03/19/2019 01:30 PM Senate LABOR & COMMERCE

          SB 65-DEPT. OF LABOR: TECHNICAL ED. PROGRAMS                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
2:04:58 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR REINBOLD  announced that the  next order of  business would                                                               
be SENATE  BILL NO.  65, "An  Act relating to  the duties  of the                                                               
Department of Labor and Workforce  Development; and providing for                                                               
an effective date."                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
2:05:06 PM                                                                                                                    
TAMIKA  LEDBETTER,  PhD;  Commissioner  Designee,  Department  of                                                               
Labor  and Workforce  Development (DOLWD),  Anchorage, said  that                                                               
the department's primary focus is  to connect Alaskans to the job                                                               
opportunities  in the  state.  She  highlighted the  department's                                                               
goal to connect  more young Alaskans with  high-quality career or                                                               
technical  training,   and  education   that  can  lead   to  job                                                               
opportunities in  their home  regions. Whether  those individuals                                                               
reside in  coastal or  interior Alaska,  the department  seeks to                                                               
identify partnerships  with employers and  training organizations                                                               
to prepare Alaskans for these opportunities.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SB  65  would add  language  in  AS  Title  44 that  directs  the                                                               
Department  of   Labor  and  Workforce  Development   (DOLWD)  to                                                               
coordinate  and monitor  state career  and technical  educational                                                               
programs  by cooperating  with the  Department  of Education  and                                                               
Early  Development  (DEED), the  University  of  Alaska, and  any                                                               
other  entities that  provide career  or technical  training. The                                                               
Department  also   helps  employers  find  skilled   workers  and                                                               
identifies  education   and  training  opportunities   for  their                                                               
current workforce, she said.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:07:08 PM                                                                                                                    
COMMISSIONER DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER said  that the  Alaska Workforce                                                               
Investment  Board   (AWIB)  is   the  lead  state   planning  and                                                               
coordinating  entity for  human resource  programs in  the state.                                                               
Members  represent  a diverse  cross  section  of businesses  and                                                               
educational  partners in  Alaska.  In 2010,  the  AWIB worked  in                                                               
cooperation   with  the   Department  of   Education  and   Early                                                               
Development (DEED)  and the University  of Alaska to  develop the                                                               
2010  Alaska Career  and Technical  Education  (CTE) plan,  which                                                               
called for  strategies to improve career  and technical education                                                               
and  prepare  Alaskans  with   skills  needed  for  postsecondary                                                               
training and  careers in high  growth occupations in  Alaska. The                                                               
CTE  plan  called  for  increasing   efforts  to  develop  career                                                               
pathways,  career counseling,  standards  for training  programs,                                                               
coordination,  and  program  delivery.  The  plan  addressed  the                                                               
individual need  for career preparedness  as well as  the broader                                                               
need  for a  training  and education  system  that is  efficient,                                                               
effective,  and coordinated  with  current  and future  workforce                                                               
needs.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
In  2018,  these same  partners  developed  the addendum  to  the                                                               
Alaska Career and Technical Education  Plan. This effort was made                                                               
to reenergize  and reexamine CTE  plan strategies to  help ensure                                                               
that   a  broad   spectrum   of   educational  opportunities   is                                                               
communicated to Alaskans, she said.                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
The CTE coordinator's  role is to work to implement  the CTE plan                                                               
strategy, she  said. Alaska  Vocational Technical  Center (AVTEC)                                                               
provides a premier state training  school for customized training                                                               
directed  at specific  employers  and  long-term training.  These                                                               
programs  average  nine months  in  duration  in fields  such  as                                                               
maritime,  applied  technology,  the culinary  arts,  energy  and                                                               
building  technology,  and  information technology.  Another  key                                                               
role  that  the Department  of  Labor  and Workforce  Development                                                               
(DOLWD)  plays  is  the dissemination  of  Career  and  Technical                                                               
Training  Funds through  State  Training  and Employment  Program                                                               
Funds and many federal grant programs, she said.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER said that SB  65 would formalize                                                               
the  DOLWD as  the  lead agency  in  coordinating and  monitoring                                                               
state career and technical education.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
2:10:14 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  BIRCH  remarked  on  the level  of  engagement  and  the                                                               
positive impact  that continuing  technical education has  had on                                                               
Alaska's children.  Specifically, he recalled  the superintendent                                                               
of the  Juneau School District  reported a graduation rate  of 82                                                               
percent which  bumped up to  84 percent  for those who  took some                                                               
additional classes  in a fifth  year. Remarkably,  the graduation                                                               
rate for  students with access  to technical  education component                                                               
jumped to  93-94 percent. He  said that  was pleased to  see this                                                               
proposal coming forward.                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:11:31 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR  COSTELLO  said  that  she  was  encouraged  to  see  the                                                               
department  break down  some "silos"  because  the Department  of                                                               
Education  and  DOLWD  should  be   working  in  tandem.  One  of                                                               
department's roles  is to get  Alaska's youth ready for  the work                                                               
force and  the other is  to train people  for work. She  said she                                                               
viewed these roles as a natural  link. She asked whether the bill                                                               
