Yesterday was CRC Project day at the Capitol

Sen. Annette Cleveland & Reps. Jim Moeller and Sharon Wylie
at the Columbia River Crossing Information Exhibit

Many lawmakers in both chambers, as well as the general public got a chance to get a better understanding of the Columbia River Crossing Project yesterday at the CRC Information Exhibit in the Columbia Room. The Columbia River Crossing Coalition organized the event and brought pictures, brochures, and CRC engineers to answer questions and provide information.

The section of I-5 just north and south of the Columbia River has major safety and congestion problems that, experts say, will only worsen unless something is done pronto. The solution put forth after ten years of considering other options is the Columbia River Crossing Project, which, according to its proponents, will reduce crashes, provide predictable travel times, add travel choices, prevent traffic backups, and benefit the economies of Oregon and Washington.

The CRC project could begin creating thousands of much needed jobs on both sides of the river as early as next year if the funding is secured. Oregon has already committed to its share ($450 million) in order for the CRC Project to get $850 million in federal dollars; if Washington doesn't do its part, those federal funds will go to other states.

Secretary of Transportation, Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood, who a year ago said that the CRC is a great project anyway you can describe it, and Federal Transit Administrator Peter M. Rogoff were also in Olympia yesterday. They met with House and Senate Transportation chairs and with Southwest Washington legislators to talk about the regional and national importance of the CRC project. The Columbian ran this story shortly after the meeting.

For more information on the CRC Project, please visit the CRC Website.

You can also get the handouts from the 49th Legislative District CRC Town Hall hosted by Reps. Jim Moeller and Sharon Wylie and Sen. Annette Cleveland on March 16 here.

Read the Columbia River Crossing "Factbook" released last week.

Read this story in Spanish.

How do we solve the workforce shortage in our state?

Two years ago, give or take a couple of weeks, we wrote about the fact that in our state there are more job openings than qualified workers to fill those vacancies. The Washington Roundtable addresses that issue in its Great Jobs Within Our Reach report released yesterday. And the Seattle Times ran this editorial calling on the Legislature to fund more seats in high-demand fields.

According to the Roundtable's news release, Washington state could see 160,000 jobs by 2017 and $720 million in new state revenue if we take the necessary steps to fill the growing skills gap.

The report found that 25,000 jobs have been unfilled in our state for three months or more due to a lack of qualified candidates and eighty percent of these jobs are in high demand fields such as health care and STEM (science, technology, engineering and math).

The report warns that the gap will grow to 50,000 jobs by 2017 unless we fix this problem, in which case, due to the multiplying effect, the scenario in 2017 would be much brighter with an additional 110,000 jobs.

The necessary steps, according to the Roundtable, to fix the problem are just five:

1. Increase computer science, engineering and healthcare capacity at colleges and universities.

2. Foster STEM interest and performance among K-12 students.

3. Improve alignment of technical degree and certificate curricula with employer demands.

4. Promote and enable in-bound migration of skilled workers from other states.

5. Support expansion of international immigration opportunities.

Following some of the Roundtable's recommendations is easier said than done, though, especially when the state is so dramatically strapped for money to satisfy the growing demands in other areas like K-12, health care and human services. How do we get there? Think you have the solution? Try this Seattle Times balancing the budget interactive tool to see how you would do it.

Read this story in Spanish.

The leading innovation hotspot of the world?

The Washington Economic Development Commission (WEDC) says Washington can accelerate job growth and become a global leader in innovation. The WEDC's report, "Driving Washington's Prosperity – A Strategy for Job Creation and Competitiveness," released last week, identifies five key drivers for ensuring job creation and competitiveness:

• Make talent a top priority
• Invest in entrepreneurship
• Connect through reliable infrastructure
• Regulate in the smartest ways
• Expand international business

The report also includes an analysis of the State's competitive strengths (research & development, patent production, technology jobs growth, venture capital investment, manufacturing and exports) and weaknesses (rate of jobs recovery, in-state production of scientists and engineers, workforce skills, household income, investment in transportation infrastructure and foreign direct investment).

Rep. Jeff Morris and Sen. Maralyn Chase serve in the WEDC, which provides the governor and the legislature with leadership and guidance on long-term economic development strategies to benefit all of Washington's citizens.

Read this story in Spanish.

Two Green-Collar Jobs Bills Pass the House

Legislation sponsored by two House Democrats aimed at encouraging growth in renewable energy jobs and manufacturing has been approved by the House of Representatives

House Bill 1301, sponsored by Rep. Jeff Morris, improves an existing program that provides incentives for energy consumers who use renewable sources to meet their electricity needs. It also includes new performance measurement tools to increase accountability and ensure that the tax credits administered under this program are accomplishing what they are meant to – helping to create new jobs in our state.

The state will use metrics, such as how many consumers are receiving credits and where they are buying their renewable energy systems, to measure the success of the program and assess how credits are given out. This will help reward companies that manufacture their products in Washington, expanding our clean energy economy and creating good-paying jobs for Washington families.

The second piece of legislation is House Bill 1663, sponsored by Rep. Steve Tharinger. It extends an existing sales and use tax exemption for a kind of biomass called “hog fuel” which, incidentally, has nothing to do with hogs. Hog fuel is a wood waste product, created from the limbs and branches left behind when timber is harvested. Turning this wood waste into renewable energy eliminates the need for open pile burning at the timber harvesting site, which means fewer emissions into our atmosphere.

In addition to being environmentally friendly, the resulting biomass product is a commodity itself that helps support timber industry jobs.These family-wage jobs tend to be located in areas of our state that suffer from stubborn unemployment, so it’s important to preserve these jobs and help the industry find ways to stay competitive in the global market.

Both pieces of legislation will create or maintain jobs here in Washington while reducing our dependence on outdated fossil fuels – further proof that it doesn’t have to be a choice between growing our economy and protecting our environment.

Read this story in Spanish.

House OK for Hansen bills brightens job outlook

Rep. Drew Hansen

The state’s job market would gain strength for the future under four bills by Rep. Drew Hansen that cleared the state House this past week.

“There are signs we’re rebounding from the depths of the Great Recession, but we’ve got a long way to go,” Hansen said. “I want to protect the jobs we have and prepare our young people for opportunities in the 21^st –century economy. It’s very encouraging to me to get the strong, bipartisan support of my fellow legislators in that work.”

The bills are:

House Bill 1247, which makes it easier for small businesses to get money from a key state job-training program designed to help employees upgrade their skills. The bill also ensures that money from this program supports training that leads to degrees and credentials rather than dead-end jobs. The House voted unanimously for it Saturday, 98-0.

House Bill 1472, which helps students train for high-paying jobs in the computer industry by enhancing computer-science education in high schools and creating a statewide task force to address the computer programmer shortage. It was approved Friday 95-3.

House Bill 1245, which protects jobs in the shellfish and recreation industries by getting abandoned vessels out of our waters before they sink and cause pollution. It passed the House Thursday on a 96-1 vote.

House Bill 1660, which will lessen the paperwork burden on hospitals and colleges as they train new doctors and nurses. It won unanimous approval Tuesday, 96-0.

House approval of Hansen’s bills sends them to the Senate for action there.

To read a more extensive account of House action on these bills, click here.

Read this story in Spanish.

Pitching for our troops when they come back home

​It's been 35 years since Chico Escuela, Saturday Night Live's fictional baseball luminary portrayed so spot-on by Garrett Morris, first emphasized that "baseball has been berry, berry good to me." To paraphrase that timeless line, we think it's high time the nation was very, very good to its citizens in the Armed Forces, as well as our military veterans.

Legislation warming up in the bullpen here in the Washington State House of Representatives recently received an enthusiastic pitch from a pair of stalwart arms on the national scene.

First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, the vice president's wife, emphasized their support for the objectives contained in two legislative proposals that will soon be on the House floor. In their addresses the other day to a meeting of the National Governors Association, Obama and Biden both spoke of our duty to honor the rights and interests of citizens who have honored the call of duty to their country. Proposals contained in House Bill 1858 and House Bill 1859 emphasize this very goal.

 

Many military careers transition very well into a civilian job. If a veteran has stayed in the same career in his or her time in the service, he or she should get the benefit of the training and education received in the military. And when they're applying for civilian jobs after their service is up, they should certainly receive appropriate credit for their experience and military training.

 

"Support the Troops" has to be a lot more than just a bumper sticker.

Read this story in Spanish.

Sequester on your street corner

Last week, Senator Patty Murray visited with House Democrats and discussed some of the effects of sequester - the looming automatic cuts to the federal budget that will be triggered if Congress fails to strike a budget deal by March 1st.

This week, the White House released more detailed information on what these automatic cuts would mean for Washington state.

Among the low-lights:

• Washington will lose approximately $11,606,000 in funding for primary and secondary education, putting around 160 teacher and aide jobs at risk. In addition about 11,000 fewer students would be served ad approximately 50 fewer schools would recieve funding.
• Washington will lose about $3,301,000 in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality...
• About 440 fewer low income students in Washington would recieve aid to help them finance the costs of college.
• In Washington, approximately 29,000 civilian Department of Defense employees would be furloughed, reducing gross pay by around $173.4 million in total.
• Washington will lose approximately $1,053,000 in funds that provides meals for seniors.

For the complete list of potential cuts, follow this link.

Read this story in Spanish.

Welcoming a wide variety of visitors to the 2013 Legislature

​Legislators are always happy to welcome visitors from neighborhoods and communities all across Washington. Private citizens, students and teachers, businesspeople, local-government and civic officials, specific-interest stakeholders -- you name it, folks from all over our Evergreen State come by every day to give Olympia a piece of their mind. And rightly so!

A young gentleman named Daniel Gronvold, for instance, dropped in recently for a very good conversation with State Rep. Jake Fey. Daniel is a client at Trillium Employment Services and talked with Rep. Fey about legislation being considered this year that involves the School-to-Work transition program. The legislative proposal, which is contained in Senate Bill 5706 and House Bill 1753, directs the state Superintendent of Public Instruction to set up some important interagency agreements involving the Department of Social and Health Services, the Department of Services for the Blind, and other state agencies whose mission embraces transition services for high-school students with disabilities.

Trillium, according to their website, helps businesses recruit, train and retain employees with disabilities, and currently serves King, Kitsap, Pierce and Clark Counties.

Read this story in Spanish.

Top market for contractors, oh yes we are!

And you don't have to take our word for it.

Take Ken Simonson's when he said that if he were a contractor looking at where in this country to open up operations, he would look at Puget Sound. As chief economist for the Associated General Contractors (AGC) of America, Simonson knows his business.

His quote comes from a February 4 story in the Daily Journal of Commerce focused on construction jobs and the economy around the nation. Turns out that last year 24 states added construction workers, 24 shed them and two had no change — but Washington state posted strong results.

According to the AGC, our state ranked third in construction jobs added over the year, with 9,000 people finding work. And we were tied for fourth in the percentage of new jobs added, at 6.5 percent. 




SR 520 bridge.  Photo: Wash. State Dept. of Transportation

And who's creating many of these jobs? Well, what do you know, it's the state!
That's right, with big projects like the Alaskan Way Viaduct replacement and the new State Route 520 floating bridge.

So the next time you hear someone saying that government doesn't create jobs, invite them to read the Daily Journal of Commerce story for the facts. 

Read this story in Spanish.

Public hearing today on the state construction budget

Construction projects mean jobs

As today's Hot Sheet indicates, there will be a public hearing at 1:30 today on the state construction budget, officially known as the capital budget.

Not sure what the capital budget is, exactly?  This previous post explains it pretty well.

The current capital budget is funded through June 30 of this year.  Legislators must come up with a new two-year construction budget for our state - along with new two-year transportation and operating budgets - that go into effect July 1, 2013.

