Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County was proud to again be a part of the Governor's Small Business Forum. This year, the event was held at the Arlington Convention Center and was hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce on October 29, 2014. The Governor's Small Business Forum is designed to educate the Texas entrepreneur and small business community on workforce development, marketing businesses, hiring and managing employees, training and growth opportunities. 

At this event, our Board Chair Keith Muskrat along our Executive Director Judy McDonald and our Business Services Director Amber Gosser, gave a presentation to attendees about the local workforce board and all the services that are available to employers.  At this event we nominated BREWED, Inc. as our Small Business of the Year for Tarrant County.  BREWED, Inc. is a coffee house/gastro-pub & eatery on Magnolia Ave in Fort Worth TX.  They have served as a longtime partner of Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and support many of our special projects such as hiring ex-offenders and giving them a second chance back in the workplace.  They previously shared their story and experience on working with Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County during the listening session hosted by the Texas Workforce Commission around the state. The Commissioners often mention this model in the review of the statewide sessions. You may remember viewing the Brewed video at a previous Board Meeting as well.

Brewed, Inc. receiving the Small Business of the Year Award for Tarrant County

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County would like to echo the words of thanks from The Texas Workforce Commission for everyone who participated in the 3rd Annual Hiring Red, White and You! Job Fair.

On, November 13, 2014 - 28 Workforce Solutions partners, the Texas Veterans Commission, the Texas Medical Center and the more than 1,700 employers participated in the Hiring Red, White & You! Job fairs for veterans and military spouses.

Hiring Red, White & You! connected Texas veterans and their spouses with Texas employers who value the experience, discipline and other exceptional qualities inherent with a military background. The statewide job fair encouraged Texas employers to help veterans in Texas transition into the civilian workforce.

Locally, we partnered with Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas, Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas and The Texas Veterans Commission to host our Hiring Red, White and You! Job Fair at Globe Life Park in Arlington. We kicked off our event with a ribbon cutting featuring: Mayor Robert Cluck (who conducted the opening/welcome), Senator Kelly Hancock, Board Members Keith Muskrat (Chair), Estrus Tucker (Vice-Chair) and Leslie Sisk, staff representing Congressman Marc Veasey's office, Representative Nicole Collier's office, our three Executive Directors: Judy McDonald, Laurie Larrea and David Setzer, and all of our other special guests.  

Over 225 employers and more than 1500 job seekers took part in our event! We are still gathering information, but initial reports show that we had 124 on site hires that day! As we continue to follow up with our employers and gather more feedback we hope to report more good news including hires and interviews scheduled in the coming weeks. 

Thank you to Board Chair Keith Muskrat, Board Vice-Chair Estrus Tucker and former Board Chair (Current Board Member and newly elected Chair of TAWB) Leslie Sisk for coming out to the ballpark and supporting this initiative!  

More Background Information:

There are more than 1.7 million veterans in Texas. With the recent end of America's nine-year war in Iraq and the current drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, a mass of unemployed veterans are returning home to the United States. It is estimated that there are 922,000 veterans in Texas who are eligible for work. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the national unemployment rate for all veterans is 6.3 percent. In contrast, for those veterans who served in the military post 9/11, the unemployment rate is 10.0 percent.

These job fairs were part of an unprecedented statewide employment effort in hopes of serving those who have served for us.

Thank you again to all of the employers, veterans, service members and their spouses who participated in the Hiring Red, White & You! Initiative.

Our Wonderful Tarrant County Group!

At this month's Board Meeting we will welcome two new Board Members to the Workforce Development Board (WDB)

Michael S. Klein II, Owner / Director, Advanced Manufacturing of Klein Tools, Inc. is replacing Jim Miller as a private sector representative on the Board. Mr. Klein was nominated by the Mansfield Economic Development Corporation and his term will be up for reappointment in July of 2017. This appointment was also certified by the Commission on November 25, 2014. We are excited to have Mr. Klein join our Board and look forward to him sharing his experience with the group. Klein Tools was also Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County's nomination for Employer of the Year and Local Employer Award of Excellence at the recent Texas Workforce Commission Conference. Michael and his HR Manager, Marji Hutchinson joined us in Grapevine for the Employer Luncheon.  Congratulations again to Klein Tools.

