Guest Column: Let's Keep Berkshire County Working
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WIA programs provide vital services for the unemployed, the underemployed, and for businesses as they try to rebound from the recession. Simply put, this total elimination of funding for WIA would result in the end of the nation's employment and training system during one of the worst economic downturns in American history.
Currently, the WIA authorizes nearly 575 local business-led work-force investments boards that cover all 50 states to oversee and coordinate services through a network of 3,000 One-Stop Career Centers. Over 12,000 businesses across America volunteer their time and energy to lead, coordinate and provide work-force strategies that leverage funding and resources within their local communities — that's 12,000 businesses that have the pulse on the employment and training needs within their unique markets to help Americans get jobs.
Locally, the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board is the work-force investment board for the 32 communities in Berkshire County. If [the House budget] is passed, the impact on Berkshire County jobseekers and employers would be devastating. Berkshire Works Career Center provided 32,000 services to 5,231 Berkshire County residents, 445 employers, and 2,170 young people last year alone. Services that include job search, training, career guidance, job preparation, and career/job fairs would be eliminated. The current unemployment rate (February 2011) in Berkshire County is 8.8 percent, which translates to 6,458 unemployed residents. This number is even higher due to people working multiple jobs, who are underemployed or who have given up completely looking for work.
Economists warn that these reductions in federal spending, including grants to states, could increase unemployment and weaken the national economy in the short term. They will also significantly decrease funding for programs that invest in our state's long-term economic health and in the well-being of our residents.
The Appropriations Committee appears to have taken the position that work-force development and job training programs are not effective, and therefore are expendable in this challenging budget climate in Washington. On behalf of the country's 575 Workforce Investment Boards business chairs and the over 12,000 businesses who serve on WIBs across the nation, we respectfully disagree.
Over the past year, the WIA-funded workforce investment system has provided training, employment and support services to over 8 million jobseekers nationally of which over 50 percent were placed into employment. While not its usual 80-85 percent placement rate, the system had to contend with unemployment at above 9 percent over the past year. It also placed many others in education and training programs that will lead to good new jobs. This system is vital to meeting the needs of the more than 14 million unemployed in this country who need assistance in looking for work or accessing the skills they need to find new employment. The WIA system provides our citizens with career counseling and guidance, skills assessment, job-matching services, skills training, employment assistance and more. We can hardly afford to turn our backs on our friends and neighbors at this time of need.
In addition to providing vital services to jobseekers and workers, the work-force system provides valuable support to our nation's businesses and economic development efforts. Work-force systems funded through the WIA have become critical partners in regional economic development efforts — from directly supporting efforts to recruit new businesses, to saving money for local businesses as they begin to rehire new employees, assisting businesses to avert layoffs through skills upgrading, and supporting businesses that are closing or downsizing. These partnerships with employers and economic development are critical to helping businesses survive and contribute to regional economic growth and prosperity. Now is not the time to take away these vital services, when regional economic growth is paramount to our recovery and competitiveness.
We acknowledge congressional efforts to reduce the massive budget deficit, but we also know that it is the intent of Congress to stimulate job growth as well. With this in mind, we strongly urge Congress to reconsider the elimination of funding for the WIA system.
If you are one of the 6,458 Berkshire County residents out of work or if you know someone who is out of work, please contact Sen. Scott Brown, Sen. John Kerry and Rep. John W. Olver to let them know that you want to keep Berkshire County working by funding the Workforce Investment Act.
Albert A. Ingegni III is chairman of the Berkshire County Regional Employment Board Inc. and executive director of Kimball Farms in Lenox.
