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issue 19 - march 2009 |
kathy.sweeney@state.mn.us |
In this Issue:
- DEED Staff Travel to WorkForce Centers for Listening Sessions
- FastTRAC Creates Statewide “Stackable Credentials” Framework for Adult Learners
- Customers Can Now Enroll in Free GED Online Preparation
- FIRST Grant Program Update
- Mark Your Calendar for the Minnesota Development Conference
- ISEEK Solutions Celebrates 10 Years of Service
- Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace: Update
- Strong Partnerships Important in Obtaining Discretionary Funds
- Check out the Latest Issue of Health Care News
DEED Staff Travel to WorkForce Centers for Listening Sessions
By Workforce Development Director Bonnie Elsey, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
Rick Caligiuri, DEED job seeker services director and I traveled to WorkForce Centers across the state for 23 listening sessions in the fall of 2008. Our goal was to find out how DEED’s central office can better support WorkForce Center staff and their work.
The sessions were held in Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Anoka, Mankato, Fairmont, South/North Minneapolis, Cambridge, St. Cloud, Duluth, Hibbing, Virginia, Alexandria, Brainerd, Crookston, Thief River Falls, Woodbury, Willmar, Marshall St. Paul/Fairview, Burnsville, West St. Paul, Rochester and Winona. At each session we met with staff to find out what the issues were that face WorkForce Center (WFC) staff members, as well as their ideas on how to improve services. Jim Hegman, Unemployment Insurance (UI) director of Program Performance and Outreach, also attended several sessions to hear about Unemployment Insurance (UI) issues. Together we heard from staff from nearly 40 WorkForce Centers from across the state.
We identified the top issues as a result of these visits. The top three issues were:
- Customers need more staff assisted services – accessing computers, resume writing and interviewing skills.
- UI Online and Telephone – UI staff needs to be present in the WFC for assistance with customers.
- Non-Traditional customers in Resource Areas need to be helped with more one-on-one-assistance: These include older workers (50-plus-years-old), culturally diverse, and ex-offenders.
You can view a chart that shows the top 15 issues identified in WorkForce Center visits. View the chart on page 5 of this document at- http://www.deed.state.mn.us/wia/wfcissues.pdf.
We are in the process of implementing a short-term action plan to address the needs of jobs seekers, staff and business.
For job seekers, the plan being implemented includes:
- Improve WFC job seeker orientation so that newly-laid off people hear about eligible program options. Also, Unemployment Insurance (UI) staff who are housed in WFCs are now doing group orientations.
- Reduce the amount of time to enter the Dislocated Worker Program. WDD and UI directors are working on strategies for this, and temporary staff are being hired in WFCs to help recruit Dislocated Workers.
- Inform UI applicants and people receiving extended UI benefits of Dislocated Worker and WorkForce Center services. Workforce One data is being used to identify UI claimants and dislocated workers.
- Increase capacity to translate resumes to and from Minnesotaworks.net. A software build was completed on January 30 to make this function much easier for job seekers.
- Get more staff in WorkForce Center resource areas to provide more one-on-one assistance to UI applicants and non-traditional customers. Business Services Specialists have been assigned to work in resource areas one day a week. Several DEED headquarters staff have been trained and are also working one day a week in metro resource areas. In addition, 15 temporary staff are being hired and will have started working in WFCs by the end of February. The temporary staff will be assigned to WFCs with high pockets of unemployment. A potential federal stimulus package may also give us more resources to hire additional temporary staff for resource areas.
For business, the plan being implemented includes:
- Market DEED as the primary labor exchange organization in the state.
- Provide a comprehensive list of apprenticeship services available to business.
For line staff, the plan being implemented includes:
- Make training available to WFC staff on how to handle difficult customers in stressful situations, violence intervention and conflict resolution.
- Conduct a WFC staff needs assessment and present findings.
We are also taking actions to ensure that we have the financial resources needed to fulfill our mission and actions to ensure efficient and effective processes are being used at the WorkForce Center.
DEED – Workforce Development Division’s Vision of Success: Long Term
From the customer perspective: Success for our customers means:
- Minnesota’s workforce is highly competitive and all Minnesotans who want to work have a job that pays a wage that allows financial independence.
- Minnesota businesses have the talented workers they need to succeed in the global economy.
- Individuals who cannot work have the support they need to maximize their quality of life.
- Workforce Development Division (WDD) products and services support regional prosperity.
