|
Testimony
from Mr.
Christopher J. Brennan Dean
of Business and Workforce Development Middlesex
Community College and George
J. Moriarty, Executive Director, The
Career Place October
28, 1999 Good
morning. My name is
Christopher Brennan. I am
the Dean of Business and Workforce Development at Middlesex Community
College. Middlesex is one
of 17 community colleges in Massachusetts.
We have a campus in Lowell, a city famous for its industrial
heritage and home of the late senator and presidential candidate, Paul
Tsongas. Our other campus
is in Bedford, home of Hanscom Air Force Base. The College serves approximately 4,000 day students and 3,000
evening and weekend students for a total enrollment of 7,000 students. Middlesex
Community College has achieved an enviable distinction in the field of
workforce development. The
Division of Business and Workforce Development, which I head, provides
on-site education and training to over 100 companies in our region.
We operate on a fee-for-service approach, which means employers
pay for the services we offer. From
its partnerships with local employers such as Raytheon and Bell Atlantic
to its industry-approved programs in technical writing and health
careers, the College has trained hundreds of individuals to meet the
needs of local employers and to help fuel the continued growth of our
regional economy. Middlesex
Community College is especially proud of its role in helping veterans to
gain the education and training they need to compete for jobs.
Through our enrollment services office, we provide veterans with
maximum access to all the classes and services offered by the College.
In addition, the College certifies veterans participation in
educational activities, enabling them to receive their full share of G.I
Bill benefits. We also
implement the tuition waiver program for state colleges, which allows
veterans to pay only the fees and no tuition.
Finally, we have developed a strong partnership with the
vocational rehabilitation program, so that veterans who are eligible are
able to obtain the services and support they need to participate fully
in higher education. In
1996, the College became involved in the emerging one-stop career center
initiative. Massachusetts
took a unique approach when career centers were launched in 1996.
The State chose three regions to sponsor pilot centers that would
be selected through a competitive bid process. As a natural extension of
its role in workforce development, Middlesex Community competed for and
was awarded one of seven grants to manage a One-Stop Career Center.
Today, the State of Massachusetts is expanding from the original
model to over 30 centers, with locally controlled boards overseeing a
collaborative structure within each career center.
The
Career Place opened its doors on January 27, 1997 as one of the
pioneers of the new one-stop career center initiative.
The federal government created the career center initiative to
correct the deficiencies of a confusing and often conflicting system of
publicly financed programs, each with its own separate rules and
regulations. In
Massachusetts, workforce development assistance spanned 21 separate
programs administered by no less than four different departments.
The job training system worked badly for both the job-seeker and
the employer. Career
centers offer job-seekers and employers a streamlined approach to career
and workforce development. We
focus on customer service, state-of-the art technology, universal
access, and one point of entry. By
focusing on the needs of the customer
and by providing high quality services, career centers are able to
achieve outstanding results. I
would like to introduce my colleague, George Moriarty, who will speak
briefly about The Career Place.
Mr.
Chairman, I want to thank you and the Subcommittee on Benefits for this
opportunity to testify regarding the legislative concepts before you,
and, in particular, about Draft
Concept C, which offers potential solutions to improve employment
and training services for veterans. I
am appearing before the Subcommittee today in my capacity as the
Executive Director of The Career
Place, a one-stop career center located in Woburn, Massachusetts, a
suburb 15 miles north of Boston, in the heart of the Bay State’s high
technology region. As Dean Brennan mentioned, Middlesex Community College is the
parent organization of The Career
Place. This
relationship affords us an essential connection to local employers.
We are also fortunate that Dr. Carole Cowan, the president of
Middlesex Community College, is a leader in Massachusetts around the
convergence of education and workforce development.
Through her efforts and vision, Middlesex and The
Career Place have achieved distinction for its programs and services
to all our residents and especially veterans.
As
a one-stop career center, The
Career Place offers a broad array of workforce development services
to both employers and individuals.
For employers, The Career
Place is an important source of skilled workers.
We work with large employers such as Bell Atlantic, Lahey Clinic
and BankBoston, and with small-to-medium sized employers like Parker
Chomerics, CoreTech and Alpha Industries to recruit, screen, and match
qualified applicants to existing vacancies.
