West Virginia Workforce Development Board April 20, 2016 Charleston Marriott, Hawks Nest Room Member attendees: Karen Bowling, Penny Brown, Ray Burke, Jr., Fred Clark, Michelle Foster, Beverly Jo Harris, Megan Harris, Dave Hobba, Nancy Kissinger, Patrick Martin, John Moses, Randy Rapp, Roy Smith, Steve Stalnaker, Homer Sweeney, Brian Ulery and Ray Woods, Jr. Staff members: Scott Adkins, Rachel Bowman, Regina Brogan, Holly Brown, Valerie Comer, Barbara DeMary, Angela Fry, Claudia George, Jake Hunt, SK Miller, Joyce Okes and Maureen Persons, Bridgit Scruggs for Angela Henson Members Attending Via Phone: Paul Espinosa, Barry Pearson, Tom Provost, Todd Shell, John Sorrenti and Logan Williams Guest speaker: Leo Miller, Regional Administrator, US Department of Labor Education and Training Administration I. Introduction, Opening Remarks, and Approval of Minutes- Nancy Kissinger, Council Vice Chair Meeting brought to order at 10:05 by Nancy Kissinger. Introductions were made around the room and all names were gathered from members attending via conference call. First item on agenda is the approval of minutes from January 20, 2016. Motion to approve, moved and seconded. Nancy welcomed Russell to the stand first. II. Welcome and WorkForce WV Update- Russell Fry, Acting Executive Director, WorkForce WV Russell welcomed and thanked everyone for being present. He then gave a presentation on WorkForce WV about the following: State Plan- Has been completed and sent to the U.S. Department of Labor for approval. West Virginia Innovation and Opportunities Act- (SB461) was passed on March 8, 2016 and goes into full effect 90 days from passage. Small Business Program Assessment- WorkForce is now working with the Small Business Development Centers at the Department of Commerce to provide an entrepreneurial program assessment in the state One-Stop local offices. This will determine if an individual is projected to be a good entrepreneur or not. Technical Colleges Work-Based Credits- The West Virginia Career and Technical Colleges in the state are working on providing college credits for work-based skills and to condense training programs where applicable.
Bonding Program and Parolee Services- WorkForce WV has strengthened our partnership with the WV Department of Corrections. In two years, we have expanded our federal bonding program to serve 46 former inmates. In 2014 we enrolled 1,431 parolees for services and referred 874 to jobs and in 2015 we enrolled 1,212 parolees for services and referred 992 to jobs. Let strain WV- Let s Train West Virginia is the name for our Job-Driven on the job training grant given by the U.S. Department of Labor last year. Russell then showed the television ad for this campaign to everyone present. He then proceeded to go over specifics of Phase 2 for this campaign which include letters to employers from Governor Tomblin, radio and television advertisements, ads on local Family Dollar and Dollar General Receipts, media events and more. Russell closed his presentation with some Coal Grant success stories, such as Shane K. completing the CDL course at Boone Truck Driving Company and then completing the lineman course at Stanly Community College resulting in Shane becoming a lineman for American Electric Power. There were more like these showing how these funds have helped dislocated miners get back into the workplace and succeed again. Russell then presented Leo Miller as the Keynote speaker. III. Keynote Address- Leo Miller, Regional Administrator, US Department of Labor Education and Training Administration Leo Miller presented on The West Virginia Public Workforce System- Working Toward Your Future. Some main points discussed are as follows: U.S. Unemployment Rate for February 2016 is at 4.9 whereas WV Unemployment rate is at 7.0 Showed graph on U.S. Unemployment rates for major age- sex groups for the time of February 2006- February 2016: Teenagers unemployment rates are predominantly higher than Adult men or Adult women. Showed a graph on U.S. Unemployment rates for persons 25 years and older by educational attainment for the time of February 2006- February 2016: Showing those with less than a high school diploma rates are much higher than those who have a Bachelor s degree and higher. He also presented another graph showing the decline in employees in the WV Employment: Mining and Logging Industries. The Federal Sources of Workforce and Economic Development Funding go to the US Department of Labor, the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Department of Agriculture, the US Department of Education, and the US Department of Commerce, stating that the Federal Investment in WorkForce WV Development is at $248,262,934.00. 2
The Job Driven Workforce Systemo Contributes to a strong, growing economy by responding to the workforce needs of regional and local business to ensure positive employment for job seekers. o The backbone of this system is the national network of more than 2,500 American Job Centers. WIOA and Employer Engagemento Employers as customers- Screening and Training o Employers as advisors- Governance, One Stop Development, and Planning o Employers as partners- Sectoral Strategies (which are regional, industry-focused approaches to workforce and economic development that improve access to good jobs and increase job quality in ways that strengthen an industry s workforce. Components include: Targeting of specific industries and clusters Support workers competing for quality job opportunities Address employer needs and competitiveness Create lasting change in the labor market Do Sector Strategies Work? - Yes, we see program participation, program completion, credential rates, employment, retention, and wages. What are the challenges?- Some include the startup, funding, mistrust (fear of patching, aversion to working with Government), and Customer mismatch (Literacy/numeracy and work ethic) ETA Technical Assistance- is focused on developing new sector strategies partnerships, expanding and sustaining existing ones, and overall scaling up effectiveness and impact. During the first year of the initiative we saw a number of accomplishments such as approximately 3,000 workforce professionals took part in TA events, the average positive response rate across all events was over 80%, 100% of the Capacity Building cohort sites identified making at least moderate progress over the course of the project with 67% indicating the made significant progress, and there are now 3 Regional Institute and one innovative Sectors Virtual Institute. Upcoming Funding Opportunities include: o Pathways to Justice Careers for Youth o WANTO o Re-Entry Demonstration Projects for Youth Adults o SCSEP o Summer Jobs and Beyond o Linking to Employment Activities Pre-Release o Strengthening Working Families o Tech Hire 3