Rep. Hans Dunshee

Because the capital budget funds construction projects all over the state, it also helps create and sustain jobs.  Last year, the supplemental capital budget and Jobs Now Act created 18,000 jobs, and many projects that are in progress right now.

The House Capital Budget committee is chaired by Rep. Hans Dunshee. You can follow the proceedings of today's hearing on TVW.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Easing the transition for our troops, veterans, and their families

​They put their civilian life on hold, standing ready if need be to put their very lives on the line.

So back here on the home front, military men and women have a right to fair and functional opportunities in transitioning to peacetime.
The very timely issue of “counting military training for college credit and professional-licensing requirements” was discussed in a meeting of the House Community Development, Housing & Tribal Affairs Committee, chaired by state Rep. John McCoy, earlier this week. McCoy is sponsoring a measure in the 2013 legislative session to strengthen protections for the parental rights of deployed military dads and moms. He said that our state's "policies and procedures should provide assistance for military men and women in their transition to safe, high-quality civilian lives and careers."

House Democrats two years ago championed successful legislation to make sure that military training and experience counts toward licensing-requirements in a wide array of professions. The Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs provides a great deal of employment assistance. Likewise, the U.S. Department of Defense and the commander in chief is also emphasizing employment-programs for veterans.

So far this year, a pair of other proposals to help support our servicemen and women are working their way through the legislative process. One bill would send financial help to veterans and active members of the military who are pursuing a higher education. A second bill would direct targeted colleges and universities to set up early-course registration for veterans and National Guard members. Both bills are in the House Higher Education Committee: HB 1011 is set for a vote in the 8 a.m., Tuesday, Jan. 29, committee meeting, and HB 1109 is set for a vote in the 10 a.m., Thursday, Jan. 31, committee meeting.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Got broadband?

We sure do. In fact, not only do we have it, we're at the top of the list on broadband infrastructure. That's according to the fresh-from-the-oven TechNet 2012 State Broadband Index. TechNet is a network of CEOs and senior executives that promote the growth of technology-led innovation.

What puts us at the top are high rates of broadband use, a broadband-connected economy and better-than-average network speeds. Other tech states, like California and Utah, trail behind us ranking 5 and 9 respectively.

Upon hearing the news, the Washington State Broadband Office (WSBO), which is part of the Washington State Department of Commerce, issued this press release. It quotes Will Saunders, WSBO program and policy director, on the issue: "The state's ranking reflects state broadband planning going back to 2008 and more than $2.3 billion in public and private investment in infrastructure and training during that period. The study also confirms that we are ideally positioned for economic growth based on this work."

Saunders is right; one of the reasons we're leading the pack in 2012 is that in 2008 the legislature passed SB 6438, regarding high-speed internet services and community technology opportunities. The measure required the then Department of Information Services to come up with a statewide high-speed internet deployment and adoption strategy to:

• develop geographic information system maps and inventories of public and private high-speed internet infrastructure

• address management of proprietary and competitively sensitive data

• spur development of high-speed internet resources across the state

• track residential and business adoption of high-speed internet

• use local technology planning teams to help with internet deployment to disenfranchised or unserved areas.

Access to broadband means your morning paper loads quickly and you can watch the latest viral video in a snap. Being the best at access to broadband means it will be easier for the state to attract and grow companies, which means more jobs.

Graphic courtesy of Technet

Washington's minimum wage workers are getting a raise

​On January 1, 2013, minimum wage workers in 10 states - including ours - will receive pay increases as a result of legislation.

In our state's case, the increase is 15 cents per hour, bringing the total hourly minimum wage in Washington to $9.19.

Since January 1, 1999, Washington's minimim wage workers have received annual cost-of-living adjustments thanks to Initiative 688 (with the exception of 2010, when there was no increase). This law, which the voters overwhelmingly approved by over 66 percent, requires the state Department of Labor and Industries to make yearly adjustments to the minimum wage based on the federal Consumer Price Index.

While $9.19 an hour is nearly $2.00 an hour more than the federal minimum wage of $7.25, it still amounts to an annual income of less than $20,000 per year.