Debra Jones, Business Relations Program Specialist with The Department of Assistive & Rehabilitative Services (DARS), is replacing Jim Knauss on the Board. Ms. Jones was nominated by DARS and her term will be up for reappointment in July of 2015 (she will be finishing out Mr. Knauss' term). Ms. Jones has business experience in both the public and private sector. This appointment was also certified by the Commission on November 25, 2014. We are excited to have Ms. Jones join our Board and look forward to her sharing her experience with the board. We will miss her at the December meeting as she will be in Austin on Business.  

 More Exciting Board Member News! We like to brag about our wonderful Board Members and hope you will join us in congratulating Ms. Sisk and Dr. Cavazos for their recent accomplishments. 

We are happy to announce that one of our Current Board Members (and Former Board Chair's) has a new role with the Texas Association of Workforce Boards (TAWB). At the TAWB Meeting in November, Leslie Sisk was elected to the position of Chair of TAWB. 

TAWB is a statewide organization representing the 28 Workforce board chairs and executive directors from across the state. Ms. Sisk also recently served in the capacity of Vice-Chair of TAWB before being named the Chair in November. 

Congratulations again Ms. Sisk! 

Following the lead of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP) and a long history of workforce recognition's by a variety of organizations, we designated September as Workforce Development Professionals Month. This was in an effort to honor all the individual professionals who play such a vital role in our nation's economic recovery efforts.

All three of our WGB Members were in support of this effort and worked with staff to give an official proclamation/resolutions to Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County to commemorate this Month. Thank you to Judge Whitley and the Tarrant County Commissioners Court, Mayor Cluck and the Arlington City Council as well as Mayor Price and the Fort Worth City Council for honoring us.

Judge Glen Whitley and the Tarrant County Commissioners Court presented the Resolution to Workforce. From Left to Right: Board Vice-Chair Estrus Tucker, Business Solutions Manager Janie Sanchez, Executive Director Judy McDonald and Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley. 

Mayor Robert Cluck and the Arlington City Council presented and also proclaimed September Workforce Development Professionals Month. From Left to Right: Board Member and Immediate Past Chair Buddy Puente, Board Chair Keith Muskrat, Board Member Dr. Lisa London,  Business Solutions Manager Janie Sanchez, Executive Director Judy McDonald and Mayor Robert Cluck.

Staff News:

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County would also like to congratulate the following individuals on their years of service to the Workforce System:

Kristi Davis - celebrating 15 years

Pat Fulkerson - celebrating 15 years

 Elma Kirkwood  - celebrating 20 years

Congratulations to everyone!

On November 7, 2014, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County in coordination with 

 We were fortunate to have many special guests on hand for our celebration! Guests included: 

• Estrus Tucker,Current Board Vice-Chair and Former, US Army, Expert Field Medical Badge and currently a National Facilitator Consultant specializing in Leadership, Community Renewal & Civic Engagement. 
• Thomas Palladino, Texas Veterans Commission, Executive Director, Colonel U.S. Army (Retired)                    
• Captain Gil Miller, USN Commanding Officer, Fort Worth NAS-JRB

Many great stories were shared and memories made. A special thank you to Jerry Hutyra, Tarrant County College Coordinator of Workforce Training who joined us to provide our training for the event on the Veteran Skills Development Program . Thank you to the veteran staff members of the three workforce Boards for accepting the call of duty. Our thoughts are with those who have or still are defending our country!

 A special thank you to Sal Adamski, Workforce Improvement Director. Sal has been the staff lead on this Breakfast all seven years. This breakfast is a success in part due to his dedication to veterans and the causes related to veterans.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this event a success! 