- WDD customers have equal access to and high satisfaction with WDD products and services.
From a financial perspective: Success in managing financial resources means:
- WDD’s budget aligns with priorities to maximize resources.
- WDD expenditures comply with federal and state regulatory requirements.
From a business process perspective: Success in our business processes means:
- WDD processes leverage technology when feasible.
- WDD business processes and practices are lean.
From a learning and growth perspective: Success in our ability to learn and improve means:
- WDD leaders model and foster trust, respect, commitment, cooperation, and innovation.
- WDD staff members are motivated, empowered, knowledgeable, and result-driven.
- WDD staff understand and reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of Minnesota’s population.
- WDD can clearly demonstrate its performance and progress toward priority outcome.
- WDD has excellent vertical and horizontal communication.
Strategies to accomplish these long term goals with the highest priority have been developed and will be released soon.
FastTRAC Creates Statewide “Stackable Credentials” Framework for Adult Learners
The Shifting Gears - Minnesota FastTRAC: Training, Resources And Credentialing initiative is underway to create a statewide “stackable credentials” framework for low-skilled adults to improve their job prospects and promote economic growth in the state.
The reason the stackable credentials framework is so important is that the long term demographic trends for Minnesota show a labor shortage due to retiring baby boomers and shrinking K-12 population. In addition there is a mismatch of skills, with too few workers possessing the skills needed by employers.
While 25 percent of today’s jobs require a post secondary credential or college degree, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that about 45 percent of all new jobs over the next decade will require a college degree or postsecondary credential. Yet, one-third of Minnesotans (692,000) of prime working age (25-55) have only a high school education or less.
State policy change is at the heart of the FastTRAC initiative in that state leadership recognizes that Minnesota workforce development and education systems are not easily accessible for much of the state’s current workforce. A stackable credentials framework will position state education and workforce systems to better enable especially low-skilled adult workers to get the credentials they need to compete in today’s turbulent labor market as well as in the future.
The goal of the Minnesota FastTRAC initiative is to develop a policy agenda for creating a state-wide stackable credentials framework that integrates adult basic education, non-credit occupational training, and for-credit postsecondary degree and certificate programs that currently lack coordination and resource sharing.
Among the characteristics of a stackable credentials framework:
- Multi-level, industry-recognized credentials that are collaboratively developed by business and workforce education and training systems.
- Career pathways or “roadmaps” of education and skills training that incorporate basic, technical and employability skills, contextualized instruction, and vertical and horizontal movement in a career field; and
- Opportunities to train for high-demand, high-opportunity jobs valued by employers, reflective of business skill requirements, and backed up by regional labor market data.
The FastTRAC initiative is funded in part by a $500,000 grant from the Joyce Foundation. Multiple state agencies are contributing financial, leadership and institutional resources to the initiative, including: DEED, Minnesota Department of Education Adult Basic Education (ABE), Department of Human Services, Office of Higher Education, MnSCU – Office of the Chancellor, Department of Labor and Industry, Governor’s Workforce Development Council as well as employers.
Seven of the state’s stackable credential models are serving as “incubators” of student support and career pathway innovations. The programs are:
- Building the Healthcare Workforce in West Central Minnesota, a collaborative of the West Central Initiative Foundation, Workforce Service Area 2, 11 ABE consortia, and Minnesota State Community and Technical College.
- Pathway to the Trades, a collaborative of SOAR Career Solutions, Lake Superior College, Duluth Workforce Development, the Northeast Entrepreneur Fund, Area Partnership for Economic Expansion, Northstar Aerospace, Express Employment, and Duluth ABE.
- Multicultural Certified Nursing Assistant, a collaborative of Somali Success School and Dakota County Technical College.
- HIRED’s Sector Training Programs, a collaborative of HIRED, Hennepin Technical College, Robbinsdale ABE, and various area employers.
- Long-Term Care Skilled Worker Pathways, a collaborative of Workforce Development, Inc., Riverland Community College and Southeast Technical, ABE, and various area employers.
- College Prep, a collaborative of North Hennepin Community College, Mindquest Academy, Osseo ABE, and the North Hennepin WorkForce Center.
- Financial Services Industry Skills Training, a collaborative of Goodwill/Easter Seals, Minneapolis ABE, Minneapolis Community and Technical College, and a number of financial services firms.
