As America faces hard, economic times, those of us whose work is focused on decreasing poverty and increasing the skills of the workforce are hopeful of the change ahead.  More importantly we see opportunity to engage the great ideas that have been waiting for implementation.

Through a close partnership with the Community Foundation of South Wood County, Northcentral Wisconsin Workforce Development Board (NCWWDB) is fortunate to be part of a promising $30 million national initiative to address our nation's workforce shortages.
 
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) has recently funded 11 regional collaboratives all over the nation. One of those collaboratives includes Partners for Workforce Innovation (PWI) serving south Wood County.
     
NFWS is a national effort to move low-wage workers into higher paying jobs while providing employers with the skilled workers they need.
     
The local PWI collaborative, which was created around the opportunity to receive NFWS funds and assistance, resulted in new partnerships among funders, businesses and service providers.  PWI will receive $100,000 annually over three years for a total of $300,000 from NFWS, and more importantly local funders will invest an additional $1.2 million in south Wood County as a match to the national grant.
     
"Matching available jobs with skills development and establishing new workforce pipelines is essential for our economic growth," said Kelly Lucas, CEO of Community Foundation of South Wood County, and managing partner for PWI.   
     
"Helping our workforce adapt to meet changing needs is critical to future economic prosperity," said Cheryl Urban, President of Urban Processing, and a founding member of PWI. "The NFWS initiative is providing the platform for us to create new relationships and a community-wide focus on the importance of comprehensive workforce development. We are pleased to be part of this effort."          
  
The PWI collaborative is taking a dual-customer approach to its work over the next three years - investing in low skilled individuals to grow prosperity one person at a time by integrating education and supportive services as well as focusing on articulating clear and detailed career pathways in four industry sectors vital to the region:              
               ·  Healthcare
               ·  Manufacturing
               ·  Technology
               ·  Skilled trades
PWI hopes to fill the gaps that other programs are unable to do in an innovative way that speaks to those that are under-skilled, unemployed or under-employed.   
  
This is a time for opportunity, hope, and change and NCWWDB is very happy to be part of this exciting initiative.