Part of the Tarrant County group stop to pose for a quick picture. Thank you to our talented photographer - Kathie Cutrer.
 

A quick picture of a few of our speakers for the Veterans Breakfast 

The 18th Annual Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Conference was held November 19-21, 2014 at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. Thank you to Gracie Vega and everyone at the Gaylord for being such wonderful hosts for the event. Many board members, staff, partners, and employers attended the conference.

 Board Members in attendance included: Mike Doyle, Estrus Tucker, Keith Muskrat, Leslie Sisk, Carlos De La Torre, Gracie Vega and Michael Klein (for part). 

Thank you to Judge Whitley, Mayor Cluck and Mayor Price for signing the welcome letter which was used in all of the Conference Programs. A copy of that letter can be found on page 61 of this month's Board packet. 

Congratulations again to Klein Tools and thank you to Michael Klein and your HR Manager Marji Hutchinson for coming out to accept your award at the Conference. 

 Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County nominated and recognized Klein Tools, Inc., for being Tarrant County's Employer of the Year/ Local Employer Award of Excellence.

Klein Tools, Inc has become an important workforce, economic and community partner in the Mansfield Area. Professional-grade, hand-tool manufacturer Klein Tools moved to Mansfield, Texas in 2010 and opened its new Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center. It has since created more than 205 new jobs and expects to grow by almost 600 new jobs during the next four years. The annual economic impact on the Mansfield and Tarrant County area is estimated at $180 million, with an estimated $4.5 billion statewide impact over 10 years. Klein Tools supports 1,926 direct and indirect jobs locally with annual salaries at $88.5 million.

Klein Tools worked with WSTC to actively recruit and hire candidates through WorkInTexas.com and on-site hiring fairs at Workforce Solutions Offices, as well as numerous hiring fairs countywide, including the Hiring Red, White & You! statewide Job Fair for veterans and their spouses. Klein Tools is also an active member of the Tarrant County Manufacturing Consortium, a partnership with Tarrant County and Mansfield Independent School District, which creates curriculum, internships and career pathways for high school students to address the need for machinists for Klein Tools and other area employers.  

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County is involved in many job fairs throughout Tarrant County on a monthly basis. All job fairs that we take part in can be found on our website under the calendar of events. Here is an update on some of the most recent job fairs we participated (or will participate in):

• On Thursday, October 23, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Hills Church of Christ we held an Autumn Job Fair 32 employers (3 resource agencies)met with over 127 job seekers. It was a great event!
• Congressman Marc Veasey's Job Fair was held at Mountain View Community College on Friday, November 21, 2014 from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Workforce Solutions was proud to attend and participate in that event.
• Save the Date! Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County, Arlingtonanswers.com and The Arlington Rotary will partner for our spring job fair on March 13, 2015.  It will be held at First United Methodist Church in Arlington.  More to come!
• Save the Date! Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County is working with Grace After Fire to host a Conference and Career Fair, focused on Women Veterans. This event is scheduled to take place March 20-21, 2015 at the Arlington Hilton. More to come!

Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County and the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce will host the 4th Annual Connecting Education with Industry Summit on February 26, 2015 at the Education Service Center Region 11. The event will highlight industry professionals from Logistics and Advanced Manufacturing who will share their career expertise.  The summit provides an opportunity for educators and industry professionals to partner in the advancement of career paths for our future workforce and align education with future technology innovations. 

Fort Worth was the host on December 4 - 5 for an event to bring community leaders across the state together to begin a dialogue and create a network of peers to exchange information about early learning and educational alignment.  The Summit began with a reception and panel discussion of leaders in philanthropy, business, and research.  Speakers included Dr. James Heckman of the University of Chicago, Dr. Neal Halfon of UCLA and Rob Dugger of Ready Nation.  The event concluded with a day of sharing work, exchanging ideas and networking, and positioning local work to meet the larger state and federal landscape.

