Creation of education and training voucher system Develop contract/vouchers for clients to receive education and training. Create a system of vouchers that induces employers to train Financial resources (State); Legal assistance; Staff commitment; Collaboration from skilled trades Open self reinforcing system of education and training between jobseekers and employers Advocated at CDC MEDC. Interest growing among peer economic developers. Will be pursued as a SW MI regional agenda. BCU has increased training incentives on a per job, performance basis for expanding and new companies which serves as a local voucher system to some extent. Staff is developing a proposed BCU/BCTIFA local training voucher program for small growth companies in BC that may not otherwise receive incentives. BCU is working with KCC for delivery. Strengthen internship program Need to develop specific career tracks. Establish online portal to organize/link employers and students seeking internships Employer, schools, CACC collaboration; Financial - Chamber looking at this program now, including hosting portal 100 internships available to local 9-16 students tied to career tracks BC Chamber has developed online internship matchmaking portal for employers and students which went live earlier in 2014. Greater company utilization is needed. Strengthen Legacy Scholars program (currently two-year scholarship to KCC) Work with schools and employers to promote relevant technical training and skills enhancement as a pathway for Legacy students; Continue development of BC College Access Network. Continue to pursue expansion of scholarship resources for additional two years of educational support. Consider company co-op work/funding opportunities for students. Structural; Staff commitment Improved K-12 and post secondary education success. Increase number of students pursuing technical or skilled trades certification or degrees to 50 per year (15 in 2012). BCU will pursue strategies with KCC, BCCAN, Lakeview Schools, BC Public Schools to increase use of scholarship for skilled trades, technical degrees. KCC and Goodwill Industries held recent meetings with area Superintendents. MEDC has assigned a workforce specialist to provide resources for such programs MEDC engagement began in January 2014. Strengthen apprenticeship opportunities Strengthen local enrollment in skilled trades training; Understand the impediments to skilled trades training; Look at welding, plumbing and electrical as possible trades emphasis. Pursue training of students by local skilled trade unions. Review Middle College applicability. Pursue Project Lead the Way to be added to middle and high schools countywide and regionwide. Better recruiting and tracking of applicants; Better understanding of skilled trades curriculum. Links with Legacy Scholars. Collaboration employers, schools, CACC, RMTC Strengthened presence of skilled trades people in West Michigan; Higher skilled, higher waged workforce Locally, school to work, Legacy Scholars, Advanced Mfg. Consortium developing strategies. MEDC launched the Skilled Trades Training Fund with $10 million available statewide in October 2013. Additional $10 million will be released in 2014. BCU has assisted BC companies with access to Fund. MEDC workforce specialist will be engaged with school to work initiatives BCU is advocating for STEM focused Project Lead the Way programming to be added to all middle and high schools in Calhoun County and the SW MI Region. Lakeview Schools is implementing PLTW in Fall of 2014.