In other words, nobody's living large on minimum wage.

Here's a helpful chart on the history of Washington's minimum wage.

This article from Stateline talks about efforts to boost the minimum wage in other states as well as at the federal level. It also links to a 2010 study that failed to find a correlation between the kind of minimum wage increases seen in states and layoffs/job losses.

Read this story in Spanish here.

Big Bertha Blossoms and Brings Business

Photo credit: WSDOT

Back in September, the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) was boasting—with reason—about its humongous, colossal and insanely gigantic 300-foot-long, five story-tall Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). Its 57½-foot diameter front-end will make it the world's largest machine of its kind… Heck, the universe's largest!

With its own Flickr page and animated YouTube video, the only other thing this machine needed was a name.

The Department figured the best people to ask for suggestions were our very own school-aged kids (K-12), who had until 5 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, to propose a name along with a 200-words-or-less explanation of their choice.

The contest's rules were that, in keeping with the tradition of naming TBMs, the winning name had to be female and should "have significance to Washington State heritage, life, nature, transportation or engineering."

Bertha Knight Landes, 1926 Seattle Mayor

The judges had to make their pick from more than 150 entries. Earlier this month DOT announced the winning name is BERTHA, after the first woman to lead a major American City, Bertha Knight Landes, who was mayor of Seattle in 1926.

The name Bertha was submitted by two entrants: Darryl Elves' fifth-grade class at Poulsbo Elementary School and Elijah Beerbower, a second-grader at Lincoln Elementary School in Hoquiam.

The winners will be invited to Bertha's official dedication ceremony in Seattle next summer, where they will receive special t-shirts and the thrill of seeing the name they chose emblazoned on the world's largest tunnel-borer.

Bertha and her voluminous dimensions are necessary to carry out the ambitious SR 99 Tunnel Project, but workers are also necessary to pull it off. Lots of skilled workers: DOT reports that the viaduct replacement program will sustain more than 3,900 jobs at the height of construction, so there's plenty to look forward to in the near future.

In the meantime, our TBM now not only has a name but also a voice, as Bertha already opened her very own Twitter account: @BerthaDigsSR99. In her latest tweet she laments that she's not on Facebook because DOT limits her social media time.

Learn more about the SR 99 Tunnel Project,

Read this story in Spanish here.

The governor proposed a new ‘capital budget’ – so what is that?

You’ll hear about three budgets down at the state capitol, and yes, there’s a different between capitol with an “o” and capital with an “a.”

Today, the governor proposed operating, transportation and capital budgets for the next two years.

The operating budget is the biggest one. It’s like your family’s main checking account, how you pay the bills every month. The operating budget pays for ongoing things like health care for kids, state troopers, prisons, parks and public schools.

The transportation budget is just what you think: highways and ferries, buses and trains.

The capital budget is the one that trips people up. So what is it?

 “Capital projects” are construction projects around the state. Here’s an example: You pay the salaries of state troopers and prison guards through the operating budget, but when you need to build a prison – or an elementary school, state park or university lecture hall – it comes out of the capital budget.

One of the ways we’ve tried to maximize the number of jobs and construction projects is to focus on funding things with local and federal matching dollars. So that’s one of the reasons why the capital budget gets complicated. You can read the highlights of the governor’s proposed capital budget here.

Last year, as part of the Jobs Act passed by lawmakers, our state tried to jump-start these construction jobs by front-loading the construction projects. Instead of taking the money we usually spend and spreading the work out over many years, the idea was to create jobs in a hurry by doing all those projects at once. The Jobs Act created an estimated 20,000 jobs around the state.

The governor’s proposed capital budget would also create thousands of jobs – as would the transportation budget – but her proposal is just the first step.

Next, the House and the Senate will make their own proposed budgets, which will have public hearings in the House and the Senate, then votes in committee and on the House and Senate floor.

In the end, though, the result of the capital budget will be folks in hard hats building schools, lecture halls and parks.

Read this story in Spanish here.

We're No. 3!