One of the conclusions of the panel is that early learning is workforce development and our county's future. 

Lisa Witkowski.

We love to share in the success of our customers! This month's success story comes from our Alliance Opportunity Center (AOC).

Mr. W. Lipsmeyer, a customer and frequent visitor of the AOC, began working with staff for employment referrals and job search assistance in February of 2014. Mr. Lipsmeyer is a degreed Systems Engineer with years of engineering training and experience. When his company downsized in January, he wasted no time and started his job search immediately. He speaks of the many job search vehicles that he employed during his search. (i.e. LinkedIn, Facebook and other networking tools and search engines....including the AOC Job Club.)

Veteran and Industry Partnership (VIP):

Texas' Skills Development Fund training dollars are being provided to community colleges in certain regions of the state to train veterans for high demand occupations in those areas. The program addresses the need for jobs for veterans and the growing demand for skilled workers in the petrochemical manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, logistics and information technology industries. 

TexasWideOpenForVeterans.com Encourages Veterans to Live, Work and Play in the Lone Star State:

Active members of the military and veterans who are considering where to begin their civilian lives can now access a new resource that reveals the many advantages and opportunities awaiting veterans choosing to make the Lone Star State their permanent home. TexasWideOpenForVeterans.com is a newly launched website for veterans and their families with a one-stop opportunity to explore the many reasons for veterans to put down roots in the Lone Star State.

"We are pleased that veterans across the country will have this resource that will provide them a one-stop opportunity to discover the array of advantages that Texas offers the heroes who have given so much to our nation," said Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Andres Alcantar. "The services we offer veterans along with job growth and quality of life make Texas a state second to none as a post-service destination."

The new website is a joint project developed by the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC),  the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC) and Texas.gov to help veterans access the resources they need to help them decide if they want to put down roots and transition to civilian life in Texas. Read the full press release here: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/news/press/2014/120314press.pdf 

Every year, the participants at our Special Projects Workforce Center participate in a weekend of giving back at Thanksgiving. This year, they picked the Community Food Bank. We had 12 customers participate in the event and over a two day period they served approximately 3,684 clients of the Food Bank and put in over 458 volunteer hours. We often hear that this is one of the most meaningful events for our customers. In the past, many of them continue volunteer work because they find it so satisfying.  

Also we hope you will check out the latest article on Brewed, a company the Special Projects Workforce Center has worked closely with over the last year. 

http://fwtx.com/articles/meaning-business 

The Grand Opening and Ribbon Cutting of the Tarrant Literacy Coalition's new Atmos Energy Learner Lab was held on November 12, 2014 at the Coalition's new location in Henderson Hall of Agape Baptist Church.  Almost a hundred community leaders, volunteers and donors attended the event to see the new Learner Lab and pay tribute to all who had participated in its development.  

The Tarrant Literacy Coalition has expanded opportunities for adult learners by partnering with Agape Baptist Church and moving its operations into space in the education center at the church.  Literacy Connexus and the adult services division of The Learning Center of North Texas have also relocated with Tarrant Literacy Coalition.  Agape Baptist Church has been providing ESL, GED and US Citizenship classes for years with volunteer instructors and has had a strong relationship with the Coalition since its inception five years ago.  According to Kathryn Thompson, Executive Director of the Tarrant Literacy Coalition, this strategic alliance between three community based organizations and a local church, supported by Atmos Energy, a corporation with a strong reputation for community involvement, will make it possible for far more adult literacy students and their families to receive services that will enhance not only their literacy skills but ultimately their employment opportunities.

From Left to Right: Lester Meirwether, Kathryn Thompson, Joan Grigsby and Harriet Smith. 
 

A special group of about 20 persons gathered in San Marcos, Texas last month-representing 10 organizations in Texas who received either a 3-year Healthy Marriage or Responsible Fatherhood grant awarded by the Department of Health and Human Services in 2011.  The HMRF grants were extended for an additional year early last year.  Preliminary announcements have been released by HHS that a new notice of funding availability will be released in January with applications due in March, 2015. 

