now and in the future, industries across the board face
significant skilled worker shortages in areas such as
healthcare, manufacturing, construction, transportation,
biotechnology, hospitality/tourism and retail, aerospace and
digital technology. In addition, what are traditionally
thought of as "un-skilled" jobs now require
higher-level skill sets. There are also emerging advanced
industries such as nano-technology and geospatial technology
that need skilled workers. All of this is happening at a
time when funding for education and training programs, such
as Adult Education and the Department of Business and
Economic Development (DBED)’s Partnership for Workforce
Quality, are competing with other critical state services.
These workforce development needs will continue to place an
increased demand on public and private higher education institutions.
VI. Maryland’s Workforce Development System
In Maryland, as in other states, Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIBs) directly
provide employment and training services and serve as the
primary coordinator for the provision of workforce services
in each jurisdiction. These Boards are required to
coordinate their services with local Job Service offices, 24
Departments of Social Services, the sixteen community
colleges, state operated Rehabilitation services and adult
literacy. The local delivery of services and coordination
role at the LWIBs is funded almost entirely by the federal
government and by some local government contributions. Eight
state agencies also oversee components of both federal and
state workforce programs for Maryland. The GWIB’s role is
to ensure that this system is aligned with the economic and
educational goals of the State of Maryland that will result
in a qualified workforce available to Maryland employers.
The GWIB works towards accomplishing this goal by, among other things, coordinating
with its agency partners, making Maryland a cutting edge
state when it comes to its workforce system. This
coordination encompasses economic development, the K-16
education system, social services, and labor. The GWIB and
its agency partners have made great strides over the past
few years to meet the needs of business, help incumbent
workers upgrade their skills to match the needs of business,
and help job seekers get the skills they need to work in
industries facing significant shortages. This effort is
partly through legislative mandates such as the Workforce
Investment Act, the across-the-board support of Maryland’s
educational system, and the commitment and dedication of
workforce and education professionals to develop a seamless
workforce system. We must continue to look forward and to
view our education system as a vital link to the State’s economic success.
VII. Recent Successes
The GWIB and its partners are working diligently to close some
of the existing gaps and move toward creating a more demand-driven
system. The following are some examples of successful workforce
partnerships and coordination in Maryland:
- The Governor’s Healthcare Workforce Summit - The
GWIB staff brought together representatives from the
healthcare industry, government and education as a steering
committee to look for ways to address the existing and future
healthcare workforce shortages. The steering committee
organized and implemented a healthcare summit, held August 28th,
2003 in Annapolis, MD. Nearly 170 participants worked together
to develop strategies for solving these looming shortages. The
steering committee put together subcommittees responsible for
five different strategic approaches:
- Attraction and Recruitment – Raise the
awareness and education of students in middle and high
school levels to the opportunities in healthcare
careers. Develop a program to reach out to young males
to consider health careers.
- Retention – Build a system approach to create
work environments in the industry that compel incumbents
to stay and grow professionally.
- Capacity and State policy – Assure sufficient
faculty, classroom, and clinical space to accommodate
people seeking credentials for health careers.
- Career Development – Provide continuous
opportunity for incumbent workers to obtain credentials
to move throughout the healthcare career ladders.
- Military Transition – Build bridges for
exiting military healthcare workers to obtain additional
credentials and careers in the private sector.
This effort has received significant national attention from
the United States Department of Labor. Since the summit, the
GWIB has received two grants from the U.S. Department of Labor
to 1) create the Maryland Center for Cluster-Based Initiatives
and 2) to implement the healthcare strategies to increase the
supply of healthcare faculty, and improve the skills and
credentials of incumbent healthcare workers in order to
increase nurse-teaching faculty. This effort is further
described in the "opportunities for improvement"
section.
- Technology Workforce Task Force - At the request of
the Sub-cabinet, the GWIB established the Technology Workforce
Task Force, which was comprised of representatives from
business, education and government. Its purpose was to develop
solutions for recruiting and retaining workers in the
technology field. In 2003, Governor Ehrlich formed a new
Commission to further the work of the Technology Workforce
Task Force.
- Career Connections - The Maryland State Department of
Education implemented "Career Connections," a
federally funded initiative designed to promote a change in
the approach to workforce development as it begins in K-12
education. It advocated a partnership among education,
workforce preparation and economic development in order to
create a comprehensive system to prepare today’s students
for the career and educational opportunities of tomorrow. The
initiative sought to expand business input into the
curriculum, expand career development, and provide
opportunities for students to explore career interests.
- Performance Incentive Grants – Maryland was one of
only 16 states in 2002 and the only one in the region to meet
all of the performance measures required by the Workforce
Investment Act, including measures for Career and Technology
Education and Adult Education, thereby qualifying for a $1.9
million incentive grant. The Governor allocated $1 million of
this amount for a new incumbent worker training program,
called "Maryland Business Works," to support
existing Maryland businesses in the retention and growth of
their workforce. The program encourages promotion, creates
additional job opportunities and improves worker retention by
increasing the skill level of the existing workforce. There is
a dollar-for-dollar match required by the employer. The
remaining $900,000 was allocated to various local public and
private workforce projects. Maryland also recently qualified
again for another performance grant from DOL.
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