Wisconsin Workforce Dev't News & Day at the Capitol: Jan 2013

January 2013

Volume 1, Issue 47

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Click here for a larger map of Wisconsin's Workforce Development Areas

TOGETHER.
DEVELOPING WISCONSIN'S WORKFORCE.

The Wisconsin Workforce Development Association (WWDA) is the organization that promotes, enhances, and serves the interests of local workforce investment agencies and system partners in Wisconsin. WWDA represents the eleven Workforce Development Areas who administer the federal Workforce Investment Act (WIA) programs, as well as other federal, state and local workforce development initiatives across Wisconsin. Learn More.

WANT TO TALK WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT?

MARK FEB. 6TH ON YOUR CALENDAR!

February is an exciting month for the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association. On February 6th, members of our private sector-led boards, local elected officials, and other workforce stakeholders will converge on the Capitol to visit with state legislators and discuss workforce development needs and possible solutions.

Your office will be contacted in late January to arrange a visit by the local workforce board that serves your district. If you have not yet been contacted please email wwdainfo@gmail.com and we will arrange a visit with you.

As always WWDA hopes that you find these articles and information helpful and invite you to read about the successful projects below. We welcome questions and encourage you to contact us!

WWDA WELCOMES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Brian Vigue was hired in December 2012 as the Executive Director of the Wisconsin Workforce Development Association (WWDA). He will advise the WWDA board on public outreach, state and federal legislation, and policy issues. Brian brings years of experience to this position. He has worked on workforce and economic development issues as a Senior Legislative Assistant for U.S. Representative Patrick Kennedy, as a staff member in the State Assembly, as a Policy Aide in the Office of Governor Jim Doyle, and as a Division Administrator and Executive Assistant at the Wisconsin Department of Administration.

Brian was raised in Green Bay and currently lives in Madison with his wife, Carla, and their trusty dog, Walter. Brian's contact information can be found at the bottom of this publication.

LAKESHORE TECHNICAL COLLEGE ADVANCED MANUFACTURING MOBILE LAB Bay Area Trailer

Lakeshore Technical College serving Manitowoc and Sheboygan Counties will be putting NEW North's second Advanced Manufacturing Mobile Lab on the road in January 2013. It will join Northeast Wisconsin Technical College's CNC Mobile Lab in making manufacturing training more accessible in Northeast Wisconsin.

This project is a collaborative effort among LTC, NWTC, Bay Area Workforce Development Board , the Wisconsin Department of Corrections, Curt G. Joa Inc., and Rockwell Automation to bring electromechanical and other advanced manufacturing training to students throughout the region.

The Wisconsin Department of Corrections has been a key partner in this effort and the mobile lab will begin its service with a six-week training program at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution in January and February. Inmate students will receive six credits toward an Industrial Technology Production degree. Later in the year, the lab will also offer training at the Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution near Plymouth and the Taycheedah women's prison in Fond du Lac.

Throughout the winter and spring months, the new mobile lab will tour area high schools, as well as being available for job fairs and career expos. During the summer of 2013, area high school instructors will be trained to deliver high school classes using the lab.

The LTC mobile lab will be able to add different kinds of equipment to respond to employer needs.

PARTNERSHIPS KEEP AND OPEN DOORS TO MANUFACTURING JOBS

James Ladwig, Racine County Executive, presents the CNC Gateway Certificate

to Milougrow Usher, one of 20 graduates of the CNC Boot Camp

Proving the drive to have a high-demand skill, all twenty participants of the SE WIB's and Gateway Technical College's Computer Numerical Control (CNC) Boot Camp completed the intensive certificate training. This 14-week program requires attending class 8-hours a day for 5 days a week. The CNC Boot Camp is an innovative, fast-paced, hands-on program to learn the essentials CNC operations. Some of the trainees were dislocated workers or unemployed looking for marketable skills. The training also emphasized the other crucial job skills such as

attendance, team work and having a good attitude.

Even though graduation happened in mid-December, several job seekers already have full-time jobs and many of the others are in their second-round of job interviews. Another example of an excellent outcome involved an incumbent worker who was at risk of layoff but with this new skill transferred into a higher paying position and the layoff was averted.

This project illustrates the importance of partnership in providing solutions to both job seekers and employers. The CNC Boot Camp is possible because of the work of several partners from the Workforce Development Centers, to Gateway Technical College, local manufacturing employers and the SC Johnson Fund which helped fund this training.

The boot camp initiative is funded by a $1M grant from the SC Johnson Fund.

MANUFACTURING IN MILWAUKEE

On Friday, January 18, the Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership (WRTP/BIG STEP) will celebrate the completion of two manufacturing training classes. Since April 2012, seven groups of jobseekers have been trained to meet the specific needs of local manufacturers as part of Mayor Barrett's Manufacturing Partnership. Job openings in the manufacturing industry offer tremendous potential for employment.

"Manufacturing jobs have become increasingly technical. Employees need far more advanced skills than 30 years ago," said Donald Sykes, President/CEO, Milwaukee Area Workforce Investment Board (MAWIB). "The Mayor's Manufacturing Partnership addresses the specific needs of local manufacturing companies."

The Mayor's Manufacturing Partnership is part of MAWIB's industry sector strategy and addresses the shortage of skilled workers for manufacturing industry jobs. Through the Mayor's Manufacturing Partnership, MAWIB brings together the City of Milwaukee, WRTP/BIG STEP and the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). The goal of the partnership is to shrink the talent mismatch by working closely with employers to train jobseekers to fill manufacturing positions and to prepare the workforce pipeline to fill future projected openings in the manufacturing industry. This project directly links employer needs to assure a placement at the end of training. Partners work with manufacturing companies to identify their workforce needs, including current and future openings. Eligible candidates-low-income, unemployed or underemployed Milwaukee County residents- receive industry specific training to fill the designated positions.