And that's not bad at all, when you consider we're talking about a ranking of all 50 states in what the Seattle Times calls "a gold-standard measure of competitiveness:" the 2012 State New Economy Index compiled by The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation.

Washington "scores high due not only to its strength in software [and] aviation, but also because of the entrepreneurial hotbed of activity that has developed in the Puget Sound region, and heavy use of digital technologies in all its sectors," the report says.

The indicators applied by the institute fall into five categories: knowledge jobs; globalization; economic dynamism; the digital economy; and innovation capacity.

The front-runner once again is Massachusetts, yet it no longer holds the big advantage over the other states that it did just two years ago, in the 2010 Index. Although Washington has slipped from second to third since 2010, the pack -- now led by Delaware -- has closed ground on the leader.
But the broader picture for the nation is not so bright, the report says:

More than three years on from the end of the Great Recession, only six states have regained employment levels enjoyed prior to the recession, and 17 states are still more than 5 percent below their pre-recession employment levels.

The culprit? The report says it's "the decline in the competitiveness of the U.S. economy in the global marketplace." The decline is reflected in a steep drop in manufaturing jobs and investment since 2000.
"For the United States to be competitive," the rerport says, "one key will be to compete more on the basis of innovation and entrepreneurship, and less on cost."

There's plenty in the full report for policymakers to think about as they allocate resources for future economic development.

Read this story in Spanish here.

What it means when the governor said 'a major transportation package'

Photo: WSDOT

Gov. Chris Gregoire made news today by proposing a "major transportation package." (Here's the story: Gregoire to propose major transportation package)

What does that mean?

Let's translate that from Olympia speak to English.

Budgets -- There's a transportation budget every year, but that's different. With the usual budget, you basically keep things moving: fixing highways, running the ferries, funding the State Patrol.

Package -- A "major transportation package" is different, and doesn't happen often. The last one was in 2005, and what it does is fund all kinds of projects, big and small, that the regular transportation budget couldn't fund.

Here's what the 2005 "Nickel Package" funded and how the construction work is ramping up and ramping down.

Folks in Olympia call this The Mt. Rainier Slide, because it shows how the Nickel Package cranked up construction jobs, peaked around 2011 to 2013, then slide down back to normal.

Gov. Gregoire is making a simple point: the state population is growing, and more people are driving on the highways and using ferries, buses and trains. Unless we make plans now to get new projects rolling, there's nothing really in the pipeline after these current projects get finished, and that would mean more traffic gridlock.

Read this story in Spanish here.

21st century careers emphasized in scholarships

New-century industries are clamoring like nobody's business for more graduates in the myriad fields of health care and high technology.  Washington has its work cut out in vying with other states and nations for economic growth and development in these growing - and growing and growing - arenas. So it's good news whenever word comes of stronger financial assistance for college and university students majoring either in some sort of health-care discipline, or in one of the realms of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

Created a few years ago, the Washington Opportunity Scholarship program is helping these men and women who want someday to nail down one of these high-demand, big-paying careers. An item in recent Seattle Times report says that in the 2012-2013 school year, "… nearly 1,900 Washington students will get (one of these) $5,000 scholarships to pursue" STEM or health-care degrees. In fact, that amount represents five times the amount of scholarship dollars that selected college and university students have been receiving in these scholarships.

State Rep. Ross Hunter, D-Medina, is singled out in the Times article. Hunter calls this more robust scholarship "terrific," and he goes on to say that, "the IQ of kids isn't determined by their family income - if they can imagine they can go to college, they've got more motivation." 

The scholarship is open to Washington college juniors, seniors and fifth-year students who live here in the Evergreen State, maintain at least a 2.75 GPA, and have a family-income no more than 125 percent of the median-family-income level (no more than $102,200 for a family of four). Interested citizens must send in the Federal Application for Free Student Aid. The newspaper article points out that the "application for new awards will be available on Monday, Jan. 7, and the deadline is Monday, Feb. 18. Students who currently receive the scholarship must renew by July 15." 

