STRATEGIC PLAN

2004-2007

 

I.                   INTRODUCTION BY THE BOARD CHAIRMAN

 

II.                EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

III.             MISSION AND VISION

The Board’s mission is to provide a productive workforce and workforce development opportunities that meet employers’ and jobseekers' needs and enhance the economic development of the Treasure Coast.  The Workforce Development Board’s primary role is identifying workforce challenges and marshalling the resources to resolve the problem. 

 

The Board’s long-range vision for the Treasure Coast is that the region –

 

·                    Offers economic diversity.

·                    Has an infusion of young workers, a future labor force, in the pipeline.

·                    Plans regionally in a coherent and integrated way with the public’s acceptance of region-wide planning.

·                    Has a robust and balanced economy that provides career paths across all skill levels.

·                    Forges job development activities by economic and governmental entities to provide for job growth and a higher average wage that will support a middle-class economy.

 

Led by the private sector, the Board is a unique mix of private, public and civic representation.  The Board is in a position to influence change in the region’s approach to the many factors that affect economic, educational and social viability of our communities.

 

By the close of 2007, the Board expects to be a unified wealth of resources and a facilitator that the community finds invaluable and uses often.  Throughout the first year of this plan, the Board will align internally and externally through “out-of-the-box”, proactive thinking that results in successful outcomes, which increase the respect from our partners and the community.

The goals and strategies outlined in this plan are intended to lead the organization toward this vision and mission in yearly increments that meet short-term objectives.  Each year, the Board will realign its goals and strategies to ensure continuous progress toward the Board’s long-range vision. 

 

 

IV.              PROFILE AND HISTORY

 

• The Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast evolved over the last 20 years as a result of federal legislation that consolidated employment and job training programs into centralized centers under the oversight of local, business-driven boards.  In 1983, the federal Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA Public Law 97-300), an outgrowth of previous Manpower and Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) programs from the 1960s and 70s, created service delivery areas throughout the states and required the establishment of Private Industry Councils (PICs).  The PICs provided policy guidance and exercised oversight of employment and training activities in partnership with local government.  These councils reported directly to Florida’s Department of Labor, Employment & Training (LET).  The local PIC, known as the Treasure Coast Private Industry Council, was the forerunner of today’s Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast.

 

• PICs, under the JTPA, not only set policies and oversaw employment and training activities, they often acted as a service provider, actually delivering employment and training services and activities to the residents of a service delivery area.  The PICs’ focus was employment and training services funded by the JTPA, a narrow perspective that did not account for the numerous other job training and employment initiatives that may exist within a community.
• From 1983 through 1992, the Treasure Coast Private Industry Council thrived.  The organization was recognized locally, statewide and nationally with numerous awards and incentives for innovative programming and outstanding accomplishments.  In 1990, the PIC was awarded the Presidential Private Industry Council of the Year award for the nation.

 

• With nineteen Board members, as both policy maker and deliverer of services, the PIC practiced “hands-on” management of the local employment and training system within three coastal counties in Florida (Indian River, Martin and St. Lucie) known as Florida’s Treasure Coast and designated as Region 19.  The PIC staff, at its peak, numbered 56 with additional staff added during the summer months to facilitate a summer youth program.  The TCPIC’s primary customer was the jobseeker and decisions made by the PIC primarily benefited the jobseeker.  They managed three Job Training Centers (one in each county) where jobseekers received services and an administrative office.  The programs under their management included initiatives funded through the JTPA, including services to adults, dislocated workers and youth.  Although the TCPIC planned jointly with the state’s publicly funded employment services during this period, the relationship between the two primarily centered around coordinating the referral of jobseekers between the agencies depending on the needs of the individual.

 

• The 1990’s were turbulent years for job training.  During the decade, the winds of change resulted in a redirection of the TCPIC and the programs it directed, not once but several times.  In 1992, with the advent of Public Law 102-367, the Job Training Reform Amendments of 1992, the landscape changed.  The Florida Governor reconstituted the service delivery areas, adding

 

• Okeechobee County to the three coastal counties under the oversight of the TCPIC and changing the area to Region 20.  A Job Training Center was opened in Okeechobee County. 

 

• The law changes promoted collaboration and partnership among the various employment and job training programs, including education.  Although a majority of the TCPIC’s membership was private sector business, the membership expanded to include other partners, culminating in a total local membership of 43.  By 1996, the Florida legislature, recognizing the new emphasis on building partnerships, combined departments at the state level, renamed the system the Jobs and Education Partnership and established a statewide board to oversee the local partnerships.  The TCPIC became the Jobs & Education Partnership Region 20 Board and reported directly to the new state board.

