Organized and facilitated by their granting agency, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration Region 6 San Francisco Office, discussions and presentations were focused on ETA’s Strategic Approach for Talent Development, program performance report revisions aligned with expenditures, registered apprenticeship programs presented by Alfred Valles, state director-Hawaii Pacific, Hawaii Job Corps, presentations by Lauree Nakata, OAA supervisor, and Wendy Sakata, OA/CTS manager, and on-site visit of the Waimanalo campus, USDOL updates and presentation on Veterans Employment/Training Services in the outer Pacific.
Regional partners from the College of Micronesia, Grilly Jack, vocational training coordinator and other federal officials in Hawaii from the Department of the Interior/Office of Insular Affairs working closely with the Pacific jurisdictions were also present at the meeting.
At the conclusion of the meeting, the Pacific workforce directors adopted Resolution 09-001 with four specific actionable strategies to include specific recommendations for all collaborators, federal partners, local, state and regional organizations to consider.
The resolution was also attested by Rosemary Cowan, division chief, USDOL ETA, John Jacobs, federal projects officer, USDOL ETA, and Steve Sanders, legislative director, DOI.
The directors agreed to request the Micronesian Chiefs Regional Workforce Development Council to endorse the establishment of a Regional Job Corps Working Committee to establish a proposed plan of work to initialize the phases for a regional Job Corps within the next three to six months
They discussed options for providing technical assistance to develop a data action plan that involves the Pacific Workforce Investment Streamlined Performance Reporting framework for data capacity development
They agreed to develop a Regional Workforce Pre-Pipeline Development Initiative and consider the funding option for the economic stimulus opportunity for financing pre-proposal framework.
They also vowed to continue sharing and networking exemplary and programming successes through a structured Pacific jurisdiction report.
The resolution adopted by the directors and the USDOL ETA Region 6 San Francisco Office is in line with the following Pacific Workforce Investment Workgroup’s seven action plan framework strategies adopted at the 10th Micronesian Chief Executives Summit held on Nov. 18-19, 2008 in Pohnpei:
1. Implement the RWDC Pilot Data Initiative
2. Regional Entrepreneurship/Enterprise Initiative
3. Implement Pilot Workforce Readiness Credentialing System
4. Develop a Regional Workforce Pipeline Development Initiative
5. Regional Communications RWDC/PWIW Plan
6. Computer and Financial Literacy Initiative
7. Succession Planning Initiative (replacement of key staff and mentoring of junior staff, incumbent worker training)
