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GWIB Education Industry Initiative
Steering Committee Meeting
December 11, 2006

Twenty-seven participants attended the first meeting of the education industry initiative steering committee December 11, 2006 at Towson University. Committee members in attendance included leaders of the education industry, education-related associations and professional organizations and state government agencies.

Below is a summary of the important points of the meeting, including a brainstorming session to identify workplace issues in the education industry.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Dr. Robert Caret, chairman of the steering committee and president, Towson University

In his opening remarks, Dr. Caret stressed the importance of having representatives of all sectors of education represented on the steering committee. In addition to industry sectors, representation in both the administration and academic sides of the industry is important to the success of the initiative.

UPDATES
Overview of GWIB and the Center for Industry Initiatives 
Art Taguding, Director, GWIB Center for Industry Initiatives
Mr. Taguding presented an overview of the Governor's Workforce Investment Board (GWIB) and the Center for Industry Initiatives, including:

• A business focused, demand-driven workforce model
• Importance of business, education and government/cabinet secretaries all coming together, sitting at the table
• Change in philosophy from supply driven to demand-driven
• The 13 industry sectors and their chairs

GETTING STARTED

• Dr. Caret stressed the importance and advantage of having access to a large number of cabinet secretaries on the GWIB
• Geographic representation is important - to address regional issues, especially housing issue
• Steering committee meetings will move around the state. Any volunteers to host a meeting? Contact Sallie Hays to volunteer to host a meeting
• Steering committee meetings will be kept to the designated timeframe!
• Dr. Caret addressed the question re potential change to the existence and/or mission of GWIB, the industry initiatives, etc. with a new governor. There is always the potential for some leadership faces within state government to change with a new administration, however, the GWIB, initiatives and mission will continue

Topics for First Meeting:

• Resources
• Brainstorm for workforce issues in the education industry
• Work groups

Resources That Will Be Needed:

• " Dr. Caret and the committee will be looking for resources and support - cash, in-kind services, employee services (technical writer), etc.
  " We will identify resources as needed as we move through the process

BRAINSTORMING OF ISSUES FACING EDUCATION INDUSTRY
Attracting, Recruiting, Training and Retaining

Retirement

• Entire workforce is aging

Non-traditional hiring opportunities:

• Prepare people for careers in education who choose careers outside of education
• Need to encourage second career changers into the teaching profession

Retention

• Retention of teachers is a problem
• Tendency for turnover greater with increasing salaries across the nation
• Gender issues female teachers begin career, get married, have kids and then stay home to raise their family
• Certification for re-entry into teaching filed is to cumbersome
• Retirement benefits

• Incentives and disincentives
• Growing number of adjunct faculty

• Full time vs part time
• Higher education adjunct or full-time professors there is no in between - no benefits if don't teach full-time
• Career Growth
• Relocation issues
• Availability of adjunct faculty in certain segments/fields is an issue

Salaries

• Salaries of faculty are not competitive in the region (law school)

Career Growth

• " Career paths incentives

K-12 Issues

• Secondary education - science and math
• K-12 not producing faculty to meet the demand
• Hesitancy to go into K-12 teaching, lack of respect for teachers, new standards and accountability measures - less autonomy
• K-6 teachers are being prepared, need 7-12 grade math and science teachers
• Perception of teaching middle school aged students is bad
• 90 chemistry teachers needed, the state produced 12
• Special education needs
• Middle school teachers
• Specialty Teaching

• Math, science, special ed

Restrictions

• Certification process for experienced professionals
• Other restrictive work rules
• Analytical/writing skills needed
• Educational barriers
• Complexity/Phase of Worker

Facilities

• Research and development facilities are an issue - there is a disparity in federal, state and local facilities
• State wide need for a focus on facility renewal and replacement

Family Issues:

• Time of day makes a difference

Housing

• Rising cost of housing

Work Environment/ Professionalism/Respect

• Ambiance
• Work pressures
• Unions/work rules impact the profession
• Work world is very complex - need to be able to hire those with strong analytical/writing skills
• Image/Perception - good and bad

• Image of Baltimore City when recruiting personnel

Diversity

• Bilingual Skills

Technology

• Technology is a time consumer rather than saver at certain points
• Technology has created more administrative responsibilities than before

Education Industry Hoops

• Programmatic hoops
• Other hoops
• Rate of change
• Needs
• Responsiveness - education sector
• Expectations

Business side of education:

• School systems are thin in infrastructure support
• IT Professionals custodians
• Education management
• Competitive salaries, housing, benefits
• Perception of geographic area
• Applications are down for assistant principals, principals
• Retirement benefits for K-12 is an issue
• Maryland is competing with the benefits package offered by Pennsylvania
• HR stresses: competitive environment, high turnover, results in more hiring, training costs
• Low unemployment rate in Maryland
• People don't stay in jobs more than 5 years
• Qualifications for entry-level workers have changed
• Need to hire qualified people at all levels
• As a business education hasn't adjusted to incorporate new technologies
• Existing rules make it prohibitive to seek technical training
• Competition with bordering states and counties make it difficult to recruit
• There is an issue between jurisdiction - those who can afford to hire at a better pay and those who cannot
• Industry perspective need to look at field and adapt to their needs (change existing structures)
• How do we get everyone on board to allow change to occur?
• K-12 needs feedback from higher education to know what type of "product" is needed, expected of students as they enter college.
• Retention Strategies
• Salaries, competition
• K-12 work environment is tension filled
• Retention - we take the best teachers out of the classroom and put into administration
• Need incentive for teachers to stay n teaching
• Growing interest on local teaching boards to incentivize staying in the classroom.
• No child left behind has had a big impact on the industry
• K-12 has a hard time keeping higher trained individuals such as CPAs because of salary
• Retirement system encourages turnover and transition
• Every other industry has a technology incubator - education hasn't changed - experimental schools of education don't seem to exist
• Not a fast moving, changing group
• Higher education challenge keep abreast of what industry needs - expensive to keep up with technology
• Campus politics - good initiatives don't always move forward
• Accreditation, need to move to less regulation
• Workforce flexibility needs to be addressed. Tele-working, flex-time and job sharing can occur in some instances.
• Need dialog across education sectors and other industry sectors

# # #

WORK GROUPS

The education initiative steering committee will break into four work groups for the bulk of the committee's work. They are:

1. Pre K-12 (public and private)
2. Two year higher education (community colleges and private)
3. Four year and graduate higher education (public and private)
4. Apprentice, trade, training and business technical schools

Adult education and corrections education will be addressed, as well.

NEXT STEPS, NEXT MEETING

• Begin phase II - research and assessment phase

• Introduce GWIB analyst, Tim Bibo, who will present an overview of the research process and guide the committee through the research phase
• Review education industry profile (DLLR)

• Break into work groups

• Select work group leaders
• Begin research and assessment work