As the District continues to struggle with high unemployment, DC Appleseed is focusing on broad efforts that will help residents find jobs. Two of our most important efforts concern: 1) the establishment of an independent D.C. community college; and 2) the establishment of a new, full-time entity to work with the business community to ensure District residents are trained to compete for new jobs as they become available. I have just been appointed by the D.C. Council to the advisory boards that will help these two efforts get underway.
On the community college front, Brookings senior fellow and DC Appleseed Advisory Council member Alice Rivlin and I have recently been appointed by the Mayor and the D.C. Council to a five-person Advisory Board that will help develop the transition plan for an independent community college. Other members of this board are Federal City Council CEO John Hill, former executive director of the Thurgood Marshall Academy Public Charter School Joshua Kern, and managing director of Israel Manor Inc. Carrie Thornhill. A strong, independent D.C. community college will help high school graduates develop the skills they need to find jobs in the region's high-skilled labor market. This Advisory Board will work with the University of the District of Columbia and its community college to make recommendations directly to the Mayor and the Council.
I have also been appointed to the task force that will make recommendations to the Council on how to establish a "workforce intermediary." This intermediary will serve a function not adequately addressed in the city -- it will anticipate when new jobs are coming, broker the necessary training, and identify candidates for those jobs. Other members of this task force represent the business, philanthropic, and workforce development communities, as well as D.C. government. DC Appleseed has long advocated for the District to create an intermediary so that jobs in the city are more likely to be filled by city residents trained to take them.
DC Appleseed believes that the work of these advisory panels will strengthen the District's efforts to help residents find jobs so that they can provide economic security for their families.
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Sincerely,
Walter Smith
The DC Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Inc.