The initiative is also identifying policy opportunities and benefiting from greater collaborative efforts from Education and Training Collaboratives and other initiatives that are helping to build the infrastructure for and institutional commitment to stackable credentials in Minnesota.
The FastTRAC initiative has created a stackable credentials/career pathways network in Minnesota to disseminate reports, professional development opportunities and other information to help grow the capabilities and commitment for stackable credentials and career pathways beyond the seven incubator models. To join the network or learn more about the initiative, e-mail Mary Schmidt, director of the state-wide initiative at mary.schmidt@state.mn.us. The Web site for Shifting Gears-Minnesota FastTRAC is www.cte.mnscu.edu.
Customers Can Now Enroll in Free GED Online Preparation
Now WorkForce Center customers can take advantage of a new online instructional program for Minnesotans who are preparing for their General Education Development Diploma (GED). GED-i, a nationally-recognized and teacher-facilitated service, is free to eligible Minnesota students.
“This is an important resource for people who are working toward their GED diploma,” said Minnesota Department of Education Commissioner Alice Seagren. “For many Minnesotans, transportation, child care and work obligations have kept them from going to class to prepare for the GED test. This new program will make GED preparation much more accessible.”
According to the 2007 American Community Survey, 10 percent (388,074) of Minnesotans over the age of 18 lack high school equivalency. Individuals who do not have their high school diploma or equivalent (GED) are at a severe disadvantage in the increasingly competitive job market.
Research in other states has shown that online GED preparation is more effective for people who have barriers to education and employment. And the benefit is clear. People who can get their GED have an economic advantage of $7,000 to $10,000 per year in salary compared with those who don’t have it, according to Barry Shaffer of the Department of Education, who administers the Adult Basic Education program.
The program is available to any Minnesotan, not enrolled in high school, who is 16 years old or older.
“GED-i is a part of our efforts to work closer with WorkForce Centers and strengthen our partnerships,” said Shaffer.
A WorkForce Center customer can start the enrollment process by calling the adult literacy hotline at 1-800-222-1990. Hotline staff will refer the customer to the right program provider. Then the customer will be directed by the program provider to the provider’s office to be assessed so the customer can be matched with the appropriate level of training. (As long as a customer’s reading skill level is at the eighth grade or above, he or she can participate in GED-i.) The eligible client will then get an online address, as well as a login ID and password for the program.
Once enrolled, a student can get started the same day. Students are expected to actively participate online to keep enrolled in the program.
GED-i learning is facilitated by instructors from local education programs. Registered students will work with a licensed teacher from their local Adult Basic Education (ABE) program in an online environment. Instructional content can be accessed on the Internet at any time.
The GED-i program is an online preparation program only; the GED test itself must be taken in person at a GED examination center. Student enrollment in person at an ABE provider site is also required.
“We’re hoping to have a 10 to 20 percent increase in GED graduates as a result of the GED-i program option,” said Shaffer.
Already the program has had its first graduate in Brainerd, Minn. And that’s only the beginning, according to Shaffer.
For location information about Adult Basic Education (ABE) and GED-i providers, visit http://www.themlc.org/hotline.html or call the Minnesota Adult Literacy Hotline at 1-800-222-1990. For additional information about the GED test itself, visit the GED information website at http://mnabe.themlc.org/GED2.html .
FIRST Grant Program Update
Recently a summary of the projects funded by the Framework for Integrated Regional Strategies (FIRST)) grant program was posted at www.deed.state.mn.us/workforce/first/summary.pdf It contains the purpose, outcomes, dates and partnerships for each project. The grantees are:
Northern Technology Initiative
Northwest Minnesota Regional Economic Alliance
Partners for Strategic Growth
Range Readiness Initiative
South Central Regional Economic Collaboration
Southeast Minnesota Consortium for Economic Prosperity
Southwest Minnesota Regional Collaborative
Workforce Ready!
West Central Minnesota
Central Minnesota Alternative Energy Collaborative
Minnesota IT Workforce Collaborative
South of the River Intelligent Community Initiative
Central Minnesota Manufacturing
Prosperity Partnership - Manufacturing
In addition, a new regional competitiveness map is posted at www.deed.state.mn.us/workforce/first/PDFs/RegEconCompetMap.pdf.
Don’t forget to check out this valuable Web site!
