Baltimore Workforce Investment Board Releases Results of New Studies on City Employment & Training Programs

What:

News Conference and forum where the Baltimore Workforce Investment Board (BWIB) will release a new report, "Baltimore's Workforce System at Work," the first in-depth study on who is using the city's training programs, the programs' level of success, and how they stack up to initiatives in other comparable cities. The BWIB is the private sector-led group appointed by Mayor Martin O'Malley to oversee investment of federal workforce funds.

When:

Tuesday, June 15, 2004 from 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

Where:

Merrick Business School Auditorium, University of Baltimore
1420 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland

Who:

Speakers at the news conference and forum will include:

• Chris Thompson, Ph.D., lead author of the report and senior research associate at the Johns Hopkins University's Institute for Policy Studies
• Irving McPhail, Ph.D., chancellor of the Community College of Baltimore County
• Patrice Cromwell, co-chair of the BWIB Workforce System Effectiveness Committee and associate director of the Open Society Institute-Baltimore
• Bernard Antkowiak, assistant secretary of the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation

Why:

BWIB's original research shows that the city's training programs are successfully placing residents in jobs and have a strong return on taxpayers' investment after two years. Yet despite their success rate, these programs are severely under-funded as the federal grants used to support them continue to shrink even as the city's unemployment rate remains high. More funds are needed so that Baltimore's workforce system can expand its menu of training options and increase the number of people who can access these opportunities and improve their earning potential. The report calls on BWIB to solicit additional public and private funds to increase significantly the numbers of people trained as quickly as possible.

In addition, the event will honor Joanne Nathans, Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF) founder and president. Ms. Nathans started JOTF as an all-volunteer organization in 1996. The nonprofit now has a full-time staff and is an invaluable advocate on behalf of the Baltimore region's low-wage workers and their families. Two Baltimore foundations will announce a major gift of support for JOTF at the event.

Copies of the report's executive summary will be available at the event, which is sponsored by the Job Opportunities Task Force, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore, and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation.