High Road Network Annual Meeting

The first annual meeting of the High Road Network was held in San Diego, California on June 28 in conjunction with the California Labor Federation’s Building Workforce Partnerships Conference.  Members of the Network who attended the meeting worked through a packed agenda, as well as participating in the full conference that ran through June 30.

In a broad-ranging discussion, the members of the Network adopted an agenda for the coming year.  This High Road Agenda includes the following planks:

• Promote WIB use of comprehensive high road community audits to shape regional workforce strategies

• Advocate for the adoption of higher, more realistic self-sufficiency standards, and their use in ways that move WIA training and placement activities toward achieving family-sustaining wages

• Promote subsidy accountability and job quality standards at the WIB level to prevent the use of public funds to subsidize low-wage jobs

• Advocate for appropriate policies and practices that promote access to training and placement services for limited English proficient workers

• Advocate for services for returning military veterans to high wage family-sustaining jobs

• Promote the alignment of the area school systems with the workforce preparation needs of the regional economy

• Advocate for an adequate investment in incumbent worker training and career ladders for incumbent workers

Materials on all of the strategic agenda items can be found by clicking on the Strategic Agenda link on the left hand menu or on the specific policy planks above.  Please watch this site as we will be adding  materials on these policies and how WIB members can advocate for their adoption

Leadership selected

Network members also elected leadership for the coming year.  The new interim steering committee will serve as the governing body for the Network through the next annual meeting.   Congratulations to the new officers of the Network.

Policies adopted

The Network also adopted three policy resolutions on issues of importance to the public workforce system.  These policy resolutions, along with background information on each issue can be found by clicking on the links below:

Policy Resolution: Career Advancement Accounts

Policy Resolution: A Key Role for Local Workforce Boards

Operating Procedures

Network members also considered a set of operating procedures for the Network.  The attendees voted to recommend these procedures to the full membership of the network.  Formal adoption will take place in an election on this website in the fall.  Watch here for a new password-protected section of the website to be used for voting purposes for the operating procedures and future Network elections.

Read Minutes of First Annual Meeting