Bob Swanson’s Remarks

2006 Michigan Adult Education & Training Conference

“Reaching Out – Changing Lives”

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Lunch

12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.

Radisson Plaza Hotel, Kalamazoo

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Good afternoon. I am happy to be here today. I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the direction of the Department of Labor & Economic Growth and the important role adult education plays in DLEG’s overarching goal of getting our workforce job-ready

in Michigan’s changing economy.

When DLEG was established over three years ago, we were charged by Governor Granholm to enhance the economic development of our state and to retain and grow business. At that time the state was already facing serious budgetary challenges. State and local governments were asked to tighten belts and look for ways to maintain needed services while maximizing resources.

All public entities were asked to do more with less, and none more than adult education. I commend you for the work that you continue to do with such limited resources. You are a big part of our mission, and what we’re accomplishing at DLEG.

Unfortunately, our belt-tightening days are not yet over. Michigan still faces budget challenges as our economy experiences a radical transformation. But hopefully, the increase recommended by the Governor for Adult Education for next year is a sign of better times to come.

Globalization is changing the world’s economy. In response, we in Michigan are working to restructure the state’s economy, diversify, and re-image Michigan. It is crucial for everyone to realize that Michigan is so much more than a rust belt state.

We live in an age demanding innovation. This calls for change not only in the way we think, but also how we think about adult education. The need for skilled employees in Michigan is immediateand is growing rapidly. Innovative teaching techniques are already contributing to meeting that need.

We simply cannot assume that those now entering the workforce or those in the workforce but lacking basic literacy skills will be able to make the transition to the 21st century jobs that require new and advanced skills.

As adult educators, you have the unique opportunities and unique challenges that come with teaching the adult learner . . . Preparing them to contribute and compete in the workplace and support a more diversified economy than ever

before.

Our competitiveness as a state will increasingly rely on facilitating change and innovation in adult learning to impart the new skills necessary for the 21st century workforce.

This is a time of great opportunity in Michigan. We must look together toward the future by educating all of our residents to build a stronger workforce. Futurists say we are undergoing fundamental change; not just the traditional business cycle. What I want to talk to you about today are:

  • Key demographic trends
  • Opportunities to grow our economy and workforce
  • The challenges we face, and
  • Our game plan –What we’re doing now

I. Key Trends:

  • The first key trend is that our population is aging.
Americans 85 and older comprise the fastest growing segment of our population increasing 4 times as fast as other age groups. Today, there are 1 million Americans 100 years old or older. In 1950, citizens between ages 65-90 were 7.4% of our population. In 2000, the same age group comprised 30% of our population. Looking at it another way, in 1950, there were 17 Americans working for every 1 person on Social Security. By 2000, there were 3 Americans working for every 1 on Social Security. By 2020, it is estimated that only 1 American will be working for every 2 on Social Security. Fully 77 million Americans were born between 1946 and 1964, the so-called baby boomers – myself among them – and they are going to be retiring over the next 20 years.
  • The second trend is in health care:

1. % of GNP increasing

2. End-of-life care (2/3 of health $ spent in last year of life)

3. Great career opportunities in health care

  • The third trend is related to 3 important factors in our changing our economy.
  1. The first is our shift from a manufacturing economy to an information/services economy. In 1950, 60% of the workforce was employed in unskilled/manufacturing jobs. By 2000, that number had dropped to 15%. The manufacturing industry now requires an increasingly skilled workforce, and good paying unskilled labor positions no longer exist in manufacturing plants. The jobs for unskilled workers have moved to fast food and retail establishments, organizations which do not pay nearly as well.
  2. Second, the workplace has become more technologically advanced. The typical workplace today requires dual literacy employees must be functionally literate as well as technologically literate. The flip side of this requirement, and a problem for all of us, is that if a person is functionally illiterate, it is likely they are technologically illiterate as well. Even the most basic workplaces today require some form of computer literacy. The basics for jobs of the future will include technical reading, applied physics, statistics, logic, and foreign languages. As the Cherry Commission on Higher Education and Economic Growth reported last year, a high school diploma alone will not be enough.
  1. Third, the economy is becoming more international today, 1 in 6 Americans work for a foreign-owned company. The Big 3 are no longer American companies and it is obvious just from reading the papers that markets for local companies are expanding around the world. All of the Big 3 automakers have operations and affiliations in foreign countries, and more companies are seeking markets and capacity overseas every day. With all of this, the changing demographics of an aging workforce, and a smaller population behind the baby boomers who are retiring, adult learners are one key to Michigan’s changing workforce.

