| March 2009 |
Vol 1, Issue 12 | |
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Workforce Development in Wisconsin  |
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| Greetings! |
| Now more than ever the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association understands the need for communication on statewide workforce issues. We hope this newsletter and the links included will provide you with information on what is happening across the state. Within this issue you will find articles on workforce development activities in Milwaukee, Green Bay, La Crosse, and Rock County.
With the additional workforce funding provided in the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and the increased employment and training services such funding will support, the Wisconsin workforce system will play a vital role in America's economic recovery by assisting workers who are facing unprecedented challenges to retool their skills and re-establish themselves in viable career paths.
Aditionally, Governor Doyle also announced $5.89 million for strategic workforce training initiatives to prepare Wisconsin workers and businesses to succeed in the future economy. Many of the initiatives focus on training workers to succeed in 21st century employment.
If you wish to be added to future mailings or removed from mailings please use the links at the bottom of the newsletter. Thank you!
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| Reinvesting in Our Future Workforce |
Wisconsin's private-sector led workforce development boards are actively working with Wisconsin's Department of Workforce Development (DWD) and new Office of Recovery and Reinvestment (ORR) to move federal stimulus funds to Wisconsin communities in order to 'put people to work, rebuild Wisconsin, and get the economy moving.'
As part of that effort, Wisconsin's workforce development boards are ramping up to prepare for an infusion of over $13 million of federal stimulus funds into summer youth work experience programs across urban, rural, and suburban communities throughout the state. Worksites and youth are actively being recruited in anticipation of large-scale summer youth programs that will provide Wisconsin youth with real world work experience and a paycheck. In these economic hard times, this program will help businesses, non-profits, and community institutions employ youth and the boards will help to make sure that these experiences are worthwhile for everyone involved.
Wisconsin's summer youth work experience programs will help prepare all of our young people to enter the 21st century workforce, whether they do so immediately after graduation from high school or after attending post-secondary school. For the non-college bound, these programs help facilitate a smoother transition from school to work; while for youth at-risk of not graduating and for college bound youth, these programs can help to increase motivation for learning. In addition, Wisconsin's summer youth work experience programs will connect out-of-school youth to the labor market.
In the summer of 2009, Wisconsin's workforce development boards, and the association, are excited to be able to offer youth the opportunity:
- To see work from the inside and gain a realistic view about the workplace,
- To learn more about their career choice (to confirm whether or not it is the "right fit" for them),
- To establish a network of contacts that they can tap into in the future (for future job opportunities and/or references),
- To build their resume,
- To build soft skills and good work habits, such as punctuality, responsibility, time management, conflict management, communication, and leadership.
To learn more about what your workforce development board is doing, please contact your areas' Executive Director.
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| Rock County Group Combines Resources To Assist Unemployed |
The Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board (SWWDB) has joined a large number of Rock County area organizations in combining their efforts and resources to assist the unemployed persons in their area. The group, titled Collaborative Organizations  Responding to Dislocation, or CORD, consists of federal, state and local legislator representatives, community-based organizations such as Community Action, the Community Foundation of Southern Wisconsin, and North Rock County United Way, Blackhawk Technical, UW-Rock County and UW-Whitewater, GM/UAW representatives, economic development representatives, and similar groups. CORD's main mission is to work cooperatively to address Rock County's evolving economic needs while assisting dislocated workers and their families. Among Wisconsin's cities, Janesville and Beloit have two of the three highest unemployment percentages.
Meeting since late last year (2008), the group has been developing plans and actions designed to assist the unemployed in areas such as social services, financial services and assistance, educational assistance, transportation needs, and similar categories. Organized through the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board (SWWDB), CORD's most recent effort involved a community workshop held March 16 in which over 140 area organizational representatives met with federal, state and private agencies at Blackhawk Tech to assist those Rock County agencies to be able to more effectively seek and be awarded funding and resources to assist the unemployed.
The workshop, organized through CORD in cooperation with the Community Economic Adjustment Program (CEAP) out of the University of Michigan and its Associate Director, Lawrence A. Molnar, brought 16 agency reps from such diverse areas as U.S. Departments of Commerce, Agriculture, HUD, Environmental Protection, Small Business, and State Departments of DATCP, Workforce Development, Transportation, Energy Services, Natural Resources and others. Following brief presentations and overviews by those reps, the participants were able to sit down with them and speak about grant possibilities and procedures.
"We're extremely pleased with the turnout and involvement of the participants at this workshop," said Robert T. Borremans, SWWDB Executive Director. "But the real test of its success will be whether the participants produce grant requests and whether we can be successful in securing our fair share."
