Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 28, 1990 TAG: 9007280148
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: SHARON HODGE
DATELINE: COLLINSVILLE LENGTH: Medium
Partners in Excellence, a plan still on the drawing board, is expected to be unveiled in October, Framme told government officials and business leaders from Patrick and Henry counties and Martinsville. Framme spent much of this week in places such as Martinsville, Halifax and Farmville, urging business leaders to take a more active role in educating high school students.
Framme said the biggest complaint he encountered in attempts to promote economic development in rural Virginia "is the quality of the entry-level work force." He labeled that obstacle as the area's "biggest inhibitor of growth." Roads and buildings are "useless physical infrastructures" without an educated work force, he said.
"I'm not talking about college-bound students; I'm talking about the 60 to 70 percent who won't be entering college. They'll be looking for jobs," he said.
Framme noted that some recent high school graduates lack knowledge of basic business principles and fall short on fundamental employment skills.
Students in Martinsville, Patrick and Henry counties scored below average in the commonwealth's Literacy Passport test, which was given for the first time this year. That test determines whether a student can pass and enter high school.
Making apprenticeship programs more readily available is one possible solution, Framme said. Another answer to the slumping skills level would be evening the funding disparity between the state's urban and rural school districts, he said.
But changes in the way funds for education are disbursed probably will be met with strong opposition from Northern Virginia localities, Framme said. He added that an interactive program involving local companies could play an important role in raising the quality of the work force.
The structure of the school curriculum in rural areas could be modified to allow students to spend one day each week in an apprenticeship relationship with local industries.
House Speaker A.L. Philpott, who heads a commission appointed by Gov. Douglas Wilder to propose recommendations for economic development, said he believes the apprenticeship program "does not call for total education reform."
Instead, he said, it would provide motivation to youths with no work experience. Larry Aydlett, executive vice president for the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, said Friday that such an on-the-job-training program would be feasible if it could result in industrial growth.
But some voices in the business community, like Irving Groves, president of Piedmont Bank and Trust, fear the quest for economic development will be at the expense of existing companies.
While Framme was gathering support for the Partners in Excellence program in Martinsville Thursday, local business leaders used the opportunity to oppose tax breaks and other incentives the state may offer foreign firms to relocate in the southern portion of the commonwealth.
by CNB