| January 2010 |
Vol 1, Issue 20 | |
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Workforce Development in Wisconsin  |
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| Greetings! |
Welcome to another edition of the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association Monthly Newsletter. I trust you find the information shared beneficial. In this issue, we are proud to announce that the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association has received an award for its Workforce Times ARRA newsletter. This newsletter helped us keep state and federal legislators informed of ARRA workforce development expenditures and success stories.
The Wisconsin Workforce Development Association (WWDA) is working hard to ensure that Wisconsinites are receiving the training and employment assistance they need.
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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| Wisconsin Workforce Development Association Wins National Award for ARRA Reporting! |
 The Wisconsin Workforce Development Association recently received a national award from The National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) for their documented impact of the 2009 Summer Youth Program that was funded with American Recovery & Reinvestment Act money. The stories and data were published throughout the State of Wisconsin in the Wisconsin Workforce Association Development Association (WWDA) monthly newsletter titled the Workforce Times. The publication highlighted the 2009 Summer Youth Employment Programs operated by the eleven local Workforce Development Boards across the State. The local boards received approximately $25.7 million statewide from American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding for youth, adults, and dislocated workers. The National Association of Workforce Boards, in Washington, DC, recognized the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association specifically because their publication provided a statewide demonstration of the summer employment program's value and the program's impact on individual participants and the businesses who participated. Wisconsin was one of six winners out of a field of 70 submittals. The other national award recipients focused their stories on single cities, whereas the Wisconsin newsletter described the program's impact on both rural and urban areas, compiling stories from the eleven Wisconsin Workforce Development boards.
The newsletter provided youth success stories and current expenditures to federal and state legislators as well as the general public. WWDA Chairman Dan Racette states, "It was important to WWDA that we have transparency in our programs and show that the funds were being spent effectively and as intended."
Members of the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association will receive the award in March 2010 at the National Association of Workforce Boards' annual forum in Washington, DC.
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WIRED-funded Center for Nursing Excellence Opens in Madison
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 Madison, WI-Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Secretary Roberta Gassman celebrated the opening of the Center for Nursing Excellence (CNE) in a ceremony Monday, December 14th, at their new location at 3001 Beltline Highway, in Madison.
The Center is a $1.4 million initiative that provides a hands-on, real-life learning environment, without risk to patients or staff. The CNE can also produce live or delayed broadcast of simulation training and activities for use in the CNE's classrooms or throughout the region through e-learning opportunities.
In addition to private donations, the project was funded through a $415,753 Healthcare Sector Grant and $172,516 Innovation Grant from the South Central-Southwest Wisconsin WIRED Initiative. WIRED, Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development was implemented by the U.S. Department of Labor's Employment and Training Administration to support regional workforce and economic development and education. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is responsible for administrating the WIRED grant and the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin provides project management.
The Center for Nursing Excellence offers life-like patient-simulation technology to teach health care providers and offer continuing education for nurses and other professionals in south-central Wisconsin.
The Center's curriculum covers basic to complex skills using patient mannequins and a wide array of health care simulations through wireless, computer-controlled mannequins. Together, these technologies provide much-needed resources for training health care students and professionals and for updating nursing skills. In a world where the patient population is outpacing the number of nurses providing care, this solution is wired for success.
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$25,000 Will Help Train Healthcare Workers in Ladysmith
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 The Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College (WITC) and the Northwest Wisconsin Concentrated Employment Program (CEP, Inc) received a $25,000 check from State Sen. Russ Decker (D-Weston) to help train workers in Ladysmith. The funds will be used to retrain out-of-work residents of Rusk County in a new skill. It will be used for Industrial Maintenance Programs like Basic Electric and Welding and Blue Print Reading. Decker noted that the funds are from the state budget passed earlier this year that was focused on job creation and worker training. "We made investments in job creation and worker training a priority in this budget to help get our economy moving forward again. The $25,000 check today for the Ladysmith Branch of Wisconsin Indianhead Technical College is part of that investment," said Decker. The budget passed by the State Senate included an additional $1.84 million to ensure that technical colleges had the funds they needed to train workers for new jobs. Technical colleges often work directly with local employers to provide training programs for skills needed to fill current job openings or future needs.
The Northwest Wisconsin Workforce Investment Board and CEP, Inc will be project partners in the training of dislocated workers in the county. Decker lauded WITC and CEP, Inc.as being fully prepared to help dislocated workers in northwest Wisconsin train for the jobs that employers will need to fill. With unemployment in Rusk County doubling in the past year, this grant will increase career educational opportunities for those in need. Jerilyn Dunlap, WITC-Ladysmith Branch manager, said that funds will be used to offer programs for students to earn Microsoft Office Computer certificates and Industrial Maintenance certificates, two skill areas that have been identified as a priority in preparation to meet employer needs. Other programs and certificates can also be completed in Ladysmith.
Photo and article courteousy of the Ladysmith News |
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Mari Kay
Wisconsin Workforce Development Association
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