WIOA takes concrete and meaningful steps to support the most vulnerable members of the modern workforce, namely the unemployed, the disabled, and out of school youth. -Federal Reserve Bank, Cleveland, OH Leo concluded his speech with a reading an article out of the local newspaper on Coal in WV and the loss of jobs, mentioning that these individuals have lost more than their careers but their way of life. We are responsible to get these programs out there readily available and be knowledgeable and helpful in leading them to new exciting opportunities. For more information regarding this presentation, please contact: Leo Miller US Department of Labor; Employment and Training Administration Miller.leo@dol.gov Nancy Kissinger then proceeded to introduce Karen Bowling, Cabinet Secretary for the WV DHHR, as the next speaker. IV. WV Department of Health and Human Resources Workforce Partnerships- Karen Bowling, Cabinet Secretary, WV DHHR Karen Bowling presented on DHHR Workforce Initiatives. Her presentation included the following: DHHR Mission- The Mission of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources is to collaborate with stakeholders to promote, protect, manage, and provide appropriate health and human services for our residents to improve their health, wellbeing, and quality of life. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) - provides a variety of services to strengthen economic self-sufficiency of West Virginians, which has had a significant impact on the lives of families across the state. Through TANF, WV Works provides a variety of employment related services such as training assistance, occupational skills development, job search support and child care assistance. The Community College Pilot Program-The DHHR announced a partnership with Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College in August 2015. This program is uniquely designed for WV TANF recipients and is not currently being provided as described in other states. The pilot program allows individuals receiving TANF benefits to enroll in a cohort at Southern to gain the needed skills to succeed in the workforce these could be certificates or degree programs. Pilot outcomes are as follows: o Out of the 27 TANF recipients who were enrolled last fall, 2 are no longer in the program, 2 went to work, 23 completed the fall semester with 5 earning a 4.0 GPA, and only 1 received failing grades. 4
Statewide Expansion- Given the success of the pilot at Southern, Chancellor for Community and Technical College Education, Sarah Tucker, and I have agreed to expand the program to all nine of the state s community colleges this fall hopefully this will be in place by July 1, 2016. Building Stronger Families Initiative- DHHR s partnership with Southern, its participation in the Federal Policy Academy and the technical measures taken to enhance service delivery are components of the Department s Building Stronger Families initiative. The initiative is designed to comprehensively address the deficiencies and needs of socioeconomically challenged families in order to improve their functionality and assure their success. Ms. Bowling closed her presentation with a quote from Mark Twain, The secret of getting ahead is getting started. This quote signifies the starting of their new partnerships and programs and tells us it is only the beginning. For more information regarding this presentation please contact: Karen L. Bowling Cabinet Secretary, DHHR 1 Davis Square, Suite 100 East Charleston, WV 25301 304-558-1130 dhhrsecretary@wv.gov Meeting resumed at 12:30 after a short break with the Lunch Speaker, Joyce Okes. V. Lunch Speaker- Joyce Okes, Program Director, Workforce Development Board Mid-Ohio Valley Joyce Okes presented on Workforce Development Board Mid-Ohio Valley- Opt In: Be Part of the Solution and Your Future Starts Here! Her presentation regarded the following: What do we do next? Opt In: Be Part of the Solution! o Steering Committee Established January 2014 o Development of Regional Strategic Plan such as Rural Counties included in focus, Includes Ohio Counties, and Emphasis on 4 Primary Goals to Start o Summit/ Call to Action in April 2014 o Invite Key Players- WV and Ohio o Establish Action Teams Business Engagement Progress to Date o Researched best practices; Business Resource Network o Completed specialized employer visits o Developed Business Interview Tool o Formal partnership agreements and confidentiality agreements o Improved communication with economic development entities 5
o Established regular conference calls between partner staff with business as primary customer o Ethane Cracker Supply Chain completed Entrepreneurship and Small Business Team Goal: To support regional entrepreneurs and small business owners by streamlining and leveraging available resources and partnering with regional service providers. Entrepreneurship Progress to Date o Mapped regional entrepreneurship/small business development assets outlining resources/ information o Developed a vision for a collaborative entrepreneurship ecosystem o Brought attention to gap in service to small businesses o Defined a Triage Role and secured points of contact o Obtained commitment from Development Authority leaders to act as triage specialists o Video competition to promote Entrepreneurship to students o Small Business Expo scheduled through Marietta College and partners to take place on September 17, 2016 Employment Resource Guide (Green Book) Five Steps to finding employment o Step 1: Get your High School Diploma/Equivalency o Step 2: Make sure you have Key Life Skills o Step 3: Select a Career Interest o Step 4: Get the Certification/License/Degree Required o Step 5: Perfect Your Job Seeking Skills What s New and What s Next o Sector Partnerships o Additional Resource Guides o Web Site Ms. Okes closed her presentation by handing out an Employment Resource Guide or Green Book to everyone present to observe and keep. Any questions or input regarding this presentation please contact Joyce Okes at: Joyce Okes, Program Director Workforce Development Board Mid-Ohio Valley (WV) Phone: 304-424-7271 joyce.okes@movrc.org VI. Other business and adjournment- No other business was conducted. Meeting was adjourned at 2:00 pm by Nancy Kissinger. 6