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North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board
WDA 6 - Workforce News Bulletin
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After high school graduation, Danielle Smith attended the UW-Eau Claire and the UW Marshfield Extension for two years, but at the time, she wasn't mature enough to handle the freedom and the workload of school. She withdrew from college, found a job, and within the next year got married and started a family. Danielle was a stay at home mom providing in-home daycare during her twelve years of marriage. Danielle divorced six years ago and re-entered the workforce. Three years later, budget cuts in education resulted in the elimination of her job. It was a very trying time emotionally and financially for Danielle and her children. With few job opportunities and her lack of a college education, a very determined Danielle decided to return to school to finish what she had started almost 20 years ago. She needed to accomplish this goal for both her own satisfaction and to show her children the value of committing to a goal and following through until it's met. Read Danielle's story HERE. |
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Welcome to the North Central WI Workforce Development Board's June / July - 2013 issue of the Workforce News Bulletin.
In This Issue:
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NCWWDB Announces Passing of its Chief Local Elected Official, Erhard Huettl - Erhard Huettl, Sr, of Wabeno, WI, passed away at his home on Saturday, July 20, 2013 after a courageous battle with lung disease. He was born in Laona, WI on August 20, 1930, the son of Erhard and Florence (Voeltz) Huettl. He attended the Freedom School for his first eight grades and graduated from Wabeno High School in 1948.
Huettl had been on the Forest County Board of Supervisors since 1968. He served as Chair of the County Board for 37 years, from 1975 until 2012, and was the Chief Local Elected Official of the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Board since 1999. Read the full obituary HERE. Back to top
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Defining "Livable Wage"
By: Tom Walsh, Economist, DWD - Office of Economic Advisors
Workforce and economic development efforts often focus on developing jobs or placing workers in positions that pay at least adequate wages. "Livable wage" estimates provide a threshold that can be used for developing, implementing, and tracking these initiatives. While specific income needs vary among individuals, the estimate provides a rough measure of adequate wages.
The estimated livable wage threshold for the North Central Wisconsin Workforce Development Area (WDA 6) is just under $26,000 per year or about $12.40 per hour for a full time worker. The livable wage estimate does not necessarily represent a comfortable wage, but it provides an easy-to-update metric for projects and programs that focus on well-paying jobs.
The estimates are calculated using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) county-level fair market rent levels and rental assistance guidelines. HUD publishes annual Fair Market Rent (FMR) estimates for every U.S. County and uses 30% of gross income as a guideline for rental assistance programs. Click HERE to view the livable wage estimates representing the annual earnings required if exactly 30% of income is used to pay rent. Monthly rent for each county in WDA 6 is determined using HUD's FMR estimate for a two bedroom apartment. Back to top
Tom Walsh is the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's (DWD's) North Central WI Regional Economist. DWD's Office of Economic Advisors is charged with assisting all interested parties in better understanding their local economies.
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People Who Make a Difference - Kent Olson Helps Foster Collaboration Among Schools, Business - (This article on NCWWDB's Board Chair, Kent Olson, appeared in The Business News on July 8, 2013. It is copyright-protected and being reprinted here with their permission.)
Written by: Betty Wall - The Business News
Kent Olson believes in helping people get ahead. Olson, owner and president of Olson Tire & Auto Service in Wausau, is a passionate advocate for education and workforce development.
Olson was recently appointed by Gov. Scott Walker to the new Council on Workforce Investment panel and has served on NCWWDB's board for 13 years, the last three as its chairman.
Olson's list of community involvements include his work with the Wausau School District's Youth Apprenticeship Automotive Technician program, co-founder and current co-chair of the Wisconsin Automotive and Truck Education Assoc. (WATEA), a previous appointment serving on Gov. Doyle's Council on Workforce Investment, and serving on the State of Wisconsin Governor's Work Based Learning Board Curriculum Review Committee.
Through his work with WATEA, Olson wrote, received and implemented a statewide grant of $88,000 to identify skills, opportunities and information for auto and light truck careers.
