Time to Put our Money Where our Mouth is
By: State
Representative Janis Ringhand
The first month of the new legislative session has come to
an end and things are beginning to pick up around Madison. Committees are starting to meet, legislation
is being introduced and the Governor is scheduled to give his 2013-15 state
budget address on February 20.
The highlight of my week was the first official meeting of
the Workforce Development Committee.
Although it was just an informational hearing (no bills have been
referred to our committee yet) – we were able to hear from some experts in the
field that helped all of us on the committee learn about our workforce
development system. By no means is it an
easy system either. Currently, nine
state agencies receive funding or have oversight over nearly 40 workforce
development programs. Furthermore, with
92 percent of our workforce development funding coming from the federal
government, our hands are often tied with how or when we use those funds.
The day after this informational meeting, I was able to sit
down with several members of the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development
Board (SWWDB). These are the folks that
not only operate and oversee the Job Centers in our area, but they help execute
several federal workforce development programs. When the economy nosedived in
2008, nearly 25 percent of the overall layoffs in the state came from Southwest
Wisconsin.
After participating in these meetings, I have to tell you, I
could not be more excited about the Middle
Class Jobs Now package introduced by Democrats here in the State Legislature
last week. It is a good first step
towards closing the skills gap, offering better job training, creating
incentives to attract businesses to Wisconsin and helping keep our local
businesses open and our local workers employed.
One bill that is a part of this Middle Class Jobs Now package is the “Made in America” bill. There is a growing trend of many states
purchasing prefabricated bridges and building materials from China. This is unacceptable. We need to invest in our businesses here at
home. This legislation requires state
and local units of government to give preference to US-made products when
purchasing materials.
Another bill in this package creates the Workforce Growth
Skills Training Program. Essentially,
this legislation would create a competitive grant program, run by the Wisconsin
Technical College System, that would help local businesses and economic
development organizations address their local skilled worker training
needs. The grants could be used for
scholarships, infrastructure construction, purchasing equipment, faculty costs,
and curriculum development, just to name a few.
Like I said, these bills and the rest of the legislation in
the Middle Class Jobs Now package are
a good first step at getting Wisconsinites back to work, but there is even more
work to do. Wisconsin currently ranks 42nd in job creation. Forbes
magazine projects our state will experience the second-worst job growth through
2016. We need to do something now. The fact the State of Wisconsin only
contributes 8 percent towards our overall workforce development budget is
atrocious. With all of the rhetoric on
both sides about investing in our economy and our local workers, I sincerely
hope we start to put our money where our mouth is. We should pass a state budget that
dramatically increases funding for our workforce development programs.
