Workforce board receives orders

The Senate president says she wants 3,000 Floridians trained for higher-paying jobs by March 1.

By SHELBY OPPEL

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2000

TALLAHASSEE -- In a town that seems to have a task force or commission for every man, woman and child, Senate President Toni Jennings wants her new group to stand out.

So at its first meeting Tuesday, the 40-member board of directors of Workforce Florida Inc. got more than organized. They got homework.

By March 1, Jennings wants the non-profit board of business executives and public officials to produce 3,000 better-trained Floridians ready for higher-paying jobs. Specifically, Jennings wants:

1,000 new information technology professionals.

1,000 former welfare recipients in jobs that will keep them off public assistance.

1,000 after-school job opportunities for teenagers, with paychecks not subsidized by taxpayers.

"You've got six months," said Jennings, an Orlando Republican and the board's chairwoman.

Lawmakers created Workforce Florida Inc. this spring to streamline the state's efforts to build a strong work force. It will take over the duties of the state's old welfare reform agency, known as WAGES, and at the same time will oversee worker training and job placement.

That wide-ranging mission gives the board influence over 1-billion in state and federal dollars, including a $600-million trust fund for unemployment compensation. The board will have more direct control over the remaining $400-million, said Curtis Austin, who as president of Workforce Florida Inc. will carry out the board's decisions.

The board is heavy with business people, and its "public-private" label is part of an increasing trend in Florida government to seek private-sector solutions to public concerns. It is similar to Enterprise Florida, an economic development group, and Visit Florida Inc., which oversees tourism.

Jennings on Tuesday divided the large board into three councils with separate missions: to help young people move into the workplace, to help entry-level workers advance into higher-paying jobs, and to train the sophisticated workers needed to attract high-wage industries.

Jennings named Catherine Martin of St. Petersburg to lead the council aimed at young people and others who have never held jobs. Martin is the vice president of human resources for Eckerd Youth Alternatives, a private, not-for-profit agency that serves troubled children and their families.

Martin is among nine board members from the Tampa Bay area, including Pinellas County Commissioner Sallie Parks and Jim Apthorp, a Tampa developer.

"I think it's doable," Martin said of Jennings' challenge. "I'm up for it."

- Shelby Oppel can be reached at (850) 224-7263 or oppel@sptimes.com.

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