ReEmployment Works! Summit – Hosted by U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL ETA) in Baltimore, Maryland

Background:  The ReEmployment Works! Summit is a U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL ETA) extraordinary event to kick off an initiative designed to cultivate a response that re-designs, re-energizes, and re-focuses the reemployment system.  USDOL ETA will be better positioned to address the current economic challenges; increased global competition; increased demand for a high-skilled, educated workforce; the current economic downturn and the anticipated recovers.

On 3 December 2008, USDOL ETA requested that each state workforce agency administrator (Guam included) nominate four to five individuals to be members of the Reemployment, Architects and Designers network.  Nominees are individuals who have the passion, drive and vision to participate in USDOL ETA ambitious undertaking.  From Guam’s nomination, USDOL ETA will identify two individuals for membership in the network and the final group selected by USDOL ETA will reflect a balance of policy, operational and program expertise that is representative of all programs involved in the reemployment of laid-off workers.

In response to USDOL ETA San Francisco, Region VI request, on 15 December 2008, the Guam Department of Labor (GDOL) submitted five nominees of which two were subsequently selected by Region VI,    Ms. Frances Bell, Employment Development Supervisor, Guam Employment Service; and Ms. Karen Taitano, Acting Administrator of WIA Programs (Youth, Adult Dislocated Workers).  Upon approval of the Region’s endorsement by the national office, Ms. Bell and Ms. Taitano will be registered to attend the ReEmployment Works! Summit in Baltimore, Maryland.  At the conclusion of the summit, they will:

• Understand how the forces of globalization, demographics, and other structural changes re shaping the U.S. economy, including the rise of cluster-based regional economies as a competitive response, and how these forces affect the workforce and influence unemployment and reemployment dynamics.
  
  
• Understand the collective assets of the workforce system and how those assets can be collaboratively leveraged to create new solutions and help workers become reemployed.
• Identify opportunities and implement strategies for innovation in service delivery.
  
  
• Access resources and best practices to support ongoing SWOT analysis, transformation, and innovation.
  
  
• Be a catalyst for innovation, transformation, and change within regional economies.
  
  
• Result in a cadre of Reemployment architects and designers that will become a community of practice to lead and demonstrate innovation.
  
  

University of Guam - Procurement Technical Assistance Program – Aligning One Stop Career Center (OSCC) Services – 10 December 2008

Background:  The Procurement Technical Assistance Program is a national program administered by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) for the Department of Defense.  Local centers provide assistance to business in marketing products and services to the Federal, state and local government.   

As a recipient of a Cost-Sharing Cooperative Agreement with DLA, the University of Guam School of Business & Public Administration is the host of the Guam Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).  Guam PTAC is one of 94 Centers in the 50 states and Puerto Rico.  Its mission is to maximize the number of capable Guam companies participating in the government marketplace by:

• providing businesses with an understanding of the requirements of government contracting and the marketing know-how they need to obtain and successfully perform on federal and government of Guam contracts; and

• supporting government agencies in reaching and working with suppliers they need.

The services of the Guam PTAC are free to any existing commercial company with an active presence in Guam.  Through its staff of experienced professionals and resources, the Guam PTAC offers group training and one-on-one counseling sessions on a variety of topics. 
 

Guam Registered Apprenticeship Program Public Hearing – 3 December 2008

BACKGROUND: Public Law 28-142 was signed into law on 18 July 2006 by Governor Felix Camacho.  This law created the Guam Registered Apprenticeship Program (GRAP) and authorized the Guam Department of Labor (GDOL) to contract with businesses, pursuant to U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Apprenticeship & Training Program Standards, and provide employer incentives for the development of a skilled workforce.

In accordance with 44 GCA §44104, on 3 December 2008, the Guam Department of Labor conducted a Public Hearing to receive opinions and recommendations from businesses and the general public to determine which areas need additional professional and skilled trade workers which will be incorporated into the Guam Registered Apprenticeship Program Demand Occupations Listing.  As a result of the public hearing, a total of 232 occupations are on the Demand Occupations List.  
 

1 December 2008 - Transformation Forum State Replication Resources Grant

BACKGROUND:  In November 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (USDOL ETA) sponsored the first Transformation Forum in Seattle, Washington.  The purpose of the forum was to support the workforce investment system as it develops innovative solutions that connect workforce and economic development with employers, education, and job seekers.  As recommended by USDOL ETA San Francisco, Region IV, a team of ten (10) members from Guam (GDOL/AHRD/GCC/UOG representatives) attended the forum.  Subsequently, in March 2008, Guam submitted its Transformation Plans of Work.  The submission was part of Guam’s efforts to begin transformational action strategies in accordance with the Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) framework.  

On November 3, 2008, USDOL ETA San Francisco, Region IV, issued a letter to GDOL informing that up to $20,000 is available from USDOL ETA to support state-sponsored efforts to replicate the Transformation Forum experience held in Seattle.  Region IV wanted the GDOL to consider playing a leadership role to replicate or adapt the Transformation Forum experience.  

On 1 December 2008, the Guam Department of Labor submitted an application for the Transformation State Replication Resources Grant to the USDOL ETA San Francisco Region VI.  Guam’s application was subsequently endorsed and forwarded to the USDOL ETA national office for approval. 

Notice of Award:  Disability Program Navigator Grant - 23 December 2008

The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) have jointly established a new position, the Disability Program Navigator (DPN), within DOL’s One-Stop Career Centers.   The DPN helps people with disabilities “navigate” through the challenges of seeking work. Complex rules surrounding entitlement programs, along with fear of losing cash assistance and health benefits, can often discourage people with disabilities from working. DOL and SSA have established the DPN initiative to better inform SSI/SSDI beneficiaries and other people with disabilities about the work support programs available at DOL-funded One-Stop Career Centers. These Centers provide information, training, and other employment-related services at a single customer-friendly location. The DPN Initiative is: developing new/ongoing partnerships to achieve seamless, accessible, comprehensive, and integrated access to services; promoting the workforce investment system’s becoming Employment Networks under the Ticket-to-Work Program; blending/braiding resources to leverage funding for individual customers; creating systemic change; and expanding the workforce investment system’s capacity to serve customers with disabilities and employers. DOL’s Employment and Training Administration (ETA) and SSA’s Office of Program Development and Research signed an Interagency Agreement in September 2002 to jointly fund, implement, pilot, and evaluate the DPN initiative.

Guam’s application for the Disability Program Navigator Grant was approved for funding in the amount of $80,000.00. The grant provides for funding for the salaries and benefits for a 2-year timeframe after which the program should be self-sustaining.   
 

Executive Order 13473 – Military Spouse Federal Employment

Signed by President Bush on September 25, 2008, Executive Order 13473 was executed To Authorize Certain Noncompetitive Appointments in the Civil Service for Spouses of Certain Members of the Armed Forces.  The order authorizes noncompetitive hiring of spouses and should make the hiring process easier and faster for those in this category.  “It shall be the policy of the United States to provide for the appropriately expedited recruitment and selection of spouses of members of the Armed Forces for appointment to positions in competitive service of the Federal civil service as part of the effort of the United States to recruit and retain in military service, skilled and experienced members of the Armed Forces and to recognize and honor the service of such members injured, disabled, or killed in connection with their service,” President Bush wrote in the order.