“It is time to begin investing again in our young people. We must help them gain the skills that lead to decent jobs with livable wages and opportunities for advancement,”stated Catania.

The creation of the Office of Vocational Education and Skills Training (VEST) is the beginning of our reinvestment in the youth and disadvantaged adult workers in the District. Presently, only limited training options are offered by the Workforce Development Institute at the University of the District of Columbia. In 1997, UDC became responsible for adult apprenticeship programs in the District, and in 2000 took over responsibility for vocational education from the DC Public School system. The money available for apprenticeship and vocational education is currently spread throughout the District government at agencies such as the Department of Employment Services, the District of Columbia Public Schools, the Department of Humans Services, and others. The purpose of VEST is to match the available resources with a central, responsible agency and to produce a coordinated plan to better meet the mission of skills improvement. VEST will enable the District to offer additional programs including: ambulance attendant, emergency medical technicians, arson and bomb investigators, barber-scientists, boiler operators, brick masons, cement finishers, carpenters, cosmetologists, commercial drivers, drywall contractors, electrical wirer, hazardous waste material handler, heating and air conditioning repair, historical preservationist, machine repairperson, plumbers, roofers, sheet metal workers, sprinkler workers, and stationary engineers.

Under the ”Unemployment Compensation Alternative Base Period Amendment Act of 2002”, the District will join a handful of states that recognize the need to assist temporary and seasonal workers. Especially in the aftermath of September 11, hospitality and others in the tourism industry lost their jobs but did not qualify for unemployment compensation. Under existing law, unemployment compensation eligibility is based on the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters. The act would allow the last four completed calendar quarters to be used instead. The Director of the Department of Employment Services would be required to establish rules for obtaining the wage information for the most recent completed calendar quarter if the information is not readily available under current procedures. Claimants for alternative base period eligibility would be notified by DOES, and the rules would need to be published no later than 180 days from the effective date of the act.

In an effort to provide District youth and disadvantaged adults with needed skills for fulfilling careers, VEST will also expand the University of the District of Columbia’s vocational education programs to include: ambulance attendant, emergency medical technicians, arson and bomb investigators, barber-scientists, boiler operators, brick masons, cement finishers, carpenters, cosmetologists, commercial drivers, drywall contractors, electrical wirer, hazardous waste material handler, heating and air conditioning repair, historical preservationist, machine repairperson, plumbers, roofers, sheet metal workers, sprinkler workers, and stationary engineers.

Councilmember Catania brought these initiatives to the Council as part of an overall push to provide District residents with greater employment opportunities.