Strengthen people attraction element Example: target manufacturing engineers with student debt loads Staff commitment Attraction of high skilled individuals through university and community college contacts Will be pursued as part of SW regional strategy Immediate employment opportunities; Widen labor pool Defense communities & veterans placement resources; Church sponsored Immigration; better access to Michigan Works client pool Financial resources; Commitment of staff time Widened labor pool that can access immediate openings; Prepared pool of potential workers for manufacturing and service sector Burmese population is 1,300 and growing by 10% annually. Hispanic population growing. English-as-asecond language is the biggest barrier, and opportunity to accelerate growing populations into the workforce. Veterans program integrated in Michigan Works screening/recruitment. EDGE program has increased employable pool by approximately 110 people in 2013-14. Drug screens cutting out many people Increase education on drug screens and employment requirements. Designate a community drug treatment organization to which employers will refer applicants who fail for drug counseling career education. State of Michigan continues to review public assistance/drug screening solutions. Identify and engage treatment/education organization. Develop educational material for companies. Widened labor pool No documented progress, but there appears to be an organization or group contemplating a strategy. A coordination effort between job training system and economic developers Review successes of CENT (Council for Employment Needs and Training), to consider enhancing current workforce development delivery model of Michigan Works and other organizations. Staff time, collaboration Tightened and more efficient job placement system that is employer responsive BCU continues to enjoy a very good relationship with the local Michigan Works office. MI Works statewide system re-organized in late 2012 to employer focused system. SW Region strategy will be pursued. BCU and board will be very involved in new management of MiWorks by Upjohn Institute to ensure best outcomes for Calhoun County services. Three Michigan Works now meet regularly to share local initiatives and best practices. MI Works, KCC and BCU leadership group meeting every 60 days on community strategy, assessment, gaps. Michigan Works Calhoun/ Barry/Branch is reviewing opportunities for EDGE approach and services to be embedded or incorporated in normal Michigan Works services
Recognize manufacturing as a career option Publicity; Campaign; Collaboration between companies and education - public and private. School-towork, career days, job shadowing, Social Media Staff time; Fundamental collaboration between companies, schools, CACC Restore reputation of manufacturing and skilled trades as career options, and creation of clear education/career pathways for students and parents Reviewing establishment of regional Dream It Do It program (MMA) with multiple Michigan Works areas around BC. KCC, BCU and Advanced Mfg. Consortium are reviewing. Other partners are exploring programs with area superintendents. A group is reviewing Project Lead the Way or similar programs implementation in all Calhoun County schools. BCU CEO is advocating for a larger regional effort to include Project Lead the Way programming in all middle and high schools in Calhoun County and SW MI region. BCU has assisted Goodwill with creating a Goodwill Connects program designed to create career exploration, training, summer employment programs for 700 high school students annually from targeted population. The program has been launched for summer 2014, seeking to place 200 graduating seniors in area employers providing employment and career paths. Better preparation from K-12 for career counseling Train/educate counselors in manufacturing career opportunities. Eliminate distinction between college bound and non- college material Implement Project Lead the Way Calhoun County wide and SW MI Region wide in all middle and high schools. Program embeds STEM career exposure in curriculum and projects to reach every student. Staff time; Communications plan. Company, workforce development and education collaboration Students are better prepared for changes in career opportunities; Labor pool manifests a higher educational attainment level, in relevant education KCC trained 30 teachers from Barry and Calhoun. Branch on June 18. Teachers toured mfg. facilities in the morning and worked with company representatives to create applicable lesson plans related to skills required in manufacturing. Sophomore Career Track by BC Chamber. Efforts noted above would include training for teachers and counselors in career counseling, unique classroom teaching, and company involvement in the classroom and projects to improve student interest in many STEM fields including manufacturing, engineering, skilled trades, healthcare, food sciences, aviation and other fields
Ensure ESL (English-as-a-Second Language) training is available and accessible Review current program with Y Center and United Way and enhance if necessary. Increase program awareness Collaboration among United Way, Y Center, companies, immigration population centers, churches Widen labor pool, increased employment for immigrant populations United Way assisting 13 ESL programs into one-stop service. Burma Center, BCU and UW have discussed employment focused ESL to accelerate job readiness United Way is working with several local area employers, including Denso, II Stanley, TRMI, Stewart Industries, and Employment Group as well as Michigan Works, Goodwill Industries, and KCC s Workforce Readiness program to identify workforce supports for ESL populations. This discussion emerged after United Way met with organizations that serve the ESL populations (Voces, the YMCA, Burma Center, Lutheran Social Services, Battle Creek Public Schools) to learn more about the needs of immigrant employees. Supports being explored include ESL language courses, ESL EDGE-type programming, cultural awareness training for administrators and leadership staff, the translation of documentation on complicated HR topics (such as 401k, health insurance, etc), and a workforce English assessment used by the various ESL service providers in Battle Creek. In January the group will decide which supports are the most important and feasible at this time. Implement ReadyNow program Michigan Works implement one-week manufacturing training program modeled after Holland/Zeeland area program. Participants self-select, and participating manufacturers guarantee two or more job interviews to participants upon training completion Collaboration between Michigan Works, BCU, companies and several service providers. Accelerate unemployed or underemployed applicants towards employment. Provide improved testing/screening program for companies to employ successful program participants Michigan Works held first ReadyNow in March 2013. 55 participants. Evaluation/placement not complete. ReadyNow program has been tweaked and has helped Michigan Works manage more effective job fairs.
