In November 2001, in Perth, Australia,
WORKING VISIONS: THE INTERNATIONAL EMPLOYMENT FUTURES CONFERENCE AND
KNOWLEDGE EXPO provided an international forum to grapple with
questions about employment in the future and the training and
preparation needed for the new world of work. Hosted by the Western
Australian Department of Training and Employment, the conference
brought together international, national, and state policymakers and
decision-makers from government and the private sector.
Joining leading labor market analysts
and practitioners from around the world, Jobs for the Future President
Marlene Seltzer participated in a plenary debate on the question:"Jobs
For All: Can it be a Reality?" Seltzer discussed the practical and
systemic changes needed to provide full employment in today's new
economy. She joined with Donald Lee of the United Nations and Stephanie
Mayman of Unions Western Australia, to argue "Yes we agree but..."
Arguing for the position "Yes it can happen by..." were futurist John
Naisbitt, Bob Gibbs of the University of Nottingham, and Charles Brass
of the Future of Work Foundation.
In addition, in "Identity Crisis: Not
for Profit in a Profit World," Seltzer made a presentation to the
conference on the role of non-profit organizations in helping design
and implement responses to the challenges of the new economy.
On several fronts, JFF is helping New Hampshire accelerate educational
and career advancement for youth and adults. New Hampshire is
linking education, workforce development, and economic development
as it improves K-16 education and uses implementation of the Workforce
Investment Act to meet state needs.
NEW HAMPSHIRE'S
YOUTH COUNCIL, with assistance from JFF, is moving toward two
goals: 1) developing strategies to prepare youth for high school
completion and entrance into postsecondary education and/or
skilled employment; and 2) addressing the systemic contributors
to high dropout rates.
The N.H. DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION, with assistance from JFF, has developed a Competency
Based Assessment System as an element in improving young people's
transitions from high school to higher education and economic
sufficiency.
JFF is engaged
with the WORKFORCE OPPORTUNITY COUNCIL in carrying out strategic
planning to achieve its overall vision while enhancing the state's
award-winning One-Stop system.
In the coming months, Jobs for the Future is participating in major events on community colleges on both coasts:
In March, Innovations 2000, the international conference
of the League for Innovation in the Community College will
be dedicated to improving student and organizational learning
through innovation, experimentation, and institutional transformation.
Each year, this meeting attracts more than 2,000 attendees,
including community college faculty and leaders, senior
and mid-level administrators, and corporate and other higher
education leaders. JFF CEO Hilary Pennington will be a keynote
speaker. Innovations 2000 will take place in Boston, March
17-20.
In April, at the Annual Convention of the American Association
of Community Colleges, Jobs for the Future and the MetLife
Foundation will present the winners of the 2001 MetLife
Foundation Community College Excellence Awards. The awards
will recognize two community colleges that are integrating
exemplary practices promoting education and career advancement
into all educational programs for traditionally underserved
youth and adults. JFF is also organizing conference sessions
that will focus on what leading states and model institutions
are doing to improve access, retention, and advancement
of low-income, at-risk populations.
The theme for the AACC convention is "Building a World
of Learners," reflecting the myriad ways in which community
colleges interact locally, nationally, and even internationally
to build learners, learning models, and communities.
The convention will provide opportunities to showcase exemplary
programs, provide new information on growing trends, and
examine important issues. The AACC Convention will take
place in Seattle, April 20-23.
At a time when high schools must be pathways to college for all
students, they are pathways to nowhere for many. Transforming the American High School, prepared for JFF's FROM THE MARGINS TO THE MAINSTREAM initiative, identifies systemic policy issues
and change strategies necessary to respond to this crisis—on
a large scale and in the fastest possible time frame. While it
is important to transform high schools in virtually all communities,
this report focuses on large cities, with the largest concentrations
of poverty, the most ethnically and linguistically diverse students,
and many large, impersonal high schools with high dropout rates
and low achievement.
5Connecting the Dots: The Leadership Imperative for a New Century In October, JFF CEO and co-founder Hilary Pennington gave the
keynote address at the 2001 Workforce Strategies Conference held
in Walla Walla, Washington. Pennington addressed a need that is
central to the ongoing health of our democracy: creating highways
of opportunity so that no matter where people start in the education
systemÑwhether in adult basic education, an ESL program, a GED
program, or having completed traditional high schoolÑthey are
on a road leading to family-supporting jobs. Achieving this goal,
she says, will require integrating the now-separate silos of K-12
and higher education, economic development, and workforce development
into one system focused on the kinds of postsecondary education
and credentials that the labor market rewards.
To listen to the speech or to order a video of the presentation,
go to the Web site of TVW, Washington State's public affairs network: www.tvw.org;
search for Hilary Pennington.
6Pennington Joins Annenberg Institute Board of Overseers The prestigious Annenberg Institute for School Reform has appointed
Hilary Pennington to its Board of Overseers. Also appointed was
former JFF board member Wendy Puriefoy. Puriefoy, who is President
of the Public Education Network, the nation's largest network
of community-based school reform organizations, calls the Annenberg
Institute a place where "school reformers go to school." Established
at Brown University in 1993, it draws its principal support from
a $50-million gift from the Annenberg Foundation, part of Ambassador
Walter H. Annenberg's $500-million "Challenge to the Nation" to
improve public education in America.
Australia Grapples with the Future of Work
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