Business + Education = Skilled Workforce
 Over the past two years, the state of California has awarded more than $38 million in public education grants to help build regional career pathways in Ventura County. Through collaboration between employers and educators, educational programs are being developed and aligned to create a local pipeline of skilled, adaptable workers to help businesses compete in the complex, changing global economy. We hear from our Workforce Development Board (WDB) members that not having a ready, reliable local talent pool is costing employers money and productivity. To that end, WDB sector committees (healthcare, manufacturing, clean/green) are engaging employers in public discussions to provide educators with input on labor market data, local workforce demand, entry-level skill requirements, relevant content for curriculum development and career education, and ways to engage employers in offering career-related experiences. Read the complete article here. |
Anticipating a layoff situation at your company? Call right away for assistance. Rapid Response professionals are ready to work with you and your employees, offering an entire network of free resources that might even help to avoid the layoff. It all starts with a confidential, no-cost transition planning session. Whether one employee or 50 employees might lose their jobs, the sooner you contact Rapid Response, the better. For more information, call 800-500-7705.
According to Christy Norton, Business Services Manager for the American Job Center of California in Ventura County, using on-the-job training (OJT) is just "smart business." In a March 30th interview, Ms. Norton said that OJT is "a proven workforce development model [that] helps employers to access referrals of qualified OJT candidates." OJT opportunities are structured to respond to a company's business operation and to offset the associated expenses of new employee training. Listen to the 
Do you know an individual, department, organization or collaborative partnership whose actions or ideas help to build a strong workforce in Ventura County? Let us know with a 2016 WDB Award nomination. At our WDB Annual Meeting on June 26, we will honor exceptional members of the Ventura County community with WDB Awards in several categories: WDB Youth Opportunity Award, WDB Collaborative Action Award, WDB Champion for Prosperity Award, and WDB Leadership Award. Nominations are due by May 2nd. Details and nomination forms are available on the 
The Pacific Coast Business Times reported that four Ventura County businesses received tax credits for creating jobs! Kudos to PackIt LLC in Westlake (19 jobs), C.D. Lyon in Ventura & Santa Maria (19 jobs), Western Saw Manufacturers in Oxnard (13 jobs), and L-Acoustics in Camarillo and Thousand Oaks (9 jobs)! For more information about the California Competes Tax Credit, go to 
