Washington Business Summer 2017 | Washington Business | Page 21

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How would you encourage employers to engage
more effectively with local community colleges to
ensure they have a trained workforce to fill the jobs
being left by retirements?
I think we hear a lot about the skills gap. We can train
skills. We’re very nimble in our community and technical
colleges to change our curriculum to meet the skills that
are needed. What we can’t do very well that business,
employer and employee groups can do is fix the interest
gap. We need to get people talking about the importance
of machining, manufacturing and advanced manufacturing
and all the different types of jobs out there that 10 years
ago people didn’t even think about. We need to get folks
interested in these kinds of jobs and that needs to start
in sixth grade. We need to have people from business,
from labor going out together in grade schools to talk to
kids, teachers and parents about how these are good jobs,
how fun it can be and they get to work with their hands.
Right now, in our technical program, at least 12 percent
of students have bachelor’s degrees. So, they’re coming
back because probably mom and dad said, “You need to
go to a four-year,” and they didn’t like anything they were
doing or they couldn’t get a job in their field, or they want
to work with their hands. And, they knew there were
jobs there. So, if we can fix that interest gap, we’ll help
with the skills.
In addition to introducing career and technical
college pathways in grades six through 12, how
do we encourage employers to open their doors
to students, parents and teachers so they can see
what today’s high-tech manufacturing looks like?
I think that’s really important and I think that we lost
that somehow. I’m old enough that when I went to high
school, we all had a metal shop and wood shop. They
were pretty much part of the school. We don’t have that
as much anymore. We have good programs in skill centers,
but they’re basically pull-out programs and sometimes it’s
just not as convenient for students, or it’s not as doable
to get the students to those kinds of programs. We’ve
made it harder. We’re pleased with the direction the
new Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdal
is taking. He came from our system. A lot of it is our
teachers and counselors all went to a four-year college.
So, you talk about what you have experience in. We need
to get more volunteers who work in manufacturing and
who did technical education to go into schools and tell
“What we can’t do very well that business,
employer and employee groups can do is fix the
interest gap. We need to get people talking about
the importance of machining, manufacturing
and advanced manufacturing and all the different
types of jobs out there that 10 years ago people
didn’t even think about.”
students about the great programs nearby that you can
make a lot of money, have fun and a great career. In some
cases, students may need a bachelor’s degree, but they can
get that locally, too. If they’ve got the technical skills, they
can go a long way.
What will you miss most about your time with the
community and technical colleges?
One thing I didn’t fully grasp was the variety of stuff we
do. When you’re doing budget work you see at a very
high level the variety of things state government does.
But here you’re visiting the colleges, talking to the faculty
and college presidents about the different things they do
and learning about the different programs. The fact that
some of our students didn’t have a prayer before they got
to our colleges — our faculty and our counselors and staff
marty brown at a glance
A graduate of the University of Iowa, Marty Brown moved to
Washington state to attend law school at the University of Puget
Sound, now at Seattle University. Brown began his public service
career in 1977 as a legislative intern, moving up to state Senate
committee staff and advancing to become Senate Democratic
Caucus attorney, Senate Democratic staff director, and secretary
of the Senate. In 1997, he was named director of legislative affairs
for Gov. Gary Locke, for whom he later became deputy chief of staff
and director of the Office of Financial Management. Gov. Christine
Gregoire appointed Brown to serve as her director of legislative
affairs in 2005 and then director of the Office of Financial
Management in 2010. He was chosen to lead the State Board for
Community and Technical Colleges in 2012. After 40 years in public
service, he retired June 30.
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