Mark Your Calendar for the Minnesota Development Conference
It's not too early to be thinking about the 14th annual Minnesota Development Conference. This year's dates are Thursday and Friday, October 1-2 at the Sheraton Bloomington Hotel, Minneapolis South. Minnesota State Economist Tom Stinson and State Demographer Tom Gillaspy are confirmed speakers. Look for conference updates on www.PositivelyMinnesota.com and mark your calendars!
ISEEK Solutions Celebrates 10 Years of Service
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| Pictured: Laura Winge, DEED looking at iSEEK application with staff member Pat McGarrah |
ISEEK celebrated 10 years of helping Minnesotans explore careers, find schools or training and search for jobs. To celebrate, ISEEK hosted an open house in St. Paul on January 22 and revealed their Web site redesign.
Senior Vice Chancellor Linda Baer, Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) and chair of the ISEEK Solutions Executive Board, noted that the success of ISEEK is due in part to the fact that all of the partners involved have remained committed. The executive board for ISEEK Solutions includes representatives from six state agencies: which include Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), MnSCU, the Department of Education, Office of Higher Education, Office of Enterprise Technology and the University of Minnesota.
Baer also said that by keeping ISEEK’s Web site technology up-to-date it will be easier than ever to research and understand the best pathways to the hottest careers, education and jobs.
Ken Niemi, chief information officer/vice chancellor, MnSCU said that ISEEK’s redesign will include several new features such as
- Social networking
- Blogs
- Mini-polls
- The ability to rate content
- Multi-media
- Personalization
- Language translations, and
- Integrated content across Web sites.
The newly designed Web site will go live in phases. Governor Tim Pawlenty has proclaimed February 2009 as ISEEK Awareness Month for the State of Minnesota. Karen Klinzing, Assistant Commissioner for the Department of Education read the proclamation.
Also speaking at the open house was DEED Director of Workforce Development, Bonnie Elsey. Elsey noted that ISEEK’s redesign is a much-needed response to today’s economy. She said the most important thing we can do is empower Minnesotans to be informed consumers, which fosters learning.
According to the latest trends acquired by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov), more education translates into more earning potential.
Elsey also announced that Minnesota just received two new grants totaling approximately $4 million for advanced manufacturing. Nearly $2 million to Pine Technical College in Pine City, Minn. has been awarded to teach advanced manufacturing technology skills to high school students and out-of-work or under-employed adults.
The other grant will go to South Central College in Mankato along with its partners. South Central is set to receive more than $1.9 million to establish a mechatronics technology education center that provides training to the incumbent and displaced workforce through hybrid instruction. (Mechatronics is the combination of mechanical engineering, electronic engineering and computer engineering.)
Elsey also mentioned that the Training Fulfillment Center Initiative recently received funding from the Minnesota Jobs Skills Partnership. The Training Fulfillment Center will be a dramatic help in coordinating training opportunities statewide for workers who need skills upgrades, according to Anthony Alongi, DEED Workforce Development Division.
Nancy Jacobsen, Executive Director for ISEEK Solutions provided closing remarks.
Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace: Update
Critical emerging industries related to renewable energy and bioscience are revitalizing the inherent know-how and spirit of entrepreneurship in the region surrounding Marshall, Minn., and will form the foundation for regional transformation. Industry sectors targeted for the focus of the Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace (MNREM) initiative include renewable energy, value-added agriculture, bioscience, and the supporting industries. The MNREM Web site is at www.mnrem.org/news/2008/10/6/renewable-energy-marketplacean-alliance-for-talent-development-names-board-members.
MNREM’s mission is to develop regional talent and businesses, boost innovation and support the cultivation of new technologies to achieve a competitive advantage in the global marketplace.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded a $5 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant to support this initiative to help the region achieve long-term, sustainable economic vitality and compete in a global economy through the retention, creation, and attraction of an educated and skilled workforce.
In January 2009, the Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace Executive Board received and reviewed 26 proposals for projects in response to its first RFP. These proposals represent the current and future talent needs of business and industry in 36 counties in Minnesota. The board moved to approve funding of 16 proposals that represent workforce and skill development that includes pipeline, recruitment and retention. The full Leadership Board will meet in March 2009, in addition to the Action Teams meeting via ITV across the entire Minnesota Renewable Energy Marketplace region.
