June 17,2008

Keynote (8:30 - 10:00)

The Global Economy and Implications for the Workforce Development Professional

Anirban Basu, Sage Policy Group, Inc.

In the kick-off keynote presentation for RTB ’08, Anirban Basu, renowned economist and founder, Chairman & CEO of Sage Policy Group Inc., takes us on a journey that looks at the transformation of the global economy and what this means for workforce development, middle class economics, immigration and other major issues of the day. Specifically, the evolution of the global economy has created newfound opportunities for America's capitalist class, but also significant challenges for those endeavoring to retain middle class status or emerge from low-income status. As workforce development professionals, we serve as a critical countervailing force in the effort to
sustain America's broadly shared prosperity.

Learn about just how substantial the challenges have become, the central and growing importance of our roles as workforce development professionals in economic and social development, and why the practices of the past may routinely prove insufficient in the new world in which we find ourselves.

Speaker Bio

GENERAL SESSION CONVERSATION PANEL

The keynote presentation will paint a picture of the new Global
Economy, with its challenges and opportunities. Now, how do we respond? What are the implications for federal and state workforce development policies? How should services be designed and delivered? What changes are happening in higher education to help address the “pipeline” issue? How is the private sector changing the way it does business to ensure it has a competitive workforce? How can we better develop and connect the resources needed? In this interactive “fishbowl” conversation among key public and private decision-makers, you’ll have the opportunity to not only hear their perspectives and insights, but also to have your questions addressed.

Moderator:
Dick Story, CEO, Howard County Economic Development Authority

Panel Members:
Eric Seleznow, Executive Director, Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (GWIB)
Karen Sitnick, President,
Workforce Investment Network for Maryland (WIN)
The Honorable John Sarbanes, United States Congress (Invited)
Jesse Stewart, Vice President of Human Resources, Gaylord Hotels
Dr. Carolane Williams, President, Baltimore City Community College

Workshops Session I (1:45 – 3:00)

Over the Rainbow: Helping Youth Develop a Vision of Living Life with Purpose

Robert Pruitt, Owner/Leadership Facilitator, RobertPruitt.Com

Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, many jobseekers, especially youth customers, will experience moments of despair due to their lack of education, under-developed workforce skills or loss of a job. This interactive session will improve your ability to help Youth clients to develop a vision statement which will serve as the foundation for more effective thoughts and behaviors. You will learn to guide your clients down their yellow brick road to a place of hope and optimism. By creating a picture of what tomorrow can look like and living life with purpose, you will transform how youth participate in the game of life.

Participants in this high-energy session will define and discuss vision, legacy, commitment, cooperation and authority; develop a personal vision statement; and complete a vision statement journal activity.

Understanding the Federal Job Application System

Manuela Perez, LVER/Transition Assistance Program Manager, DLLR
Stacey Lambert, Business Services Representative, Susquehanna Workforce Network

Did you know the Federal Government has thousands of open positions? The federal application system is both daunting and very time consuming, but avoiding this wide arena of available jobs would be a disservice to your job seekers. This workshop focuses on the key information required to understand the process, enabling you to better guide and counsel your job seekers.

Distinguish the characteristics of federal applications versus private industry applications and learn to unravel job announcement requirements. Hear about the Federal Classification System as it defines job series requirements, providing the resources necessary to assist job seekers in efficiently using the tools available for their job search.

Review various application formats used by different federal agencies.  Learn to navigate through the Office of Personnel Management web page. By identifying key words and competencies, as well as the skills, knowledge and abilities (also known as KSA’s), you will be able to recognize and target information required to assist your customers in successfully competing for federal positions.

Customer Service Training Tools for Serving People with Disabilities

Marian Vessels, Director, DBTAC: Mid-Atlantic ADA Center

Would you like to improve your customer service to individuals with disabilities?       

Could your staff use a refresher course in basic disability etiquette and appropriate language?

People with disabilities are using workforce systems more and more in their quests for employment, yet many workforce development professionals are unsure of how to appropriately interact with them. 

One of the challenges of the 21st century workforce is increasing the employment levels of people with disabilities and helping employers tap into this qualified and skilled workforce. 

In a very comfortable and clear way, this workshop will highlight three trainings you can use to learn and teach the appropriate customer service when interacting with customers with disabilities. You will leave with training tools, resources, and activities you can use to train your staff, employers and others, to provide respectful service to individuals with disabilities, as well as help them feel welcome and empowered to work toward employment. 