Create a manufacturing training lab space for basic skills development and practice Create a mfg. lab space where employers can send applicants or new hires to practice and develop basic skills. Establish system where employers have a role in developing skills of applicants to improve hiring success, and allow applicants to practice and re-take hiring tests. Financial resources, equipment donations; collaboration between companies (Denso lead), RMTC, BCU Increase employment/hiring success of available labor pool by improving worker competency on company skills requirements. Increase/accelerate employment for applicants that may initially fail manufacturing skills tests. Develop system that establishes a company role in ensuring applicants that may initially fail skills tests have a pathway to re-train and succeed in employment KCC completed preliminary review. Needs to be industry led, designed for identified jobs and skills. BCU will explore companies of interest. Denso is most likely candidate. Such a lab can be used during hiring process for unqualified applicants to raise skills to be job ready. Improve training/support services for chronically under/unemployed populations Implement New EDGE training and support program. WKKF grant funding (secured); Collaboration of BCU, Goodwill Industries, KCC, Michigan Works Widen labor pool, increase employment, job retention and career ladders, reduce poverty in Battle Creek area Increase employer HR training and awareness of issues faced by workers in poverty. EDGE program, 3-Year funding by WKKF. Lifespan, Denso, TRMI, Janesville Acoustics cohorts completed. Post Cereal is underway with completion anticipated early July. Employment retention rate ranges from 85% to 93% after one year for participants. EDGE is gaining attention statewide as a unique and successful model to influence state workforce service delivery. BCU helped to secure additional funding ($15,000) provided recently by MEDC due to high success of program. BC Jobs Fund incentive has secured expansions and low-income hiring commitments from Denso, Post, TRMI and Cosma. Increase incentives which provide training resources for expanding companies Implement Battle Creek Jobs Fund and continue to utilize BCU training incentives WKKF grant for BC Jobs Fund secured for 2012-2015. Staff time, collaboration with new or expanding companies, Goodwill, MiWorks, KCC Increase employment, job retention and career ladders among those living at or below 200% FPL, reduce poverty in Battle Creek area. Increase employer HR training and awareness of issues for workers in poverty. BC Jobs Fund grant received by WKKF. BCU incentives targeting training and skills development. MEDC expanding incentive dollars for training needs. MEDC Skilled Trades Training Fund. Michigan New Worker Training Grants (community colleges). Expansions by Denso, Post, TRMI, Cosma and Project Maxwell (if secured) will utilize BC Jobs Fund for hiring of targeted population below 200% of poverty.
Increase access and knowledge of workforce development programs and services, and provide streamlined system, single point of information for employers. BCU regularly encounters employers who find it difficult to navigate, research and utilize the numerous programs that exist unless they utilize a more time consuming process of consultation with Michigan Works staff. Create online portal for Battle Creek area (useable for Calhoun/Barry/Branch Michigan Works area) populated with service providers, training programs, training & hiring incentive programs, workforce development services. System will be designed for an employer audience. Portal system will also make it easier for workforce development leaders and BCU to identify gaps in services for ongoing strategic planning for community workforce development needs. $15,000 to $20,000 to build the system. Website consulting with experience/expertise in education, training or workforce development systems. Access to wide variety of services and providers. Outreach capabilities to population system. Improving employer knowledge, awareness and utilization of programs and service providers will improve employer workforce development and recruitment effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Michigan Works, KCC and BCU have designed new online portal called DevelopMyWorkforce.com to provide a single online source for companies to be educated on workforce development programs, incentives/credits, training resources and develop comprehensive strategies to building their workforce. The portal will be critical to improving efficiency for MiWorks to deliver services to companies, providing less reliance on MiWorks field staff and faster information delivery. MiWorks is currently reviewing and consider taking the role of managing/maintaining the website.