OLYMPIA – Rep. Mary Fosse, D-Everett, has been appointed to two seats the Correctional Industries Advisory Committee replacing Rep. Tarra Simmons, D- Bremerton, and the Aerospace Workforce Council.
The Correctional Industries Advisory Committee is tasked with making recommendations to improve the Correction Industries (CI) work programs, whose goal is to increase successful reentry by providing workforce training programs for incarcerated individuals. CI operates businesses within all prison facilities throughout Washington which are intended to help incarcerated individuals develop marketable job skills that lead to economic stability and successful reintegration into society following incarceration, and reduce the tax burden of corrections.
The Aerospace Workforce Council develops a framework for apprenticeship utilization and establishing efficient pathways for the aviation industry to utilize this highly skilled workforce in the future. Snohomish County, which is a global center of the aerospace industry and manufacturing, with anchor companies such as Boeing, is experiencing a renewed expansion of the aviation industry. The Washington State Legislature this last session allocated $6.5 Million for a Research & Development Center for Sustainable Aviation Fuels at Paine Field, which will go toward creating the first sustainable aviation fuel repository in the world. The continued success of the overall aviation industry hinges on the effective development and utilization of aerospace workforce.
When asked about what motivated her to seek appointment to these two positions, Rep. Fosse shared that “advocating for solutions to our workforce shortages, and for workers to access living-wage jobs and economic prosperity has been a guiding ethos” for her.
“Everyone deserves the dignity of a stable, family-wage career,” said Fosse. “Whether it’s through apprenticeship, or you’ve been incarcerated and are taking the next step in pursuit of stability for your family, or you’re a college graduate whose eyes are to the sky, everyone deserves a job that provides financial stability.”