The tips and techniques presented will help One-Stop and other workforce development staffs to better serve people with disabilities and help them get into the workforce. This, in turn, will benefit businesses and employers as they will be able to select employees from a wider pool of qualified applicants.
                            

Win-Win-Win: Marketing for Customers with Criminal Records

Grace Fendlay, OWDS, Manager of Special Programs, Baltimore County Workforce Development System
Venita Bocage, OWDS, Instructor/Re-entry Transition Specialist, Baltimore County Workforce Development System

Presentation (pps, 940 KB)

Any hire comes with some risk. However, taking calculated risks is how business is done. Workforce professionals, who are working with business customers, as well as those working with job seekers, will learn how to market former offenders to employers with a Win-Win-Win approach. Assisting those with criminal records to rejoin the workforce is a win for the individual, a win for the labor market, and a win for the community by reducing recidivism, managing labor shortages and creating safe, strong communities.

Learn about employer incentives, how to limit perceived risk, and how to respond to objections in hiring ex-offenders. Find out about best practices for increasing employment for persons with criminal records.  Hear first-hand from employers, who hire former offenders, about their experiences in hiring and retaining employees with criminal backgrounds.

BRAC 101: The Impact of Base Realignment and Closure on the State, the Region, and Workforce Development

Colonel Kent Menser, USA (Ret)
Executive Director of the Howard County Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Office and Deputy Coordinator of the Fort Meade Regional Growth Management Committee

Presentation (pps, 4.83 MB)

Are you and your organization prepared for the impacts and opportunities that BRAC will bring to your locality? According to the Maryland Department of Planning’s 2006 BRAC Report, over 28,000 households and 40,000 jobs are expected to locate to Maryland between now and 2015, as the result of the 2005 BRAC legislation. This growth will be concentrated on five military installations/regions within our state: Aberdeen Proving Ground, Andrews Air Force Base, Bethesda Naval Medical Center, Fort Detrick and Fort Meade.

If you’ve heard the buzz, but don’t know what it all may mean to you or your local area, attend this primer on Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). Learn who is coming, why they are coming and where they are going. Gain an understanding of what is being done across the state to prepare for this growth and how you and your organization can fit into the BRAC Team.

Getting What You Want: Setting and Maintaining Boundaries with Others

Mark Sachs, Principal/Organization Consultant/Executive Coach, Mark Sachs & Associates

When managing staff or just interacting with coworkers, one of the most difficult things for many of us is to tell others what we need from them, and then sticking with those decisions. Effective boundary-setting can increase productivity, teamwork, morale and the bottom line. When people effectively set and maintain boundaries in a work setting, fewer deadlines are missed, important work gets done, communication is more open, staff are more direct with each other, morale increases, and there is less stress and turnover. Doing so also has tremendous benefits for individuals in their personal lives.

Learn specific techniques and support to help you set and keep boundaries that can make your work easier and provide for more effective relationships. 

The Devil’s in the Details: DHR & DLLR Performance Measures

John Huegelmeyer, Bureau Chief, Maryland Department of Human Resources
Carolyn Mitchell, Director, Office of Workforce Information and Performance, DLLR

Presentation (pps, 456 KB)

All program managers must wrestle with performance measures to maintain optimum funding to continue serving their customers. DHR, Work Program,WIA and DLLR managers have been tasked by their respective departmental secretaries to join in partnership to build a better workforce for Maryland. For partnerships to succeed, each partner needs to know the rules and performance measures, in some detail, so that shared success will benefit one and all.

Be treated to a lively, but technical, explanation of how work-eligible TANF customers are countable for the purposes of work participation rate and how WIA/Job Service customers count toward WIA Common Measures. Compare and contrast TANF and Family Investment Program Performance Measures and WIA Common Measures. Learn where the common ground lies for all programs to serve the same customers and meet their respective goals.

Community Connections: Strategies for Building Relationships with Employers, Service providers, Schools and Other Local Organizations

Maggie Leedy, Lead Disability Program Navigator, Montgomery Works
Jackie Gast, Director, Eastern Shore Business Leadership Network
Sheila Cuomo, Disability Program Navigator, Montgomery Works

With the advances in technology, the way businesses recruit has changed drastically. By developing and maintaining relationships with local employers you will be able to facilitate important connections for candidates who have barriers to employment.

This session will link you to the current technological strategies and focus on the importance of maintaining personal relationships with employers, service providers, schools and other area organizations.

Discussions will include the economics of hiring, employer research, networking, job posting resources, job description refining, and the “do’s and don’ts” of customer service from a business point of view. 

Leave with innovative strategies to share with both your business and job seeker customers.