II. Opportunities

To address these trends head-on, we must retain our current economic base and diversify our economy and ready our entire workforce to meet challenges of today and tomorrow.

With adult educators playing a vital role, we must prepare a 21st century workforce to fill an estimated 20,000 jobs expected to open annually due to retirements of baby boomers.

Manufacturing Industry

For decades, automobile manufacturing has been the basis for a thriving Michigan economy. As technology has advanced, fewer and more skilled workers are needed to accomplish the assembly line tasks of the past.

Manufacturing in this state is undergoing an exciting transformation. Productivity improvements and, technological and process improvements require manufacturing workers to possess higher levels of education as they enter and

compete in the workforce. Today, jobs on the auto assembly line require at least some College and many positions require postsecondary degrees. Just visit the new GM plants here in Lansing or the Ford Rouge Plant to see what I mean.

But manufacturing employment is not declining across all sectors. According to our Bureau of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, there are specific industries within manufacturing that are expected to post significant employment gains through 2012. For example, the plastics and rubber products industry is projected to expand by 8,140 new jobs; machinery manufacturingby 3,600; nonmetallic mineral products manufacturing by 2,390; and chemicals, with 1,600 new jobs.

Health Care Industry

Health care is Michigan’s largest single employer. Nearly half a million Michigan citizens work in jobs directly related to health care, with another 254,000 working in jobs indirectly related to health care. Combined, this sector expends $29.8 billion a year in wages, salaries and benefits, exceeding our agricultural and automotive manufacturing sectors.

III. Challenges

As we diversify our economy, we must also face the challenges of strengthening our workforce through lifetime education and ongoing training.

Developing ongoing partnerships

We must focus on developing programs and partnerships that will help adult learners achieve their educational and professional goals. Our goal is to raise skill levels to enable employment which provides long-term self-sufficiency.

High illiteracy rate

We must also focus on our neediest areas in adult education, including major urban areas, with high rates of illiteracy and high school dropouts. We need to focus on teaching functionally illiterate parents to read so they can be partners in the education of their children. Only in this way can we break the cycle of illiteracy in families. But the challenge is great. There is a 47% functional illiteracy rate in Detroit; a 36% rate in Wayne County, 15% in Macomb County and 10% in Oakland County. Grand Rapids had a functional illiteracy rate running near 50% in 2004, and Benton Harbor has an illiteracy rate of over 70%.

High number of non-English speaking immigrants

In working toward increasing literacy, we must also take into account the growing number of immigrants in Michigan who do not speak English. We have found that those who do not speak English end up in correctional institutions at a greater rate than those who have attained some fluency; and they are usually repeat offenders. The non-speakers of English who are not prepared to enter the

Workforce also impacts our unemployment rate.

Those with no GED

According to 2003 statistics (our latest), there are 952,222 adults in Michigan without high school diplomas. 10,834 individuals were eligible to receive their GED certificate in 2003. That represented 68.8% of those who took the entire GED, which is slightly below the 2003 U.S. average pass rate of 70.1%. This means we still have more work to do.

Adults without a high school diploma or GED have a higher rate of incarceration than their counterparts. The rate of recidivism is higher and their ability to earn a living is less than for those with a secondary credential. And, it costs far more to incarcerate than it does to educate an adult.

We must continue to work collectively and collaboratively toward improving outcomes for Michigan residents – to get their GED, and from there to attain the credentials that will link them to success in the new economy.

IV. Our Game Plan – What we’re doing now

  • Diversify

In addition to retaining as much of our manufacturing base as possible,

Governor Granholm’s economic plan is working to create new jobs by making Michigan the hub of 21st century growth in such areas as advanced auto manufacturing, alternative energy development, homeland security, and the life sciences. Over $2 billion will be invested over the next decade in commercializing these competitive edge technologies.

  • Ready Our Workforce

MI Opportunity Partnership

But readying our workforce for these jobs is also a part of the Governor’s plan. Our Workforce Development team this year implemented the MI Opportunity Partnership with a goal of retooling Michigan’s job training programs and proactively steering unemployed workers into high-demand career fields. We made a commitment to connect 30,000 unemployed citizens with high-demand job vacancies this year and to help Michigan employers find workers with the skills they need today. We have reached out to more than 250,000 employers to identify and fill existing job vacancies. More than 30,000 job pledges have been received. And, I’m pleased to say that the program is on track to place 30,000 workers into jobs by May 2006.The MI Opportunity partnership specifically targets the skilled trades and health care industry because of the significant need for skilled workers and the job vacancies that currently exist in those areas.

