By Laura Aka
Broadcast version by Nadia Ramlagan
Reporting for the WorkingNation.com-Kenctucky News Connection

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville, like other local leaders around the country, is dealing with the aftermath of 2020. His agenda is clear.

Controlling the pandemic is a top priority. "A bad economy is a result of the pandemic. So that's job one," stresses Fischer, who also serves as the current president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

What racial equity looks like in America is also part of the conversation, says Fischer.

He adds, "And then workforce. How do we go from these record levels of unemployment we have right now and recreate the economy?"

Moving Into Careers

"Getting the unemployed back to work, in meaningful work that has long-term prospects to it, is going to be an extraordinary challenge. People have to feel dignity in work to feel good about what they're doing," says Fischer.

"We don't want to just train folks to do the same old, same old, we've got to move folks into jobs that really represent careers," stresses Fischer, who says its important for residents to have access to training that will support them financially and lead to a good career.

The sectors of wellness and aging care, advanced manufacturing, logistics, and e-commerce are strong in Louisville, according to Fischer. He adds, transitioning people to technology careers is a focus for the city.

KentuckianaWorks is the region's workforce development board. Its Code Louisville and Tech Louisville are among the current programs that are preparing people for careers in software programming or IT support.

According to the board, there are about 100 unfilled junior software development opportunities open in the greater Louisville area every three months. Code Louisville trains people for those coding jobs through online learning and in-person mentoring.

There's also an unfilled demand for IT support, with more than 400 job openings posted in the past 90 days. These jobs have a median salary of over $43,000 locally, 20% higher than the median for all occupations. "Tech Louisville is offered at no cost to participants and participants earn their Google IT Support Professional Certificate," according to KentuckianaWorks.

Transforming Public Education for a 21st-Century Workforce

Fischer says collaborations with local businesses are important to ensure there is skilled talent to fill open positions. And, he emphasizes, those efforts start as early as high school in Louisville.

"People can get a taste for what the jobs of the future look like. Then they can develop their education track around that. They can have internships with that, as well, so that there's already a partnership taking place. It's meaningful work guided by the future. It's supported by our education system and our workforce investment board," he tells WorkingNation.

The Academies of Louisville include 15 high schools in the Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) district. "There was a real desire to make career and technical education classes more a part of a child's everyday world," explains Marty Pollio, Ed.D., superintendent of the JCPS.

Pollio explains the Academies give students access to learning beyond the traditional high school curriculum. "It was about math, English, science, and social studies, and some connections with outside businesses. Looking more towards 21st century jobs and skills."

In order to give options to students at their respective high schools, each Academy has multiple areas of focus. "We wanted to expand it to have at least four academies in every single school. Some have three, depending on the size of it," explains Pollio.

"Each school would engage with the district, talk with their school community about the interest, poll their students about the interests that they have, then build an Academy and pathways out of that."

The range of career exploration is expansive-aviation maintenance, health care, engineering, carpentry, computer programming, veterinary assistant, machinist, financial services, construction, and much more.

Every Academy has an advisory council with members of the business community. Pollio says those partnerships are essential. "We wanted their intelligence, their expertise, their guidance, and eventually their on-the-ground training in their particular area."

Optimistic About the Future

When Academy students graduate high school, they walk away with far more than a diploma. College credits, industry certifications, work experience, and the mastery of academic and technical skills are just a few ways an Academy education prepares students for life after senior year, according to school officials.

Pollio wants his district's students to finish high school with options. "We don't want any student to graduate without that opportunity to go to postsecondary in one way or another. And postsecondary doesn't just mean four-year colleges."

"We want every single student to be able to say, 'I have an employable skill when I graduate, too,'" notes Pollio.

Pollio says all the involved partner are committed to the Academies. "Our business community, our political community, our partners just said, 'This is what we want in this city. It's research-based and we're going to continue to push it.'"

The Need for Federal Support

Michael Gritton, KentuckianaWorks executive director, argues there is overwhelming need for more federal training dollars. "In real terms, the federal investment in workforce is down about 40% from 15 years ago, when you adjust for inflation. So, workforce boards around the country are all starved for resources."

"Doubling or tripling the funding in order to help people get back to work or get into some of these new jobs is a real, viable strategy for the federal government," says Gritton.

Looking ahead, Fischer also sounds an optimistic tone about partnership between the country's cities and the federal government. "I'm a business guy. So if you had a lead product line, cities are the lead product line for America. You should invest in cities. You should encourage cities, and you should lift cities up."

This story was produced with original reporting by Laura Aka for WorkingNation.com.




