Gov. Gregoire announces winners of 2010 Best Practices Awards

For Immediate Release: December 1, 2010

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today announced the winners of the 2010 Workforce and Economic Development Best Practices Awards, which recognize programs and projects that create additional jobs and economic activity throughout the state while at the same time helping Washington workers get the training they need to land a job and earn a living-wage.

The two projects have created more than 100 jobs, while training an additional 115 job seekers. Both projects were recognized for their ability to form broad partnerships and train workers for the clean-energy economy, making Washington more competitive globally through actions that improve the environment at home.

�These two exceptional projects demonstrate the potential Washington has in being a world leader in developing expertise and skilled workers in the clean energy economy,� Gregoire said. �I applaud the innovation of these two programs � knowing the training these programs provide not only help the individuals receiving it, but our environment as well.�

Gregoire also noted that many of the jobs generated by both programs are in-demand and provide living wages, helping ensure that those who train for a job are able to go to work right away and earn a living wage.

This year�s Best Practice Awards recognize projects that effectively combine education and training to create a skilled workforce, while also generating jobs, improving business performance and enhancing the region�s economy. Winners are:

The Walla Walla Community College Water & Environmental Center is an unprecedented collaboration under one roof of the Walla Walla Watershed Management Partnership, Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, Washington State Department of Ecology, the Sustainable Living Center as well as Walla Walla Community College professional education and environmental management staff.. The Center has made it possible to expand regional education programs in the field of water resources and management, helping train workers in Irrigation Technology, Water Resources Technology and Watershed Ecology. The Center is also a research and development facility, expected to generate new projects and applications toward resolution of critical water resource issues,

�The need to use water resources wisely and fairly is a universal need on our planet. The Water and Environmental Center has taken an issue that has for years divided economic interests in Eastern Washington and brought them together to explore innovations in technology and diplomacy that can convert this conflict into solutions that could be applied globally. The center�s education certification programs ensure that our residents will be well equipped to apply these innovations,� Gregoire said.

The King County Jobs Initiative has been a successful training program for over 12 years, helping low-income people become certified in toxic and hazardous clean up work to restore environmentally contaminated land. The Initiative went a step further in 2007, when it began to work with one of Washington�s hardest to serve populations: people with criminal records. This population is among the hardest to serve, as employers are often reluctant to hire those with a prior conviction. At the same time, many ex-offenders have low education levels and limited work experience.

In 2009, of 115 program participants, 62 were placed in permanent jobs with 48 still working the job one year later. Average starting wages were just over $20 an hour. Currently, 90 percent of the program�s participants have a prior conviction.

�Because of the King County Jobs Initiative, businesses are able to perform essential clean up work with hard-to-find, trained workers and past offenders are given a second chance by getting the training and opportunity to work in well-paid and environmentally critical jobs,� Gregoire said.

The Best Practices Awards are organized by the state�s Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board and Department of Commerce. The Department of Commerce is the lead agency charged with enhancing and promoting economic vitality in Washington. The Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board is a partnership of business, labor and government, dedicated to helping Washington state residents obtain and succeed in family-wage jobs.