According to a study DLEG released jointly with the Department of Community Health, Michigan will need to fill more than 100,000 professional and technical health care job vacancies over the next decade.

Disproportionate Share Hospital Medicaid Funds or DSH funds

A health care training initiative announced last summer as part of the MI Opportunity Partnership used Medicaid Disproportionate Share Hospital funds to help community colleges and universities provide accelerated training for nurses and other health care professionals. This initiative has increased the capacity of our public educational institutions to train more high quality health care workers at an accelerated pace. Sixteen universities and community colleges have partnered with 23 hospitals statewide on 21 proposals that were awarded $18 million in funding. This investment will train more than 1,200 health care workers (RNs, LPNs, Allied Health Professionals, Clinical Nurse Faculty) and expand the state’s ability to prepare Michigan citizens for the vital health care jobs of today and tomorrow.

But our long-term job-creation strategy will be based on a new education compact with Michigan residents

  1. As I mentioned, the Cherry Commission recognized that a high school education is not sufficient today, and that we really need a K-14 system. To this end, Governor Granholm has proposed a New Merit Scholarship program to provide $4,000 to every student who completes two years post high school certificate or degree And the final piece of the compact is the Governor’s proposal for a more rigorous high school curriculum, a proposal nearing passage by the Senate and House of Representatives.

Office of Adult Education Initiatives

I’d like to take a little time to highlight several innovative programs that have been implemented by DLEG’s Office of Adult Education and the exciting new initiatives on the horizon for adult education.

Distance Learning Pilots

Given the limited resources for adult education, and the limited areas and hours of class offerings, now is the time for adult educators to pursue partnerships with employers and offer more distance learning at the job site, tailored to meet the needs of the employer and the credential needs of the employee.

Distance Learning Pilot Program

In August of 2005, the Office of Adult Education launched an innovative Distance Learning Pilot Program in four sites across the state. The pilots target Work First clients, specifically single mothers, in Detroit, Muskegon, Flint and the Eastern Upper Peninsula. The goal of the pilots is to equip the students with the skills and attitude necessary to be successful in the current workforce. The students are then transitioned into GED preparation programs and are given exemption from the Work First employment requirements, for up to fifteen months, as they work towards obtaining their GED.

The pilot program is currently in the third and final instructional session. A total of seventy-four (74) students recently attended the orientation for the third session and were accepted to the pilot program. In order to be accepted, students were required to test at or above the sixth grade level in reading and math. The candidates then met one-on-one with the teacher, where the teacher assessed the student’s motivation and self-discipline. These characteristics have been found to be vital for student success when learning at a distance.

To date, sixty-one (61) students have completed the program and are currently working on their GED, while three (3) students have already successfully passed the GED.

The Distance Learning Pilot Program has also seen success in above average student retention. The retention rate for the first session was nearly 70%, and the initial estimates for the second session are around 50%. With GEDs in hand, they will be assisted in going on tocommunity college or advanced training that leads to better jobs and a brighter future. Although this program currently does not partner with employers, we hope to expand this capability in the future.

Work site education

Several districts are offering work site education such as Walled Lake where adult ed classes are offered at the Ford Wixom Plant, and Livonia offers work site adult ed classes at the GM plant in that community.

Preparing Workers for 21st Century Employment Project

The Office of Adult Education’s newest pilot program, “Preparing Michigan Workers for 21st Century Employment” began earlier this year. The purpose of the project is to develop a reading curriculum based on topics identified by the National Institute for Literacy’s Work Readiness Credential, as well as specific work-related scenarios provided by Michigan employers.

The Office of Adult Education, in conjunction with private partners, began surveying local businesses and educators during a series of meetings held in targeted areas of the state. The first round of meetings took place in Auburn Hills, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Traverse City, and Battle Creek. Additional meetings are currently being scheduled.

The meetings provided an opportunity to gain feedback from employers on requisite skills and attitudes that are lacking in today’s workforce. The scenarios and information provided will be incorporated into the reading curriculum being developed.

Content Standards

Another initiative is the development of content standards. Research has shown

that standards provide consistency across programs, improve program quality,

and ultimately help students raise scores.

Michigan is part of a national consortium that has been supported with Office of

Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) funds and in 2004 joined 14 other states