washington state - Workforce Training and Education Coordinating ...

Workforce Investment Act / Title I-B A A N N U A L R E P O R TOLYMPICWorkforce Development CouncilServing Clallam, Kitsap, and Jefferson countiesBusiness ServicesService to business remains vital to workforce development operationsas fewer and fewer job seekers are finding employment. The OlympicConsortium has two Business Services teams. One covers the principallyrural area of Clallam and Jefferson counties and the other team works withemployers in the largely urban Kitsap County. These outreach and serviceefforts resulted in a 215 percent increase in placements into jobs listedthrough the WorkSource system. Services include: job recruitment eventsat the WorkSource offices, Key Train assessments, quality job orders withreferrals through specially trained employment services staff. The Key Trainassessment is a popular means checking the job skills of applicants beforereferring them to an employer. By using this assessment tool, the companiessee a reduction in the number of applications they review before they hire.In addition, several companies have decided to use the assessment systemto greatly reduce their workload of job applications and resumes.Sound Energy Efficiency Development (SEED)The Olympic Consortium is working with several partners through theSound Energy Efficiency Development (SEED) project. The U.S. Departmentof Labor awarded a grant to the Northwest Energy Efficiency Council(NEEC) to train workers for green energy efficiency jobs. This is beingdone in cooperation with Seattle-King County Workforce DevelopmentCouncil, Pierce County Workforce Development Council, Snohomish CountyWorkforce Development Council, the Martin Luther King Jr. Labor Council,and the AFL/CIO.In the Olympic Consortium more than 110 people are trained as buildingenergy auditors, weatherization technicians, sustainable building advisors,or ‘green’ construction workers. Many of the trainees are veterans,unemployment insurance recipients or unemployment insuranceexhaustees. All successful class graduates receive industry recognizedcertification.Local Company Success: Profile CompositesOnce again a very successful partnership brought a Governor’s WIAgrant award to the OWDC. The partnership included the OWDC, theKitsap Economic Development Alliance, Olympic College, EmploymentSecurity, Veteran’s Services, Department of Defense, Kitsap County,Kitsap Community Resources and other State and local community basedorganizations. Profile Composites is a new company that will be movinginto the Kitsap area. On the Job Training positions in conjunction withcustomized classroom training will prepare new workers for jobs in thecomposites field.The company manufactures composite heath related products such aswheel chairs and walking sticks. Their desired workforce will be veterans,people with disabilities and the unemployed that have skills that can beused in the manufacturing sector. With this in mind, training throughOlympic College is a major part of the grant. In addition, the grant willalso have On the Job Training for the new employee to help in training andincreasing the skills that the job requires. It plans to open for operation inthe fall of 2011.Opportunities Internship ProgramThe Consortium continued to partner this year with the OlympicEducational Service District 114 (OESD 114) to administer the OlympicOpportunity Internship Program, focused on providing internships in highdemand occupations. The OWDC targeted industries in the region thatprovide a wage of at least $30,000 including health care; marine ship repair,boat building and advanced manufacturing; and green occupations. TheOESD 114 provides coordination to develop paid and unpaid internshipsand pre-apprenticeships of at least 90 hours in length for at least 75 lowincomestudents in Kitsap, Jefferson and Clallam Counties.22 > Section Two - WHAT IS WORKING WELL