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Committee hears Job Corps review, apprenticeship grant plans and concern over state workforce office consolidation
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Summary
Executive Director Diane Kelly told the Cherokee Nation Education Committee that negotiations with the U.S. Department of Labor over Job Corps are ongoing, that a facility review could force student relocations, and that upcoming grant work will prioritize apprenticeships; she also said a state proposal to eliminate rural workforce offices raised concern among tribal leaders.
Executive Director Diane Kelly said the department continues negotiating with the U.S. Department of Labor over Job Corps matters and that the tribe's lawyers have been engaged in the dispute. "Our lawyers have been negotiating with Department of Labor, and we knew that we weren't gonna get everything we asked for," Kelly said, adding that the agency has scheduled a facility review this week that "could" lead to closures and student relocations.
Kelly outlined immediate workforce priorities: grant applications will emphasize apprenticeship programs in the trades ' including air conditioning, plumbing and welding ' to align with the Department of Labor's current focus. "All of the grants that we're submitting through the Department of Labor ... is gonna be centered around apprenticeship," she said.
Kelly also reported discussion at a recent meeting of five tribes about a state workforce-group proposal she said would eliminate rural workforce offices and consolidate operations in Oklahoma City. She said the tribe submitted comments before the stated deadline and that tribal representation seemed limited in the state materials: "They didn't mention Indian tribes," Kelly said of the packet distributed by the state.
Why this matters: a Department of Labor facility review could change where students receive services and affect local Job Corps operations; the loss of rural workforce offices, if enacted, would shift local referral and advisory structures to a central office and could change how tribal clients access services. Kelly said the tribe is continuing negotiations with federal officials and monitoring state-level proposals.
The committee did not take formal action on these items during the meeting; Kelly closed her report after answering questions and the Chair moved to the next agenda item.