 

• As the JEP Region 20 Board, the organization, under directions from the state, developed a service delivery coordination plan with other local providers of education, employment and job training.  This planning was the forerunner to the current “one-stop” concept and served as a basis for later partnership development.   The JEP Region 20 Board embraced “partnership” and helped organize the Treasure Coast Coordination Coalition (TCCC), a closely-knit group of representatives from agencies, private business, government, education and law enforcement.  The TCCC organized a network of local agencies that served as “First Stops”.  The First Stops contained information on all community services and offered needs assessment and referrals to community services based on individual needs.  Today, the First Stops serve as a “front door” to the region’s one-stop system.  The TCCC continues to grow, exerting considerable influence over service delivery throughout the region.  

 

• In 1997, Florida embraced the national welfare reform movement and implemented the Work And Gain Economic Self-Sufficiency (WAGES) program.  The JEP Region 20 Board assumed responsibility for this program and implemented the program throughout the region’s One-Stop Centers. 

 

• During the early 90s, the national vision for a One-Stop Career Center system grew into legislation.  Florida, anticipating federal legislation that would mandate One-Stop Centers, volunteered to pioneer the concept and passed the Workforce Florida Act of 1996.  By that time, local JEPs were negotiating with community partners and organizing multiple services into single locations.  Region 20 opened the doors of the region’s first One-Stop Centers in 1997.  Florida’s Workforce Florida Act prohibited local boards from delivering services.  For the first time in 13 years, JEP Region 20 could no longer directly manage service delivery.  The organization divested itself of program staff and organized an administrative team of seven people to carryout the work of the newly constituted JEP Board.  The Board’s first service provider was a new organization made up of employees of the previous TCPIC.

 

• In the meantime, after six years of hearings, debates, failed bills, and false starts, the United States Congress passed the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), Public Law 105-220.  This statute established Workforce Investment Boards and mandated One-Stop Centers nationwide.  The WIA was the first major reform and restructuring of the nation’s federal job training program in 15 years.  The new law broadened the scope of local boards focusing them on systems rather than single service delivery mechanisms and partnerships with economic development and other community stakeholders.  The United States Department of Labor identified the employer as the number one customer of the new system.  The outcomes from the legislation were left primarily to the leadership and vision of the business-led Workforce Development Boards.

 

• At the time the WIA became law, Florida and Region 20 were already practicing and perfecting the concepts envisioned by Congress.   In 1999, the JEP Region 20 Board became the Workforce Development Board of the Treasure Coast and reported to a statewide workforce board called Workforce Florida, Inc..  At the time, the Board was overseeing three service providers who were operating six One-Stop Centers.  The system included numerous partners mandated by federal and state law, as well as local organizations who volunteered to be part of the system.  The jobseeker was the Board’s primary customer.

 

• The WIA expanded the roles and responsibilities of local Boards, encouraging them to analyze regional workforce needs and challenges, identify resources and develop solutions while involving all stakeholders.  By Fall 2001, the Board, having grown to 43 members under the new WIA, began to accept its new role and at an annual retreat vowed to devote its time and resources to the larger picture removing the Board from the micromanagement of the region’s One-Stop system.  They created an ad hoc Strategic Planning Committee and charged the committee with restructuring the organization and creating a plan that resulted in the Board being seen as the primary source for workforce development solutions. 

 

• Over the next two years, the Board restructured internally and adopted a new One-Stop model that trimmed the system from three operators to a single operator and removed the Board from the day-to-day operations.  This change allowed the Board to focus on policy and accountability rather than functions.  The Board adopted the employer as its number one customer and rechanneled staff and the One-Stop service provider toward employer services.  The Strategic Planning Committee, intent on developing a plan that met community needs, worked with a private vendor, Corporation for a Skilled Workforce, to assess the region’s workforce needs through the gathering of workforce intelligence and input from stakeholders at four community forums.  The results of this research serve as the foundation for this Strategic Plan.

 

 

V.                 CRITICAL ISSUES AND STRATEGIES

 

• Throughout 2003, the Board has worked diligently to identify both internal and external challenges that impact the achievement of the Board’s vision and mission.  The environmental scan conducted in the Spring 2003 identified a number of emerging priority issues and strategies essential to the economic success of the region.  These issues are in need of further development and are an integral component of the Board’s strategic direction. 

 

 

 

VI.              GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

 

• Early in 2003, the Board completed an environmental scan that gathered workforce intelligence for the purpose of identifying workforce challenges and the roles the Board should play in resolving these challenges.  In a retreat setting, the Board along with economic development and education partners looked at the existing and emerging issues that surfaced from the environmental scan developed three broad goals.    

 

 

 

VII.           MANAGEMENT GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

 

 

VIII.  CORPORATE VALUES

 

 

IX.       APPENDICES