"Education is a priority of mine," Olson said. "I am all about building collaborations. Whatever we do, whether it is business, industry, education or government, we must realize that we are all partners in a project. None of us can do it on our own. We must collaborate. We must work together, while still respecting each of our own areas as well. We have a lot of commonality. We need an educated workforce. We need an upwardly mobile workforce. Quite honestly, the world is a better place if we are more educated. Read the entire Business News article HERE. Back to top
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 Senator Listens to Local Manufacturer's Concerns about Skills Gap, Difficulty in Filling High Tech Positions - U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin recently visited Pointe Precision in Plover to tour the facility and learn about it's workforce development efforts. Pointe Precision is a high technology machine shop that manufactures components for the aerospace and other industries.
Senator Baldwin also met with Joe Kinsella, Founder, President and CEO of Pointe Precision and board member of NCWWDB as well as Rene Daniels, Executive Director of NCWWDB to discuss local recruitment of qualified workers, creating customized training programs to build the skills of the local workforce, and identifying and helping remedy skill gaps that might exist.
According to Kinsella, one of the problems with the skills gap is that there are not enough people entering the manufacturing fields. Another problem is the ability of technical schools to bring new workers up to the high-tech levels needed by modern manufacturers. "Often times, companies are investing literally hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars in a piece of equipment. The technical colleges can't keep up with that, and so they're often lagging behind in terms of teaching people on the precise pieces of equipment that they're going to have to operate in the field."
Another problem for manufacturers is the growing number of upcoming retirements of these highly skilled operators. With the demand for high tech manufacturing jobs growing, the number of retired machinists leaving the workforce, and the number of students below the market demand, Kinsella says he strongly encourages experienced and young people looking for a new career to consider manufacturing. Read more HERE. Back to top
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 NCWWDB Helps Launch Central Wisconsin Metal Manufacturing Alliance - In late May, NCWWDB received a request from a manufacturing employer requesting current data and projections for two occupations in our region: welders and machinists. In response, we ran an initial report using Economic Modeling Services, Inc. (EMSI), a labor market analysis software to which we subscribe.
To augment the EMSI-generated data, the Board was asked to conduct a survey of 22 regional metal fabricators. Survey results revealed that the growth rate in the welding and machinist occupations was significantly greater than that projected by EMSI. That result is to be expected with any "real time" survey of employers.
These results prompted the Business Services team to convene a meeting of the respondents to the survey and explore potential solutions to the demand for these and other manufacturing occupations.
Fifteen manufacturing company representatives recently met to discuss the opportunities and partnerships that could help meet this identified occupation demand. Out of these discussions, the group formed the Central Wisconsin Metal Manufacturing Alliance. Read entire article HERE. Back to top
For more information about NCWWDB's Employer Services, call Bruce Trimble at 715-204-1647 or email at: btrimble@ncwwdb.org.
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 Board Staffer Ali Konkel, Assumes Responsibility of Job Center Liaison - Ensuring coordination among Job Centers in the North Central WI Workforce Development Area will be the priority of the NCWWDB's Job Center Liaison. Ali Konkel has recently taken on this added responsibility at the Board and and has been busy getting to know each of the Job Centers, its staff, and the unique services provided at each location. Konkel is working with Job Center partners to provide a comprehensive training for staff working in Job Centers throughout the WDA. Three separate trainings are slated to take place in August to accommodate all case managers, front desk staff, and resource associates and other staff housed in the centers.
Speakers will present on a variety of topics designed to enhance the professional development of Job Center staff. Chief David M. Erwin from the Wisconsin State Capitol Police Department will provide comprehensive safety training. Raymond G. Mejia, Equal Opportunity Program Specialist, from the Department of Workforce Development will speak to issues of Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity compliance. Customer Service training will be provided by Northcentral Technical College and Travel Guard, and an Ethics and Boundaries presentation will be made by Northcentral Technical College.
This is a wonderful opportunity to discuss best practices, network with service providers and ensure that those working with job seekers are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the needs of all job seekers.
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Did You Know: July Marks the 23rd Anniversary of the Passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act? - The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA is one of America's most comprehensive pieces of civil rights legislation that prohibits discrimination and guarantees that people with disabilities have the same opportunities as everyone else to participate in the mainstream of American life -- to enjoy employment opportunities, to purchase goods and services, and to participate in State and local government programs and services. Modeled after the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin - and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 -- the ADA is an "equal opportunity" law for people with disabilities. The ADA Amendments Act of 2008 became effective on January 1, 2009. The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) amended the ADA regulations to reflect the changes made by the ADA Amendments Act and final regulations were published in the Federal Register in March 2011.