PROMISING PRACTICES

BACH, A Blueprint for Success: Building a Skilled Healthcare Workforce

Dr. Ronald Hearn, Executive Director, Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare
Joanne Eich, Director of Nursing Education and Staff Development, Good Samaritan Hospital
Susan Tagliaferro, Business Liaison, Mayor’s Office of Employment Development

Presentation (pps, 1.73 MB)

There is a clear and significant mismatch between the healthcare workforce labor demands and the current pipeline of workers. This shortage negatively impacts the quality of patient care and serves as an economic disincentive.

Learn how the innovative strategies of the Baltimore Alliance for Careers in Healthcare (BACH) are addressing these significant workforce challenges by partnering with area hospitals, community colleges, Workforce Investment Boards, and local and national foundations. In addition to addressing the industry’s critical workforce shortages, you will hear how Career Coaching, Career Mapping, “1st Span” accelerated nurse extender program and the Pre-Allied Health Bridge program are improving worker retention and advancing front-line workers into skilled Hearth Care jobs.

Learn how to implement these successful strategies of business and workforce development collaboration to assist the healthcare and other industry sectors in your own jurisdiction.

Round Table: Economic Development

Workshops Session II (3:15 – 4:30)

Engaging Youth Through Decision-Making and Active Learning

Beth Lengel, M.Ed./CDFI/CWDP, Director of Services, Lengel Vocational Services

Presentation (pdf, 354 KB)

Engaging young people in meaningful activities that will impact their future is not easy. In fact, one of the most difficult challenges for youth workers is figuring out how to keep youth actively engaged so they can successfully complete a program. This workshop focuses on decision-making as a powerful key, and introduces a variety of activities that can be used to help keep youth engaged and on the road to success.

Be inspired to face the challenges of attracting and retaining youth in programs that can benefit them and their families by learning new ideas about youth engagement and retention.

Confidentiality, Disclosure, and Case Notes

Sheila Little, Disabilities Program Navigator, Columbia Workforce Center Workforce Services
Sheila Cuomo, Disabilities Program Navigator, Montgomery Works One-Stop

Presentation (pps, 229 KB)

Thorough documentation is a must in quality case management. But how much is too much?

In this interactive workshop, you will learn about the ethical and appropriate documentation of sensitive information in case notes, in order to respect the rights of individuals who do not wish to be identified as having a disability. Learn to differentiate between relevant information concerning the vocational needs of job seekers with disabilities versus the challenges related to specific or perceived disabilities to employment.

Topics of discussion include maintaining the confidentiality of your customers’ medical information, adherence to rules and regulations set forth by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and how to use appropriate terminology in documenting case notes. 

Business Services Strategies That Meet 21st Century Employer Needs

Linda A. Avila, Federal Project Officer, U.S. DOL/ETA
Stephen R. Gallison, Director, Professional Outplace Assistance Center (POAC)

Up-to-date marketing concepts, business service tools, and new partnering approaches are required to address the challenges of the 21st Century workforce.  Business Service Representatives, Workforce and Economic Development Professionals will learn strategies to stay ahead in the increasingly competitive market of recruiting and hiring employees.

Hear about effective business service approaches to inform and increase service delivery to Maryland employers.  Learn how to structure new ways to partner with Economic Development Professionals who are striving to attract new employers to the State.  Develop increased job listings as you expand your outreach services to meet employers’ needs and fill job openings in high demand occupations.

GROW Your Customers to Self-Sufficiency!

Frank Lengel, Ph.D./CWDP, Program Manager, Lengel Vocational Services

Presentation (pdf, 134 KB)

In today’s environment, case managers have large caseloads and limited time to spend with their customers. This workshop delivers a tool that will enable you to do more in less time and also to get greater results from your efforts with respect to the progress your customers will make.

Self-sufficiency is not just an economic standard.  It is actually a way of thinking and a style of living. This powerful session explores a new way for case managers to facilitate sessions with their customers.  Learn how to quickly get all the information you need using a structured roadmap for interviewing customers. Hear how to ask powerful questions that raise the customer’s awareness while enhancing personal responsibility, which in turn, fosters new thinking that promotes self-sufficiency as it leads the customer on a journey to success! This session addresses two important issues for the case manager. First, there is the topic of time. By having a structured approach to interviewing customers, case managers can actually gather more information in less time and have more time for important tasks like case review and documentation. It also helps to raise awareness in customers of their current reality and the options they have for change, as well as create a new vision for success.   

