 National Association of Counties * Washington, D.C. Vol. 33, No. 11 * June 4, 2001 Previous story | Table of Contents | Next story Transportation critical for rural workforce By Neil Bomberg
These and many other questions were the topic of conversation at a workshop at the Western Interstate Region (WIR) Conference entitled, Workforce Development in Rural Areas: the View from Eastern Oregon and the Big Island of Hawaii. “It is not easy to address the problems of rural workforce development,” said Lori Sasaki, a deputy director of the Hawaii County Training and Employment System. “One of the most serious problems we face on the Big Island of Hawaii is transportation,” added Sasaki. “Unless we can get people from where they live to where the jobs are, there is not much we can do to address the problems of unemployment on the Big Island,” she said. Noting that Hawaii has long been dependent on agriculture for its economic base, Sasaki told the audience that many new types of industries are developing on the Big Island. The eucalyptus tree industry is growing rapidly. Incubator businesses are cropping up all over the island. The natural energy lab on the west side of the island is addressing biotechnology issues. And the tourism and health care industries are rapidly expanding. “But none of these can develop adequately until we can move people around the Big Island from home to job,” said Sasaki. And that is not an easy task on the Big Island. The road system is very limited and the mountainous terrain contributes additional problems. “Some people commute more than two hours a day from one side of the island to the other. Fortunately, we have a fairly decent county bus system. But the county bus system cannot address everyone’s needs.” It is the same in eastern Oregon. Chris Latimer, deputy program director for the Oregon Consortium, noted in her remarks, “Our workforce development area covers 83,000 square miles. Our area is very diverse economically and very diverse populationwise. What works in one part of our workforce investment area may not work in another.” Latimer, along with Bob Whittaker, president of the Oregon Consortium, and Bill Demestihas, director of the Oregon Consortium, pointed out that the only way to address the economic problems of eastern Oregon is to develop a diverse economic base and a workforce with diverse skills. But how do you do this when the basic economy is eroding? According to the leadership of the Oregon Consortium, you do it by organizing your local communities around economic development activities. “In rural areas you have to organize the entire community and develop a communitywide vision. We can’t rely on the state or federal governments. We have to do it ourselves. Once you develop a vision you can move forward with economic development, job creation and workforce development,” said Demestihas. This is neither an easy nor a fast process. Various interests have to be addressed and every effort must be made to involve business and industry every step of the way. Union County (Ore.) Commissioner John Howard, who also serves as chair of the board of elected officials for the Oregon Consortium, noted that just as implementing an effective economic plan takes time and buy-in from a wide range of community groups, so too does implementation of the Workforce Investment Act. “When we think of the Workforce Investment Act, our minds usually jump to urban areas filled with poor people, who are in need of training to meet the needs of existing employers. The problems are the same in rural areas. Except in rural areas, we don’t always have the employers who need the employees. In rural areas we have to do both. We have to develop the jobs and develop the workforce,” said Howard. While everyone agreed there is no single magic bullet or strategy that will work across all areas, they did agree that workforce development in rural areas requires community involvement and that whatever solutions are arrived at, business and industry must always be in the lead. |
