The SEAL Award honors a state for a workforce related
program, project or initiative, which addresses an issue or
challenge and results in significant improvement of service
or performance. The SEAL award was created in 2008;
Pennsylvania is the second recipient of the SEAL Award.
When Governor Edward G. Rendell took office in 2003,
he was faced with many challenges – global competition,
an aging workforce, ever-changing technology and a skilled
labor shortage. To address these issues, the Governor
made it a priority to reinvent the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania's workforce development system into one
that was industry-led and demand-driven.
In the spring of 2005, the State's first-ever workforce
development performance management benchmark
report was released. The report outlined four goals to
better align the State's workforce development system.
One of these goals was to prepare youth for the careers
of tomorrow.
It became apparent that, in order to develop the
workforce necessary for Pennsylvania's businesses
to succeed, Pennsylvania's leaders, students, parents,
educators and employers would need to take an active
role in targeting the Commonwealth's resources and
partnering to connect youth with the high-growth jobs
available in Pennsylvania.
In response to the report, Governor Rendell created
Pennsylvania's Regional Career Education Partnerships
for Youth (RCEPs) in 2006.
Pennsylvania's RCEPs serve as youth intermediary
organizations to support and extend other career
preparation strategies, giving young people better
opportunities to gain the knowledge and skills critical
for success in college and careers, as well as address the
challenge of engaging disconnected youth.
Four strategic functions describe the roles and actions
undertaken by an RCEP as it builds and supports a system
and makes and manages community connections for youth.
A functional description, rather than a task or activities list,
allows local RCEPs to develop their own plans and conduct
the operations that are responsive to local needs and take
advantage of unique opportunities. At the same time, RCEPs
from diverse communities facing different sets of challenges
and addressing different components of the system can, by
focusing on the functional aspects of the work, communicate,
share practices, and build on each other's accomplishments.
The four strategic functions of Pennsylvania's Youth
Intermediary Network of RCEPs are to:
RCEPs connect businesses, education and communities to
prepare Pennsylvania's future workforce. They involve a strong
collaboration among the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's
Departments of Labor & Industry, Education, and Public
Welfare; local school districts; employers; county assistance
offices; youth service providers and community agencies; local
workforce investment boards; local youth councils; industry
partnerships; and, in some cases, private foundations.
In addition, RCEPs play a key role in understanding each
region's high-growth industries and work with teachers,
employers, parents and students to raise awareness about
the career opportunities available within those industries.
Through these partnerships, students and teachers
across Pennsylvania are provided with real-world work
experiences that take education to a new level and
prepare Pennsylvania youth to make informed career
choices. These work-based experiences include internships;
job shadowing and mentor programs for students; and
innovative programs such as "educator in the workplace,"
designed to help teachers make learning more relevant.
Work-based learning is an important tool for RCEPs
in making connections for students and providing
them with real-world experience. Not just a good
idea in theory, work-based learning activities offer real
return on investment for employers, students and the
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Numerous studies across the country have shown that
work-based learning is an effective tool in engaging
students in the learning process, ultimately resulting
in higher graduation rates and lower dropout rates.
Pennsylvania is seeing these results first-hand through the
efforts of the 22 RCEPs.
As of July 2009, through RCEPs, more than 14,000
employers are working with teachers and counselors from
more than 365 Pennsylvania schools to provide career
awareness and relevant work-based learning opportunities
to more than 323,000 students.
As Director of Workforce Initiatives for the PA Workforce
Investment Board, Toni Strong's responsibilities include
support to the Board's Council for the Workforce of
Tomorrow which oversees Pennsylvania's Regional Career
Education Partnerships for Youth (RCEPs). Toni uses her
20+ years of experience in workforce development to
help oversee individual RCEP activities, provide technical
assistance when necessary, review progress toward state
and regional goals and ensure collaboration with local
workforce board and youth council strategies.
[Download the 2009 Salute to Leadership Awards Booklet
]
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