The CORD group is working with Molnar to follow up and provide assistance to those agencies that are planning on submitting grant proposals. They will also continue to meet regularly to continue to provide the services that have been started, along with monitoring and where necessary helping agencies collaborate when considering submitting a grant proposal. "Our role will be to assist them in any way possible while ensuring that we provide a united effort to obtain the available resources," Borremans stated.
Molnar stated that the Rock County group is the most organized and well-prepared from among the 30 communities he has worked with in a five-state region over the past several years. "You're well ahead of where most others have been in this short of a period of time," he said, indicating this united and cooperative effort from all involved is noteworthy and will hopefully translate into successful requests.
Persons interested in finding out more about the CORD group and its programs can contact Borremans at (608) 741-3563 or r.borremans@jobcenter.org |
| Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board- "Bringing the Community Together" |
 The economic challenge facing Wisconsin and Milwaukee has never been greater and the need to collaborate and work smarter never more important. Recognizing the need to focus our efforts and make an impact, the Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB) organized and hosted two events to bring together key partners who are ready to address the workforce challenges facing the State and the Milwaukee area. The March 5th "Best Practices for Implementing a Successful Summer Youth Employment Program," sponsored by the MAWIB, the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association and the State Department of Workforce Development brought together the 11 workforce boards from around the State to learn about developing or expanding summer Youth Employment programs. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act includes Workforce Investment Act (WIA) funding for an expanded Summer Youth program. The conference covered everything needed to implement a summer youth employment program within the WIA guidelines and the sharing of "best practices" from urban and rural settings to ensure that these summer employment opportunities and work experiences are of the highest quality.
On March 17, 2009 over 50 community-based workforce development organizations participated in the MAWIB sponsored "2009 CBO Summit: Brainstorming New Solutions for Old Challenges" The purpose of the CBO Summit was to provide an overview of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and increase coordination and strategic planning efforts.
The tone of the day was set with a welcome by Milwaukee Mayor Barrett. He talked about the ARRA and emphasized the need to get people working as soon as possible - while maintaining strong program oversight, transparency and efficient utilization of funds. MAWIB staff facilitated small group discussions on identifying major obstacles for individuals to get and keep a job and the possible creative and collaborative approaches to overcoming these barriers. The groups also discussed what technical assistance is needed to enable them to better meet their organization's goals. The day ended with an active and positive discussion recapping the groups' ideas on possible collaborations and how to build the capacity to best address workforce development needs.
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| Youthbuild Home Nearly Complete! |
 Building Opportunities is nearing completion of its first house! The Workforce Connections, Inc. Youthbuild program trains individuals aged 16-24 who have encountered barriers to earning a high school diploma. These individuals are completing their high school degrees at local alternative school or the technical college and applying their newly acquired construction skills by building a house to be sold to a low income family. The City of La Crosse partners with the program by furnishing the lot, building supplies and general contracting services. Workforce Connections, Inc. Construction Trainer and Employment Coordinator ensure that the participants complete their high school education and oversee the construction. When completed, the house will be sold to an income qualified family and construction will start on a second home. Funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Labor at $856,886 and local match of $214,972. |
| Bay Area Expanding Offender Reentry Programs |
Senator Kohl announced March 10th that $238,000 of the FY09 Omnibus Appropriations Bill will be directed to the Bay Area Workforce Development Board to implement a mentoring program aimed at rehabilitating female juvenile delinquents and incarcerated young women. The initiative will also coordinate community programs to identify at-risk female youth with delinquency records and provide them with guidance. The funds will enable the board to establish a program designed to ensure at-risk girls and younger women re-enter society with the job and life skills necessary for them to sustain productive lives.
These funds will allow the Bay Area Workforce Development Board to expand two existing offender reentry programs ( Windows to Work and Transitions) that are available for males to female offenders transitioning back into Bay Area communities. Females tend to get lost in the public discussion of offender reintegration issues, yet they have very distinct needs in order to transition back successfully. "There is significant cost to incarcerating people in Wisconsin, $30,000 annually for adults, and as much as triple that for juveniles, so we hope to offer the public a solid return on their investment through this grant by reducing recidivism among female offenders. Both our current programs have demonstrated real results in achieving successful reentry after serving time in the state prisons." said Jim Golembeski, Executive Director of the Bay Area Workforce Development Board. We very much appreciate Senator Kohl's efforts to provide us, and the many women who will receive services through the grant, this great opportunity"
The Board has worked closely with the Wisconsin Department of Corrections and they are looking at the program model for use across the state. |
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Mari Kay-Nabozny
Wisconsin Workforce Development Association
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