Worksystems Receives $4 Million Pathways out of Poverty Grant

More good news! Just one week after learning that we will receive funding from a $5 million "Green Jobs" grant, we have now been awarded a $4 million “Pathways out of Poverty” grant. Only 38 applications were funded nationally.

This grant will fund skill training and provide culturally specific support to help disadvantaged populations find ways out of poverty and into economic self-sufficiency through careers in energy-efficient building, construction and retrofit; renewable electric power; green manufacturing; and emerging green occupations. Participants will earn certificates and degrees through community colleges, organized labor, and industry-recognized training providers, and will receive employment placement and retention support in their chosen green career pathway.

The grant has been awarded to Worksystems, Inc. on behalf of the Community for Equity project - a diverse coalition representing Native Americans, African Americans, Latinos, the homeless, Immigrants, Veterans, ex-offenders, as well as the regional workforce investment system (CAWS, WorkSource, and the Local Workforce Investment Board), the business community, organized labor, the City of Portland, Oregon Department of Human Services, Housing Authority of Portland, PDC, local community colleges, and training providers.

Like other areas around the United States, the Portland metropolitan area has been devastated by the recent recession, resulting in mass layoffs, business closures, and a high unemployment rate. Low-income people and people of color have been most affected. Historically they have higher unemployment rates and fewer resources to rely on during job loss. They live in neighborhoods of high and expanding poverty, where those in poverty live with ever-greater insecurity, and where new families and individuals are falling into poverty at an increasing rate. At the same time, Oregon leads the nation in terms of green jobs (PEW: Clean Energy Economy, 2009) and Oregon’s businesses project a 14% growth in green jobs between 2008 and 2010. This project will ensure an equitable response to our communities’ needs for new jobs and to industry demands for a skilled green workforce.

We are grateful to all of our partners on this project including El Programa Hispano, IRCO, NAYA, the Urban League, Hacienda CDC, the Portland Community Reinvestment Initiative, Central City Concern, Change to Win, Construction Apprenticeship & Workforce Solutions, EC Company, Eco Tech, ETAP, Irvington Covenant, Laborers’ International Union of North America, Metropolitan Contractor Improvement Partnership, Neil Kelly, Oregon Tradeswomen, Portland YouthBuilders, and Verde.

Portland-Salem-Vancouver Area Receives $5 Million Grant for Green Jobs

Worksystems was part of a bi-state application for grant funding from the Department of Labor to support job training programs that help dislocated workers, veterans, women, and people of color find jobs in expanding green industries and related occupations. We received word today that our application was one of 25 chosen for funding!

Partners in the project include the Oregon Manufacturing Extension Partnership (OMEP), Sheet Metal Workers Local 16, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers Dist. No 24, Northwest Oregon Labor Council, Energy Trust of Oregon, Enterprise for Employment and Education, Workforce Investment Council of Clackamas County, SW Washington Workforce Development Council, the Oregon/Washington bi-state WorkSource system, and also includes six community colleges and economic development partners from throughout the region.

The project – called Renewable Northwest (ReNW) - will preserve and create over 1,700 jobs in the renewable energy industry (electric power and biofuels) by building a skilled workforce to support companies that generate power and by assisting local manufacturers with retraining their workforce to produce products in support of the industry. Participants will earn certificates and degrees which meet industry and state-defined standards.

Training will begin immediately for workers in occupational and technical skills needed for green jobs already identified as “in demand.” At the same time, OMEP will conduct an analysis of the skills and production requirements of the renewable energy industry and identify those manufacturers deemed to be good candidates (with employee training) to develop/manufacture new product lines to support the industry. We are very excited about this approach and believe that it will help to support and develop the renewable energy industry, create and preserve jobs, and provide training to connect people to the opportunities.

Over 37 companies have expressed interest in participating in the ReNW project, and have projected 775 new jobs over the next two years. Interested companies include SolarWorld, Renewable Energy Composite Systems, Miles Fiberglass, SANYO, and GK Machine.

Stay tuned for updates on our progress!