The Amendments Act and regulations reversed several Supreme Court decisions and made a number of changes to the ADA. Get information on the Amendments Act and read entire article HERE. Back to top
For more information about NCWWDB's Disability Employment Initiative, call Patty Branton at 715-347-3537 or email her at: pbranton@ncwwdb.org.
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WDA 6
Statistics Report
June 2013
The June 2013 unemployment rate in Wisconsin was 6.8%.
Most counties in the NCWWDB region
experienced a slight increase in unemployment rates between May and June 2013.
Of the ten counties with the highest unemployment rates, four are found in the North Central Region: Vilas 12.3% (3rd highest in the state)
Adams, Langlade and Lincoln all reported 9.2% unemployment (5th highest in the state). Portage County has the lowest unemployment rate in the region at 6.8% up from last month's rate of 6.3%
WorkNet & DWD
One Warn Notice has been issued for the NCWWDA area in 2013.
*WARN is a required communication for those employers with 100 or more employees. Employers with fewer than 100 employees
may have laid people off
during this time.
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WIA
Training Report
PY' 2012 Final WIA Enrollment Report
254 Youth & 15 NCWWDB Employability Skills Certificates were issued to youth, 267 Adults, and 1,270 Dislocated Workers were served in Program Year 2012.
Program Year 2013 Enrollment
(Starting July 1, 2013)
156 Youth, 172 Adults, & 794 Dislocated Workers were enrolled as of 7/19/2013.
Special Training Projects:
- 8 participants graduated from the Machine Tool course at Mid-State Technical College on June 18th. Participants are busy conducting interviews in the Wisconsin Rapids and Stevens Point areas. Five of the eight participants are employed
- 12 participants graduated from our 4th Production Welding course at Northcentral Technical College on June 27th. Five of the twelve participants are currently employed
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WDA 6 Job Center
Workshops Calendar
Check out what's being offered FREE in your local Wisconsin Job Center!
Click here to view calendar
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Youth Symposium
NAWDP
2013 YOUTH DEVELOPMENT SYMPOSIUM
October 28-30, 2013
Location
Back in downtown Chicago!
The Palmer House Hilton
17 East Monroe Street, Chicago, IL 60603
Over 550 participants from across the nation are expected and represent the entire scope of the profession including: One-Stop Center Staff, Youth Build Grantees, Job Corps Professionals, Community College Representatives, Career and Guidance Counselors, Juvenile Justice Specialists, Educators and other Youth Practitioners.
Deadline for symposium rate is October 5th.
National Association of
Workforce Development
Professionals
Upcoming
Job Fairs
Central WI Job Fair, Wisconsin Rapids
Thursday,
September 26, 2013
10 am - 2 pm
Mid-State Technical College, E-Building - Gymnasium,
500 32nd St. North, Wisconsin Rapids, WI
For more information contact Corey Anfinson 715-422-5018
Bring copies of your resume to distribute to employers!
Wednesday
October 15, 2013
9 am - 3 pm
UW-Marathon County
518 S. Seventh Ave.
Wausau, WI
For more information call:
715-298-9344
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WDA 6
Job Center usage report reflects measured statistics comprised of the total number of clients utilizing the resources and core services available at the Adams; Marshfield; Rhinelander; Wausau; & Wis. Rapids
Job Centers each month.
May 2013:
- Total Clients - 3,265
- New Clients - 146
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Agency Visit - 639
(e.g. W2, WIA, etc.)
- Military Vet/Eligible Spouse - 159
- Job Search JCoW- 951
- Resume Assist - 17
- Job Search other - 310
- Career Exploration- 56
June 2013:
- Total Clients - 3,172
- New Clients - 134
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Agency Visit - 630
(e.g. W2, WIA, etc.)
- Military Vet/Eligible Spouse - 139
- Job Search JCoW- 961
- Resume Assist - 35
- Job Search other - 256
- Career Exploration- 32
* Depending on the number of services utilized per visit, clients may be included in
more than one measure.
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Recruitment & Retention Tools for Employers
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Job Center of Wisconsin
Convenient. Fast. Free.
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