Please mark your calendars. The next meeting of the Education to Employment Committee will be:

Participating members:
Ernest Owens, vice chair
Ginny Karbowski
Sandra Peterson

Other participants:
Joyce Haskins, executive sponsor, CFL
Dan Smith, committee staff

1. The meeting was called to order by Ernest Owens, vice chair, shortly after 9:00 a.m.

2. Following motion by Karbowski and second by Peterson, minutes of the October 29, 1999 meeting were accepted as distributed.

3. Mini-Cabinet Update
   Dan provided an update of recent action by the Mini-Cabinet on Workforce Development, with particular emphasis on his recent presentations to the Mini-Cabinet Deputies regarding youth programs operated by CFL. Members of the Education to Employment Committee continue to express confusion regarding the relationship between the Governor's Workforce Development Council and the Mini-Cabinet. Members also asked that copies of the reports to the Mini-Cabinet be made available for their consideration.

4. GWDC Tasks and Committee Responsibilities
   Dan distributed copies of M.S. 268.665 outlining the creation and responsibilities of the Governor's Workforce Development Council. It was noted that discussion at the semimonthly meetings of the staff to the GWDC standing committees suggests that many of the coordination or review activities of the Council will occur at the committee level. Members were asked to review the statute before the next committee meeting and identify those activities that would best fit under the charge of the Education to Employment committee.

   Discussion continued to seek clarification of the role of the Council. Is it advisory, and, if so, to whom? What level of program oversight occurs and under what authority? If there truly is review and oversight responsibility for all of the state and federal programs listed in the statute, each Council member needs a binder with summaries of those acts. Committee members ask that the Executive Committee of the GWDC give consideration to these questions and provide appropriate guidance.

5. Action Steps
   The "Findings and Recommendations of the Legislative Roundtable on Vocational Technical Education (1998)" and the recent Citizens League study, "From Jobs for Workers to Workers for Jobs" were discussed. It was suggested that the reports were process, rather than progress reports that need clarification of the underlying research. Questions such as why do people want to work, why don't people train themselves, and if the needs in certain sectors are so strong why don't more people change careers need to be studied. The state's workforce development strategy needs to recognize intrinsic and extrinsic motivators toward employment choice and the role of education and other systems in helping individuals move to high wage occupations. Discussion will take place with the chair of the Education to Employment committee to see how focus group or other research methodology can be used encourage rancorous debate and to address some of the broader questions. The Committee also encourages the full Council to focus on strategic issues, acting as a "think tank," and leaving short-term issues to the supporting agencies and staff.

6. Next meeting/Regular Meeting Schedule
   The next meeting of the Education to Employment Committee was set for:

   Friday, January 28, 2000
   9:00 - 11:00 a.m.
   Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning
   1500 Highway 36 West (near Snelling Avenue)
   Roseville

   It is hoped that a regular meeting time can be established, with most present opting for Friday mornings as the best time. Dan will send a calendar with the minutes seeking response from the members about their availability on a regularly scheduled basis. Dan will also meet with the chair and vice chair before the next meeting to clarify committee direction and establish the agenda.