You can see from the maximum-income level for applicants that the Washington Opportunity Scholarships are aimed to a great and specific extent at helping students in middle-income families - folks who don't have all the money in the world but who may not qualify for financial-aid programs. These are the students who increasingly are being left with no choice but to plunge into devastating debt to pay soaring tuition tabs. 

A renewable scholarship, this financial assistance can be used for up to five years of college. Further, the Times article states that, "Most of the scholarship money comes from Microsoft and Boeing, which together have contributed $50 million. The state has contributed $5 million." 

House Democrats in the legislative session earlier this year championed additional strategies for increasing access to higher education. Senate Bill 5982 creates the Joint Center for Aerospace Technology Innovation to pursue industry-university research. The objective is creation of a stronger connection between the world's aerospace industry and our state's colleges and universities. Senate Bill 6141 emphasizes support for the continuing education and training of employees. Workers and employers can voluntarily create joint savings accounts to advance their pursuit of 21st century careers. 

When the 2013 legislative session starts in January, expect House Democrats to invest more of this same STEM and health-care educational emphasis on the education and training of students for jobs in these strong, up-and-coming industries.

Matching skilled workers with aerospace employers

This started in 1916 with one small-aircraft business and has now grown to 740 companies, which currently employ 96,900 workers.

"What is the aerospace industry in Washington state?" is correct!

With almost 100 years of experience manufacturing and assembling the best planes on Earth, it is no wonder Washington is the aerospace capital of the United States.

As of 2011, all commercial aircraft over 100 seats built in the United States are assembled and delivered right here. Yes, even with Boeing's new plant in South Carolina, 90 percent of the company's production is in Washington.

But it's not easy being the best and the largest in the field; it takes lots of highly skilled workers to get the job done well and maintain our outstanding reputation. That's where it gets tricky because thousands of aerospace workers will be retiring in the next few years. Meanwhile, production will continue increasing, which means the demand for a qualified workforce will also be higher.

The Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing, a one-stop resource hub for the industry's education and training needs, created this nifty online tool that will make it easier for aerospace companies to find skilled workers.

The website lists graduates from 18 of Washington state's community colleges, in nine aerospace-related fields, so employers can search for graduates with specific skill sets.

There is plenty of work ahead to satisfy the industry's demand, but Washington is on it. In recent years, we have taken important steps to create and expand aerospace and manufacturing training programs. In fact, just a year ago, during the December special session, the Legislature passed three measures to shore up our aerospace industry.

Want to learn more? Back in April, Mary Kaye Bredeson, director of Everett Community College's Center of Excellence for Aerospace and Advanced Materials Manufacturing, wrote this op-ed on how community colleges are helping aerospace soar.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.

Washington called 'enterprising': Folks in the know say we're gonna go 'Boom!'

Photo: Jeff McNeill via Wikimedia Commons 

A recent Seattle Post-Intelligencer article, Washington captures Top 10 ranking, trumpets news that our very own Evergreen State is one of "10 states that will [wait for it!] boom over the next five years."


That's right, folks: No sooner is the ink dry on an admiring certificate celebrating Washington's status as a Job Creator (see this recent HDC Advance blog: Who says Washington is a top state for producing jobs?), then along comes the National Chamber Foundation, a U.S. Chamber of Commerce think tank, with its Enterprising States Report hailing us at No. 6 on a most-laudable list -- indeed, it's a truly estimable cast and compilation of what these erudite think-tankers call "enterprising states." Yes!


No less a periodical than the redoubtable Forbes magazine says Washington's glowing marks owe to our robust aerospace and technology industries and our hearty standing in foreign trade. The widely quoted publication has previously ranked Washington among the five best states in the entire country to do business.


Go ahead, take a minute or two to check the Chamber Foundation's report linked up there a few lines back. You'll see for yourself these sterling qualities that captured the fancy of these observers long enough for them to single us out: productivity, livability, tax structure, trade, infrastructure, and an environment that encourages innovation. Only the most rebarbative of critics would dare question Washington's place among the top rank, the highest order of business-friendly states.

To read this story in Spanish, please click here.