goes far  enough. For example, she  said that she would  like the                                                               
department to  review current career and  technical opportunities                                                               
at the Anchorage  School District's middle and  high schools. She                                                               
asked whether the language should identify more detailed goals.                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER   suggested  that  the  current                                                               
language  in the  bill was  fine. She  explained that  career and                                                               
technical  education  does not  stop  at  K-12.  The goal  is  to                                                               
provide a  robust strategy  and plan to  address CTE  training at                                                               
every level  from K-12 on to  age 99, if possible,  she said. She                                                               
offered her  belief that  a career  and technical  education plan                                                               
should  result  in  employment  or  it  is  a  failed  plan.  The                                                               
department should lead the way  because the employer community is                                                               
its  primary customer.  As the  department assesses  training and                                                               
workforce  needs,  it  must  coordinate with  the  DEED  and  the                                                               
University of  Alaska system  to ensure  that people  are trained                                                               
and  educated  to   fill  vacant  and  new   positions  that  the                                                               
department brings to Alaska.                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COSTELLO asked for the local school districts' role.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER said that the  CTE coordinator's                                                               
role  is  to  reach  out  and  work  with  all  schools,  private                                                               
industry, and the  university system to ensure that  plans are in                                                               
place. While  young people may not  know what they want  to be as                                                               
adults, by fifth grade they know  exactly what they don't want to                                                               
be,  she  said.  The  department will  work  to  encourage  these                                                               
entities to recognize this opportunity  to partner with the DOLWD                                                               
and not view  the coordination as a "hostile  takeover." She said                                                               
that this is something necessary to grow Alaska's workforce.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
2:15:21 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR COSTELLO asked  whether she has information  on the types                                                               
of jobs and careers that will be needed in Alaska.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER  answered that  the  department                                                               
always considers jobs  in demand. She said that  she would report                                                               
back to the committee on the specific jobs.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COSTELLO  recalled the Department of  Education and Early                                                               
Development's  commissioner previously  spoke  before the  Senate                                                               
Education  Committee on  the role  of coding.  She asked  whether                                                               
coding jobs were being reviewed by the department.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER answered  that the  DOLWD worked                                                               
closely with  the Department of  Education and  Early Development                                                               
(DEED) on coding  academies. She reported that  events were held,                                                               
in Kotzebue and in the Mat-Su  Valley. She stated that coding was                                                               
one  of the  industries that  would be  surfacing in  Alaska. The                                                               
state is  poised to take  advantage of many opportunities  due to                                                               
its  geographic  location.  Although  many  younger  people  have                                                               
expressed interest in coding, people  of all ages could code. She                                                               
welcomed members to attend the  Juneau kickoff event later in the                                                               
week. In response to Chair  Reinbold, she instructed her staff to                                                               
provide the information on the event to the committee.                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
2:18:02 PM                                                                                                                    
SENATOR BISHOP  asked whether she  could identify  any benchmarks                                                               
for  underperforming school  districts and  the deliverables  she                                                               
wanted to accomplish. He offered  his belief that Alaska does not                                                               
spend  enough on  career  education in  school  districts in  the                                                               
state.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
COMMISSIONER  DESIGNEE  LEDBETTER  answered that  the  department                                                               
already  has language  in the  Alaska Workforce  Investment Board                                                               
plan. The  department has stepped  up as  a leader in  career and                                                               
technical education.  This proposal  would strengthen  that role.                                                               
She  identified career  and  technical education  as  one of  her                                                               
primary  focuses.   The  governor   has  expressed   interest  in                                                               
providing these opportunities to  Alaska's youth. Adding the duty                                                               
to coordinate and monitor state  career and technical educational                                                               
programs would  bring a richness  to the program. CTE  means more                                                               
than  just providing  a CTE  class in  a school  or hiring  a CTE                                                               
instructor.  It must  be  imbedded  in the  state.  In fact,  the                                                               
reason to educate  and train people is to provide  them with good                                                               
paying jobs, which is an investment  that will result in a higher                                                               
qualified workforce.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
2:20:52 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR  REINBOLD  remarked  that  she   was  a  firm  believer  in                                                               
technical  classes.  She  said  the  drafting,  woodworking,  and                                                               
automotive courses she  took were the best classes  she had taken                                                               
in  school. She  expressed concern  that these  types of  classes                                                               
were cut from Eagle River High School.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR COSTELLO reported that the  upcoming coding session would                                                               
be held  on March  21 from  noon to  4 p.m.  at the  Alaska State                                                               
Museum.  The coding  session did  not require  previous expertise                                                               
and industry leaders would be attending.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
2:24:16 PM                                                                                                                    
CHAIR   REINBOLD  opened   public  testimony   and  after   first                                                               
determining no one wished to  testify, closed public testimony on                                                               
SB 65.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
[SB 65 was held in committee.]