Project 1: The “county/city partnership that funds the department of job training” project

Elevator pitch: When Eric was just a sophomore in high school, his mom should have been able to scan city hall’s website to find links to vocational and higher ed programs that might have been useful for her son. She should have been able to see a clearly defined menu item called “Department of Job Training” right next to the Departments of Police, Fire and Parks. It should not be buried deep in the bowels of the website. It’s a vital, stand-alone department (or should be) and deserves to be treated as such.

Why is this so important? After all, local job trainings are often funded in part by colleges, universities, county entities, foundations, business ventures and nonprofit organizations. In smaller areas, college centers are the hub for all job training. This proposed department doesn’t put job training in place, but can, at the very least, regularly evaluate the job training needs of its constituents, determine if they are adequate and regularly research innovations. This Department of Job Training director’s job will look very different depending on the town — it may just take a part-time city manager a few hours per year in the smallest of hamlets. But it’s important work and it needs to be done by someone who reports to an individual who regularly stands for election.

Potential partners: mayors, city councilors, county commissioners, workforce specialists, higher ed, public education and socially-engaged businesses