Greetings!
For the past two weeks, the Greater Baltimore Committee (GBC) has shared leading Mayoral and City Council President candidate positions on key
policy priorities
as part of our election education outreach campaign, "In Their Words."
Each week from now until the June 2nd election, we highlight leading candidates’ responses to policy priorities outlined in the GBC’s
candidate questionnaires
.
As we have stressed in previous editions of “In Their Words”, the GBC does not endorse candidates for public office. However, we strongly believe that it is our role to communicate policy priorities and to educate residents, businesses, and employees in the city on where candidates stand on key issues that directly impact where they work and live.
In this week’s edition, we highlight candidate responses to the critical but often overlooked policy priority of workforce development in Baltimore City. As we now find ourselves in the midst of an economic crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, connecting skilled workers with jobs will be essential to the economic recovery of the Greater Baltimore Region. Workforce development is economic development and is imperative to the success of Baltimore area businesses and the community as a whole.
Today’s edition of “In Their Words” reflects the leading Mayoral candidates’ position on this critically important issue.
The primary election in Baltimore takes place on June 2, 2020. The GBC urges all residents to be active in the election and to vote, regardless if the election takes place in person or through a mail-in system.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at
donaldf@gbc.org
.
Be safe, stay healthy and positive.
Sincerely,
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Donald C. Fry
President & CEO
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Policy Priority
Support education and workforce development programs that prepare Baltimore residents for family-supporting jobs in high-growth industries and create programs or initiatives to attract talent to Baltimore City.
Question:
Currently, 0.2% of the City's budget is dedicated to workforce development. What is your position for funding workforce training and adult education programs to reduce unemployment and adequately prepare City residents for jobs in high-demand industries?
*Some of the following responses have been excerpted due to length. Please visit the
candidate questionnaires
at GBC.org to see full responses.
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"Workforce training should start in schools. We have to restore programs that prepare our youth for the workforce as early as middle school. We will make historic investment in our City's human capital. We will double workforce funding to serve residents with and without high school degrees, providing grants on a competitive basis to workforce providers that have a proven track record of connecting underemployed adults, youth and returning citizens with the skills they need to get good-paying jobs. We will prepare our children for the workforce, equipping them with the skills to start strong."
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"As Mayor, I would increase funding for the Office of Employment Development and forge stronger relationships with over 30 workforce training organizations in the non-profit sector. A 2019 report from the Abell Foundation said that an additional $5 million in spending could create 1000 more work ready individuals through these channels. Our workforce training needs to operate on two levels: preparing students in high schools who do not plan to attend college for jobs when they graduate, and working with unemployed adults to provide education support and work force training. These are two different populations with different needs. Our history of fits and starts in government and philanthropy supported programs has not resulted in a coherent approach. The Mayor is uniquely positioned to coordinate these efforts, and more importantly to help scale the ones that we see are effective. We should absolutely be meeting the employment demands of industry with well-prepared Baltimore residents."
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"Unemployment in Baltimore is too high. We will never be the thriving city we can be when so many of our residents struggle to access family-sustaining opportunity or are shut out of the economy due to a criminal record. As Mayor, I would commit to more funding for workforce training and adult education programs, especially for residents who are hard to employ due to a criminal record. In order to properly prepare Baltimore's workforce jobs in high-demand industries, our city has to do a better job of coordinating with workforce trainers, labor unions, major employers, and our agencies.
Throughout my term, I will regularly convene these stakeholders to share information and better coordinate to maximize impact. The needs of our employers and our workforce must be better aligned with the workforce and adult education programs out there. I will commit to establishing and executing upon a strong vision for workforce development that unites our service providers, employers, and residents around a common mission.
Workforce development should start prior to release for people returning home from prison. We know that most people who have been incarcerated in Maryland state prisons return home to Baltimore City after serving time. If we know who will be returning home from prison and when, we can be more intentional about how we support them so they don't end up back in prison or unable to make ends meet. As a city, we must also hire more residents with criminal records. Providing opportunity is the best way to support a person's return back into society and a powerful way to reduce recidivism."
Read the full response
here
.
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"Before we make a decision on any increases or decreases to funding, we will conduct a review of how the current allocation of funds is being spent. Part of this assessment will focus on the accountability of these funds and the outcomes that are being realized. I believe workforce development is key to a healthy and vibrant city. We want local residents to represent much of our city's employment base. My administration will specifically and intentionally allocate funding for workforce development and increase if the need is there. It is imperative that employers have a trained and educated workforce.
My administration will work with private and public organizations to ensure we are adequately serving the workforce. In my travels, I have found that the lack of qualified applicants is more of a problem than actual applicants. We will examine how money is being spent on workforce development to ensure our residents are knowledgeable and attractive to employers.
I will also ensure that the Baltimore City Schools CEO is a partner in this process. We must ensure we are graduating young people who are prepared for the available jobs in the available industries here in Baltimore. We will also expand work to expand workforce development opportunities through additional apprenticeships and internships."
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"Currently, workforce development in Baltimore is woefully deficient. There is little calibration between what skills are developed and the needs of the marketplace. Our efforts are largely reactive instead of proactive, and they take insufficient account of the skills deficits of at-risk populations. As Mayor, I will reinvigorate workforce development in four ways. First, we will expand vocational opportunities starting at the high school level and encourage more students who are interested in immediate employment to pursue these opportunities by partnering with specific employers while in high school. Second, a few months ago, we announced our "Court to Career" initiative. This program, modeled on the District Court Reentry Program, diverts low level offenders to apprenticeships and jobs. Under this model, workforce development is presented both as an opportunity, but also as a condition of probation. The Reentry Project boasts an impressive 5% recidivism rate, yet received no funding from City Hall or the City Council (despite repeated requests). Third, the Mayor's Office of Employment Development requires significantly greater funding so that it can perform three functions: (1) an updated assessment of the workforce needs of Baltimore industry along with a gap analysis to identify specific opportunities; (2) coordinating workforce development efforts in high schools, colleges, non-profits, correctional systems, and industry; (3) forecasting longterm workforce development needs and laying the foundation to prepare for those efforts as well. Finally, as Mayor, I will provide concrete incentives for industries to make workforce development a part of their standard operations, for example, giving an advantage to contractors with certified apprenticeship programs when they are working on projects subsidized or financed by the City."
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"We need to broker more relationships between job training programs and employers.
We have to redirect how we give money to job training facilities responsible for connecting people with jobs. I am trying to foster relationships between facilities that offer job training and the companies that offer jobs. This relationship will allow facilities to offer a curriculum that prepares and gives people the skill set they will need to prepare them for jobs within these companies.
Job training and apprenticeship is vital. I am convinced that would help reduce crime overnight. People wouldn’t be out on the streets because after work they would go home after leaving their jobs, eat, rest and prepare for the next workday.
I support Project Labor Agreements where they are appropriate."
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