We also work with the many temporary staffing agencies to capture
opportunities that can lead to full time employment. For
individuals, The Career Place
is a comprehensive career development enterprise that
prepares people for jobs and ensures that residents are equipped
with the tools they need to compete for good-paying jobs in our local
economy. We offer
assistance with resume writing, interviewing techniques and coping with
job loss, to name a few of the workshops we offer.
We also provide training in essential computer skills, such as
Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and ACCESS. I
should take a moment to articulate the basic principles guiding the
one-stop career center model. First,
we focus on the needs of the customer.
Our goal is to meet the customers’ needs and to ensure that the
customer is satisfied with the services he or she receives.
We devote a considerable amount of time to listening to customers
and adapting our services to meet their needs. Second,
we promote universal access. Our
Center is available to anyone -
a recently laid off worker, a mid-manager seeking to make a
career change, a welfare mother entering the labor market for the first
time, or a veteran trying to share in the economic boom in the civilian
job market. Many
individuals come in with marketable skills and need only minimal help as
they pursue a self-directed approach.
Others require some guidance and assistance, especially in the
area of selecting workshops. Still
others have skill deficiencies that can only be addressed through
enrollment in a skills training program, a step The Career Place can help them make. Whatever category our customers fall into, all are
welcomed and all receive the highest quality services based on their
individual needs and aspirations. Third,
The Career Place uses state-of-the-art technology to aid companies
and individuals. We are
connected to America’s Job Bank, which provides access to jobs and
companies around the country. Individuals
who use The Career Place have
access to the Internet to conduct their job search and they can take
advantage of the bank of 24 computers in our Resource Library and in our
Training Room. Finally,
we have forged a powerful partnership with the private sector.
Over 800 companies use The
Career Place, posting over 2,600 jobs and actually coming on site to
meet job-seekers and recruit them for company openings. Because of this solid connection to employers, in the past
year alone, The Career Place
helped over 1,700 people find jobs averaging $15 an hour. As
a Viet Nam Era veteran, who served four years in the United States Navy,
I am aware of the need for high quality employment and training
services, especially for veterans.
I am also aware of our responsibility to provide veterans with
every opportunity to reenter the labor force in jobs that support a
family and provide stable, long-term career growth. I
am proud to say that The Career
Place has met the challenge of serving our veterans with great
distinction. The Career Place
has served over 1,500 veterans from the 20 communities we serve. In
fiscal year 1999, The Career Place
served 657 veterans. Of
that number, 313 obtained employment, for a placement rate of over 47%.
Through
a partnership with the Massachusetts Division of Employment and
Training, we have been fortunate to have Mr. Paul Reynolds, a Veterans
Service Representative, outstationed full-time in our Center to provide
a full range of career development assistance to veterans in our region. Mr.Reynolds
is a Viet Nam Era veteran and a former POW, who retired from the U.S.
Air Force after a 24-year career. While
in the military, Mr. Reynolds earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in
Education and is a certified teacher.
He has been a tremendous contributor to the overall success of The Career Place and has made the Veterans Program a leader in
Massachusetts. Some of
Paul’s successes include: Ø
Joe, a Vietnam veteran who was referred by Mr. Reynolds to a
computer systems training and now works as a Quality Control Manager for
Stanford Telecommunications; Ø
Jack, a Vietnam veteran who, after being laid off, learned to job
search over the Internet and now works as a machinist at Keigan
Engineering; Ø
Clifford, a Vietnam and Persian Gulf veteran who had given up on
seeking a job, but restarted his search at The Career Place and now works as a Project Manager for Vality
Technology. Dean
Brennan and I have seen the success of the partnership between our
one-stop career center and the veterans services program.
By unifying the advocacy and support provided by Mr. Reynolds
with the technology and services available at the career center, we are
ranked number one for the number of veterans served and for the number
of veterans who gain employment. Next
year with the implementation of the new Workforce Investment Act, the
role of career centers will become even more central to addressing the
workforce development needs of employers and individuals. As
we move forward, it is essential that veterans services change and adapt
to the needs of employers and individuals.
We live in a competitive, fast-paced world that demands high
quality services. We have the strongest economy in decades, and we must ensure
that veterans participate fully in this economy.
Our experiences show that high quality services delivered in the
right environment can make a big difference in the lives of all our
customers. Thank
you for this opportunity to share our story with you.
We offer an assistance to you as you proceed with your
legislative concepts. * * * Back
to Witness List |