| November / December 2009 |
Vol 1, Issue 19 | |
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Workforce Development in Wisconsin  |
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| Greetings! |
Thank you for joining us for another edition of the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association Monthly Newsletter. I trust you find the information shared beneficial. In this issue, we have some great information regarding a new collaborative group in Rock County, career pathways, and a youth who received a scholarship through the workforce system.
The Wisconsin Workforce Development Association (WWDA) is working hard to ensure that Wisconsinites are receiving the training and employment assistance they need.
Data and stories relating to the workforce development activities funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) can be found in the latest edition of the Workforce Times, a WWDA publication specific to the ARRA workforce projects and programs.
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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| Career Pathways = Efficient Targeting of Resources |
Career pathways are "road maps" showing connections between education and career opportunities. Employers, workforce development, and technical colleges are the key collaborators involved in the development of career pathways. Career pathways provide employers with a reliable and skilled workforce; workers with higher skills, better jobs, and more accessible and user-friendly training and career advancement system; and a system of more effective industry engagement and efficient targeting of resources.
The Workforce Development Board's role is twofold: a critical connection to employers; and a resource for participant support services. The board's role ensures the best chance for participants to succeed in a life changing endeavor of higher education and higher-wage jobs.
Workforce Development Boards:
· Recruit employer partners leveraging the Workforce Development Board Business
Service Units;
· Assist in convening employer meetings;
· Provide wrap-around support services to participants to mitigate barriers to
education; and
· Provide job readiness training and job placement services.
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| Former Crex Camper Receives College Scholarship |
 Paige Rother, a motivated camper and junior counselor at the Crex Meadows Youth Conservation Camp recently received the first ever Crex Camp college scholarship. She is a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, after graduating from South Shore High School in Port Wing, Wisconsin, in 2009.
Paige was raised in Iron River, Wisconsin, and attended the Crex camp for three summers.
The Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board (NWWIB) selected Paige for the $1,000 scholarship based on her positive experiences at the Crex camp, application essay, and academic achievement. According to Brad Gingras, Director of Youth Programs, Paige exhibited motivation, strong work ethic, and academic potential during three summers as a camper and junior counselor. "With this scholarship, we can reward our former campers with an incentive to further their education beyond high school, by attending either a two-year or four- year college full-time." Gingras stated. "I'm very happy that we can help Paige achieve her educational and career goals." |
| Innovative CORD Group Addresses Needs of Unemployed in Rock County |
When General Motors and several related businesses closed their doors at the end of 2008, the Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board (SWWDB) knew it would take a massive yet coordinated effort to assist the individuals affected. The Collaborative Organizations Responding to Dislocation (CORD) was formed, and has since evolved into an organization with a broader mission, assisting all dislocated workers and their families in areas such as health care, mortgage foreclosure, stress management and related needs.
Sponsors and participants include a wide variety of organizations, from education to local government, from unions to United Ways, from economic development groups to literacy connections, among others. The group also helps to avoid duplication between organizations with missions that are similar, and to combine efforts between like-minded groups. One of the group's initial major efforts was to work with the Community Economic Adjustment Program (CEAP) through the University of Michigan to develop a community response model and host a Regional Community Response Workshop in March, 2009, which brought together over 100 community organizations in a search for federal, state, local and private funding sources designed to assist dislocated workers. The CORD Steering Committee, through various subcommittees as well as the parent larger group, continued to meet and move forward, developing strategies and actions designed to assist the unemployed.
A detailed look at the CORD's multi-faceted plan, which includes topics such as communications, services and resources in need areas such as employment/career, financial, family/health, plus other areas such as special workshops, small business development, economic development and building the capacity of organizations to handle the increased workload, can be found on the CORD page of the SWWDB website. The 'Blueprint for Transition.' document is currently being modified to include links for each category/goal so that those interested can click and go directly to the sites that deal with the topic they're interested in. |
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Mari Kay
Wisconsin Workforce Development Association
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