Strong Partnerships Important in Obtaining Discretionary Funds
The table below lists Minnesota’s workforce development grants received for as early as 2007. (One extended to 2008 and went back to 2005.) Twenty grants were awarded to Minnesota entities which totaled more than $24 million. In the last two years , the WIBS, MnScu and DEED have received $19.5 million in competitive funding around key industry sectors and clusters (this amount also includes WIRED and the two Regional Innovation Grants ).
“The work of the partners to implement industry clusters and sectors in regions has significantly contributed to Minnesota’s success in gaining federal discretionary funds,” said Kathy Sweeney DEED strategic projects manager “Congratulations also to Minnesota’s community-based organizations who have succeeded in securing competitive funds for service to underserved populations".
| Workforce Development Grants awarded to Minnesota: | |||
| Grant awarded to: | Type of Grant | Amount Awarded | Year or Time frame |
| South Central College | Community Based Job Training Grant /U.S. DOL | $1.9 million | 2009 |
| Pine Technical College | Community Based Job Training Grant/U.S Department of Labor (U.S. DOL) | $1.9 million | 2009 |
| Twin Cities Rise! | EARMARK | $243,667 | |
| Minnesota State Colleges and Universities | High Growth Job Training Initiative | $1 million | 15-Jul-08 |
| St. Paul College | Community Based Job Training Initiative | $2 million | 1-Apr-08 |
| Riverland Community College | Community Based Joh Training Initiative | $1.01 million | 1-Apr-08 |
| Workforce Development Inc. | Regional Innovation Grant (RIG) | $250,000 | April 1, 2008 to September 30, 2009 |
| Northland Works Partnership | Regional Innovation Grant (RIG) | $250,000 | February 1, 2008 to August 31, 2009 |
| Riverland Community College | Community Based Job Training Grants/U.S. DOL | $1 million | 2008 |
| Minneapolis Community College | Community Based Job Training Grant/U.S.DOL | $2 million | 2008 |
| Minnesota State Colleges | High Growth Job Training Initiative/ U.S. DOL | $1 million | 2008 |
| Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians | Youthbuild | $412,500 | Oct.15,2007 |
| Bi-County Comm. Action Programs, Inc. | Youthbuild | $359,997 | 15-Oct-07 |
| Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe | Youthbuild | $535,480 | 15-Oct-07 |
| National Institute for Metalworking Skills | Youth Offender | $776,095 | 1-Jul-07 |
| Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development | WIRED | $5 million | 1-Jul-07 |
| Motivation Education and Training | National Farmworker Jobs Program | $1.2 million | 1-Jul-07 |
| SOAR Career Solutions | Faith Based and Community Based Organizations | $50,000 | July 1, 2007 |
| Resource, Inc. | Limited English Proficiency | $1 million | 24-Feb-06 |
| Riverland Community College | Community Based Job Training Initiative | $2.2 million | 1-Nov-05 |
Check out the Latest Issue of Health Care News
The December issue of Health Care News is now available at http://www.deed.state.mn.us/workforce/healthcare/1208news.pdf. It features articles about:
- A young student who became a Certified Nursing Assistant and become interested in a career in nursing, thanks in part to a Health Careers class at school.
- Occupations in Demand: A labor market tool provides you with the occupations most in demand at www.deed.state.mn.us/lmi/tools/oid/default.aspx
- Trends for direct-care workers. The overall demand for direct-care workers is projected to increase by 34 percent. But it is projected that the number of women aged 25 to 54 – the main labor pool for which these workers are drawn—is projected to increase by less than 1 percent, down from over 18 percent just two decades ago.
- How free GED online preparation is now provided by the Minnesota Department of Education.
And more. The newsletter is produced by Susan Speetzen, healthcare industry specialist, DEED. An archive of newsletters and more information about Speetzen is available at http://www.deed.state.mn.us/workforce/healthcare/index.htm.
Key Program Contacts:
Kathy Sweeney Stephen Larson Connie Ireland |
Burke Murphy Rick Roy Joan Danielson |
Key Publication Contacts:
Kathy Sweeney |
Irene Connors |
We Need Your Feedback
We're trying to make this newsletter as timely and useful as we possibly can and, to accomplish that goal, we need to know what you want to know. We need and welcome any feedback you can offer – especially concerning topics of broad statewide or regional interest to the WIBs and all other partners. To register your questions, comments, complaints and suggestions, simply send an e-mail to Kathy.Sweeney@state.mn.us. We'll do our best to address your concerns directly and use your feedback to help us develop articles for future editions of the newsletter.
Thanks.