Demand-Driven, Supply-Focused: The 21st Century Economy

Eric M. Seleznow, Executive Director, Governor’s Workforce Investment Board (GWIB)
Rafael Cuebas, Industry Coordinator for Aerospace, Manufacturing, Transportation, and Warehousing Initiatives, GWIB
Sallie Hayes Sarelas, Industry Coordinator for Healthcare, Education, Information Technology, and Construction Industry Initiatives, GWIB
Bernard Reynolds, Industry Coordinator for Hospitality and Tourism, Retail, and Bioscience Industry Initiatives, GWIB

Fast-paced and interactive, this panel discussion will provide an insightful look at workforce trends in Maryland’s high demand industries. You will learn what Maryland’s industry leaders are saying about the 21st century workforce demand and the supply pipelines. Explore opportunities for engagement with high-demand industry employers and develop strategies to promote services to industries on a local level.

Learn about one of the critical workforce challenges: the disconnect between the kinds of skills employers are looking for and the kinds of training/skills educational institutions are promoting.

Building Constructive Relationships

Ann Merrifield, CWDP:BES, General Manager, Kaiser Group/Dynamic Works Institute

Presentation (pps, 439 KB)

Today, most businesses and organizations rely on teams of employees to work together on projects. With all the challenges of the 21st century workplace, productive team relationships will be absolutely essential.  Employee motivation and morale improves dramatically when people feel valued and when their contributions make a difference.  Learn about ways to develop constructive relationships in order for teams to be successful, work collaboratively and solve problems effectively.

Preparing for an Audit Can Be Fun

David Saunders, Vice President, Arbor Education and Training

Presentation (pdf, 433 KB)

Really!! How can you not have a good time with topics such as:  Fun with Flow Charts, Desire for Document Control, Scintillating SOPs, Dancing through Design Review, Coping with Competence, and Grooving with Graphs? 

All workforce programs are audited. In many cases there is great waste and needless stress on staff because audit preparation efforts are misplaced. In addition, Workforce Development programs are being required to “do more with less,” which means constant and continual improvement. 

Arbor, the nation’s largest private-for-profit provider of workforce development services, has to face audits from a variety of funding sources. The Arbor approach is to align audit preparation with an ongoing quality management process. See a demonstration of the Arbor method for assuring auditors that programs are “operating under controlled conditions,” rather than the “random walk,” where things change but don’t get any better. 

Learn practical tools for program management by “getting out in front of the audit process” to assure agreement and understanding of audit guides, rules, and regulations. Moreover, you will be able to evaluate your own organization’s ability to stand for an audit, establish a work inspection process to prevent negative audit findings, and learn to use basic program management tools such as flow charts, standard operating procedures, document control, and competency testing.

Take a New Look at CareerOneStop

Beatrice Brown Turner, Workforce Development Manager, U.S. DOL/ETA
Allison Watts, America’s Service Locator Project Manager, U.S. DOL/ETA

Presentation (pps, 5.27 MB)

With today’s ever-growing budget cuts, most workforce professionals are being asked to do more with less. CareerOneStop provides innovative, easy-to-use, no-fee, electronic tools to help job seekers plan for and find good jobs. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, CareerOneStop offers tools such as the certification finder, competency model, and occupational profiles that can propel careers to the next level. Workforce professionals can track relevant information such as wage, outlook, training and local services – in real time – in one suite of web products.

Learning about interactive career tools, career videos, labor market information, maps to local services, and many other career development web-based resources can help you to bring your job seekers and employers together through careers, not just jobs.

PROMISING PRACTICES

Camping, Cash and Careers – Summer, S’mores & S.T.E.M. – Seriously!

Rebecca Horch, Youth Services Specialist, Frederick County Workforce Services
Charlene Gomez, School to Careers Facilitator, Frederick County Workforce Services
Brooke Sims, Youth Services Specialist, Frederick County Workforce Services

Learn how collaboration yields innovative results for youth with two exciting new programs underway this summer. Youth, workforce development, and business service professionals will hear how to develop a unique hands-on vocational summer “Career Camp” for middle school students by partnering with businesses and local resources. 
In addition, attendees will learn about a new internship program geared towards the high-demand, high-growth Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (S.T.E.M.) career fields.

Learn about these Promising Practices that are achieving results and engaging the youth customer, and take away some great ideas to utilize in planning your organization’s Youth Program.

Round Table: WIA & TANF Performance Measures Working Together

SPONSORED BY : 

THE WORKFORCE INVESTMENT NETWORK FOR MARYLAND
THE MARYLAND INSTITUTE FOR WORKFORCE EXCELLENCE
THE MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF LABOR, LICENSING AND REGULATION