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United Auto Workers' contract negotiations kick off today with Volkswagen at its Chattanooga plant, covering over 4,000 UAW members.

The union says its goal is to achieve an initial agreement that raises standards in wages, benefits and protections to align with those in other unionized plants.

Yolanda Peoples, a member of the UAW bargaining team, said they conducted a survey to prioritize the most pressing issues for changes or improvement.

"The highest concerns was the health and safety. A lot of employees were concerned about the high rate of injuries that we've had inside the plant that weren't being addressed. Really, pretty much was just swept under the table and it wasn't being acknowledged," she explained.

Peoples noted the UAW bargaining team of 20 elected representatives has prepared a "demand book" with some 800 items to present to Volkswagen as the basis for their negotiations. They'll work toward compromises and comprehensive policies that employees and management can agree on.

Peoples said the cost of healthcare insurance was another high point in the survey, which she describes as unaffordable for many workers.

"A lot of the employees have families, and they've taken out the family health care, and the price that we have to pay is extremely high. This year, the prices have gone up in the insurance plans that we have, and a lot of the employees have concerns about that - not only the high deductible, also the cost of the medications," she continued.

She added the policy changes resulted in some doctors being excluded from coverage, forcing patients to switch healthcare providers.

Earlier this year, Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga made history by unionizing, a first for Southern autoworkers outside the 'Big Three' manufacturers.

September is Workforce Development Month and North Dakota offices managing energy assistance programs hope people in need of a fresh career start will give weatherization work some thought.

Community Action Agencies help low-income individuals sign up for aid to keep their heating and cooling bills lower. These offices also have teams specializing in weatherization, with free repairs and upgrades for eligible households, so their homes are safe and healthy and energy systems run more efficiently.

Willy Soderholm, executive director of the Community Action Partnership-Minot Region, said his crews have veteran leadership but there are still turnover issues with newer staff.

"They're working underneath the trailer-house bellies," Soderholm pointed out. "They're working up in the attics and things like that. And plus, you know, they're working out in the cold."

Despite the challenging work, Soderholm noted those who make it through a full season can realize the stability and rewarding mission aligned with the jobs. He explained there are benefits, competitive pay and training available. His region has a waiting list of more than 40 homes in need of weatherization work and a complete staff could help whittle down the number.

Recent federal policies have boosted weatherization funding, with office leaders noting job availability should not be as unpredictable in the coming years. Beyond charting a new career path, Soderholm emphasized joining one of the teams means you are helping people in your community meet basic needs.

"We're really looking for somebody that has compassion to work with those in need and understand the struggles that are going on out there," Soderholm explained.

Soderholm added his agency's longtime staff is nearing retirement age, which should create pressure and opportunities for others to advance their careers. Similar workforce challenges are reported by other offices around the country.

According to the U.S. Department of Energy, such programs have led to nearly 275 jobs created or retained in North Dakota since 2015.

A new report showed Connecticut's post-pandemic job growth lags behind the rest of the nation.

The State of Working Connecticut report found personal income, gross domestic product and job growth are all falling behind the U.S. averages. Though low-wage workers saw significant wage growth to help with their cost of living, post-pandemic inflation has eroded the gains.

Patrick O'Brien, research and policy director at Connecticut Voices for Children and the report's author, said one reason for the state's slow job growth is its overall unaffordability.

"You need to make the state more affordable for families to stay here and grow here and for also some families to move here," O'Brien urged. "You could think about, you know, addressing affordable housing, affordable child care, a child tax credit. Those types of things that make it more affordable for families to live in the state."

Slower economic growth can also be attributed to the lagging recovery of public-sector jobs, which plummeted around the start of the pandemic. But nationwide, such jobs returned to pre-pandemic levels around mid-2022. Connecticut is close to the national average but has not reached pre-pandemic levels. The report showed building up the public-sector workforce could also significantly reduce wage inequality.

The report recommended ending the subminimum wage, limiting noncompete agreements and improving early childhood education to bolster Connecticut's economy. Bringing the changes to fruition will not be easy. O'Brien noted budget controls could prevent such policies from being enacted.

"With the fiscal controls and our tight budget, it's hard to get funding to increase individual programs," O'Brien pointed out. "Because there's a spending cap, that money tends to have to come from somewhere else."

He added the state has tried to reduce government spending by not filling public-sector jobs. But it can negatively affect the state budget, because it slows personal income growth and income tax collection. O'Brien thinks if nothing is done, Connecticut will remain on the same trajectory of repressed economic growth.