Attendees at the San Marcos meeting, held at Texas State University, shared best practices, discussed lessons learned and offered ideas to enhance HMRF programs based in Texas.  The meeting was facilitated by Barbara Spoor of ACF (federal level) and Elma Goodwin of ACF Region VI (Dallas).  The group agreed to stay connected via conference calls on a quarterly basis. Nakia Edwards, Program Manager with AVANCE in Houston volunteered to coordinate the quarterly communications for the group.

The following representatives of HMRF grantee programs were in attendance:

• Robert Briseno and Emily Martinez - Southwest Key Programs (San Antonio)
• Mary Lou Sorensen, Hugo Melgoza, and Nathan Gilmore - Goodwill Industries of Central Texas (Austin)
• Chris Lefeve, Jeff Johnson, Ramon Diaz, Sandra Hayes, Will Baca - LifeWorks (Austin)
• Yanira Montes - Family Services (Houston)
• Nakia Edwards - AVANCE (Houston)
• Jennifer Acker - The Parenting Center
• Mervil Johnson - Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County - FACT Project
• Michelle Toews, Renee Perez - Texas State University School (San Marcos)
• Katrina Johnson - Horizon outreach (Houston)
• Jesus Diaz - El Paso Children's Center (El Paso)

Sign Up for Workforce Alerts: You will want to make sure and sign up for our Workforce Alerts... to stay on top of all of our Latest News. Some of the items you will see, include: Latest Labor Market Information, Our Newsletter, Calendar Changes and Special Events. Believe me you do not want to miss it! 

lacey.douglas@workforcesolutions.net 

Please help us spread the word within our community!! If you know of someone who needs some assistance with child care please share.  Thank you for helping us get this message out!! This information can also be found on our website. 

At the October 8, 2014 Workforce Development Board Meeting, we recognized Mayor Charles Scoma for his years of service to the Fatherhood Initiatives in Tarrant County. From Left to Right: Board Chair Keith Muskrat, Mayor Charles Scoma and FACT Grant Director Mervil Johnson.
 

Board Chair Keith Muskrat spoke about the importance for businesses to work with their local Workforce Boards, at the Governor's Small Business Forum which was hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. 

Business Services Director Amber Gosser speaking to the crowd at the Governor's Small Business Conference about all of the wonderful services available to businesses through the Texas Workforce Commission and your local Workforce Board, Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County.  

Board Chair Keith Muskrat and Board Vice-Chair Estrus Tucker posed for a quick picture during the Hiring Red, White & You! Job Fair on November 13, 2014 at Globe Life Park. 

A quick picture of the crowd in the Hall of Fame building (just one of 4 locations we had employers in for the Hiring Red, White & You! event). 

From Left to Right: David Setzer (Executive Director of Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas), Laurie Larrea (President of Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas) and Judy McDonald (Executive Director of Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County) stop to pose for a picture during the Hiring Red, White & You! event. We work regionally together on this event with our wonderful neighbors and it has proved to be a GREAT success!
  

Board Members Gracie Vega and Leslie Sisk pose for a picture with Executive Director Judy McDonald during the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) Conference. 

From Left to Right: Business Services Director Amber Gosser, Board Vice Chair Estrus Tucker, Workforce Improvement Director Sal Adamski and Coordinator for Workforce Training at Tarrant County College Mac Belmontes pose for a picture while at the TWC Conference.  

Our resident photog Judy McDonald was able to snap a quick picture of Strategic Planning Director Jann Miles and Capacity Building and Training Director Debby Kratky before they began their presentation at the TWC Conference. 

 Mayor Betsy Price, Board Member David Berzina and other community leaders toured NBC, Channel 5 recently. Look who sneaked into the anchor chairs! (photograph shared from the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page).