2009 Year in Review

Seasons Greetings on behalf of Worksystem! As I reflect on the last year I want to thank all of you for the support, partnership and hard work you have provided to us and the people and businesses we serve. This has been an extraordinarily challenging year, but together we have managed to do some pretty remarkable things:

• More than 100,000 people were served through the regional WorkSource system
  
  
• 1,276 low-income kids got summer jobs contributing 153,000 in labor hours and $2 million to the regional economy


• We partnered with industry and organized labor to provide “green” training to hundreds of employees and union members


• We expanded rapid response services to laid-off workers


• In partnership with the Oregon Employment Department, Portland Community College, the Housing Authority of Portland, Goodwill Industries and the City of Forest Grove we opened new facilities to expand access to regional WorkSource services


• We partnered with Multnomah County to jointly serve 289 clients of the County’s Action for Poverty Program


• We partnered with multiple organizations on the submission of over $125 million in regional grant requests (keep your fingers crossed)


• We received $2.3 million in competitive grant awards to serve laid-off workers, support the metals manufacturing industry and expose youth to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math


• We provided resources to 37 education, community-based and industry partners

We look forward to continuing to work together and wish you all the best this holiday season!

Sincerely,

Andrew McGough
Executive Director

WorkSource Portland Metro Featured in Live TV Broadcast

On October 22, KOIN Channel 6 aired an hour long live broadcast at the WorkSource Portland Metro Tualatin Center. The segment featured many of our programs, partners, and customers. We've edited the video down to a short montage. Thanks to KOIN for their continued coverage and for helping us get the word out to those in need of our services.

The Importance of a Summer Job

In workforce development, we tend to talk about the success of our programs in terms of volume of people served using big numbers and statistics. In doing this, we sometimes lose sight of the impact on individuals. We received a wonderful note last week from a College and Career Coordinator at Beaverton High School that reminded all of us here at Worksystems of why we love our work.

"I've been working with a student who struggled in school, got involved with the wrong crowd, had family income issues, etc....His overall GPA for the first three years of high school was under 2.0. Last summer, when the stimulus package offered jobs for low-income youths, we took a chance and recommended him to the program.

In September, first thing, he came flying into my office to tell me how great his job was. He showed up, worked hard, made "lots of money," he told me. He was able to help his family and gain back some much-needed self-esteem. Last spring, he was a kid who looked down when he talked to me. This year, he's come to college visits, and, though he knows he will have to attend community college first after graduation, he has his eyes set on a four-year-college degree and a career. In his first progress report, he told me, his course average was 3.5!! I think the Youth SummerWorks program really helped this kid turn his life around, see a brighter future and feel confident about what he has to contribute -- also the benefits of hard work. I can't thank you enough for taking a chance on him and finding him a job."

Thanks to Beaverton High School for sharing this inspirational story with us. Go Beavers!

WIRED Partners Committed to Retaining Regional Talent

During the last year, too many talented engineers found themselves out of work or questioning whether they had a place in the region’s economic future. WIRED partners, understanding that engineering talent will help drive economic recovery and growth, are implementing two initiatives aimed at retaining that talent.

First, the Oregon Bioscience Association and Linn Benton Community College collaborated to develop Bioscience Foundations, a training program designed to introduce engineers laid off from high tech and other sectors to bioscience and the FDA-regulated manufacturing environment. Participants go through 2-weeks of classes followed by internships and placements with partnering companies. The program recognizes the transferable skills of engineers and the growth of the region’s bioscience industry.

Second, the Southwest Washington Workforce Development Council, Worksystems, Inc., the Workforce Investment Council of Clackamas County, Management and Training Corp., and the Enterprise for Employment & Education are inviting dislocated engineers to two highly interactive symposia offering top level industry speakers, coaching, education, and resources. Three presentation tracks will be available: education/training, entrepreneurship, and job seeking skills. The events are scheduled for November 12 at Embassy Suites Hotel Portland-Washington Square, and November 16 at the Hilton Vancouver Washington.

These efforts are examples of innovative ways to tackle regional workforce issues and demonstrate how nimble and responsive the public workforce system can be. If you know of other examples of workforce programs aimed at retaining engineering talent, please share them in the comments section.

Whatever happened to Kelley?

Do you remember Kelley's story that was recently featured on NBC Nightly News? Well, this story has a happy ending. She has landed a great job!

Kelley received assistance from WorkSource Portland Metro on her resumé, participated in networking workshops, and received training dollars to obtain a professional certification that ultimately helped her gain employment. She credits our services as helping her get through a very difficult time in her life.

Congratulations, Kelley!! And thank you to all the staff at WorkSource Portland Metro who help people like Kelley everyday.