Director's Corner
Happy Spring! A few updates for you as we turn off our
heaters and start cleaning out our garages. First, as some of you already
know, Mai Neng Moua is the state’s new Rapid Response lead worker. She
succeeds Fil Chairez, who retired in December. If and when you come
across evidence of a mass layoff, please coordinate all communication through
her (see contact info elsewhere in this and every issue of Partner
Express).
Second, we are working through the allocations for Workforce
Investment Act Dislocated Worker and Adult programs. (Youth allocations
have been released under separate cover, since the program year starts
earlier.) We hope to have those to you before the end of April. We
will have State (Workforce Development Fund) Dislocated Worker allocations
after legislative session has concluded.
As always, please let us know how we can assist you in doing
your best work for our shared job seeker customers and taxpaying investors!
AA
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Corner On The Market:
How Much Does the Job Pay?
With Rachel Vilsack
Pay is an important factor for anyone in the job search
process. Whether you are asked to indicate a starting wage on a job application,
during a job interview, or when assessing a job offer, knowing what employers pay
in individual occupations is important.
Luckily, we’ve got you covered with a federal-state
cooperative program known as Occupational
Employment Statistics. Think of it as Minnesota’s Salary Survey. DEED’s Labor Market Information surveys Minnesota
employers about the number of wage and salary workers in 800 detailed
occupations and the wage distributions for those workers. Businesses and
individuals in career transition can view summary statistics, including the
average wage paid and wage percentiles, to set pay scales or gauge the
competitiveness of a job offer.
The chart below shows approximately 700 occupations and
their median hourly wage rate in Minnesota. The size of the bubble represents
the size of the occupation; the color represents the pay. Hover over any bubble to see the name of the
occupation, employment and hourly wage.
Click image to use the chart below.
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 These data are available by region in Minnesota and are
updated several times during the year. Visit our Occupational Employment
Statistics web tool to find regional employment and wages.
Dislocated Worker Large Layoff Grants Updates
We awarded two grants
this month to serve dislocated workers affected by large layoffs in the state:
Ottobock
MN Teamsters Service Bureau
To serve 120 participants
$480,000
Thomson Reuters
Career Management Services
To serve 50 participants
$200,000
Changing the Way You Think
about Rapid Response
By Mai Neng Moua
The primary purpose
of Rapid Response is to enable affected workers to return to work as soon as
possible following a layoff, or to prevent their layoff altogether. It is
both reactive and proactive. TEN 31-11 identifies the 10 elements that encompass the goals and practice of
Rapid Response. One of these elements is providing services to
employers. That is, employers should be comfortable approaching Rapid
Response when they are looking for new workers, seeking assistance to avert a
layoff, and helping their workers when there is a layoff. In Minnesota,
we’ve been great at responding to layoffs. In this coming year, we will
also focus on that second part of preventing layoffs. We will do this by
leveraging State resources from the business service representatives,
Minnesotaworks.net, Labor Market Information, workforce centers, business and
community development, economic development and others to help both dislocated
workers and employers.
National Emergency Grants Updates
Are you looking for innovative practices in the design,
implementation, and management of National Emergency Grants (NEG)? Please check
out the following webinar series: http://www.doleta.gov/neg/pp_webinars.cfm.
For questions about NEGs , e-mail our NEG team at DEED.NEG@state.mn.us.
Data Corner on O*NET Codes
Did you know about 40% of dislocated workers stay in the
same occupational field from which they were laid off? Or that dislocated
workers overwhelmingly leave production and management occupations and enter
healthcare and transportation occupations?
You can probably think of specific customers you’ve
counseled who bear out these statistics—but to get a statewide view of these
trends we rely on the O*NET codes you enter into Workforce One related to the
job at layoff, related to the training program (if applicable), and related to
the job at program exit. We use this information to respond to requests from
public officials, and DEED managers use it to aid their decision making.
Using O*NET codes to categorize occupations can literally be
a full-time job (just ask some of our Labor Market Information colleagues), but
we know it’s not yours. That’s why we want to make it as easy as possible to
get the right O*NET codes for your customers. Here’s a “no-brainer” way to find
the right O*NET code:
1) Get your customer’s job title OR
(for the O*NET field on Classroom Training activities) the occupation they’re
training for
2) Visit http://www.onetcodeconnector.org/
3) Type in the job title in the search
box
4) Choose the O*NET code with the
highest score, or whichever sounds most accurate
If you find this to be easier than using the built-in search
feature in Workforce One, please use it! We rely on accurate information in
Workforce One to report on our program and communicate the good work you do
with customers each and every day. If you have questions about coding
occupations, e-mail Jenny Bendewald at Jennifer.Bendewald@state.mn.us.
Policy Updates
The Dislocated Worker and WIA Adult Definition
of Self-Sufficiency policy will be updated soon to reflect the Department
of Labor’s updated figures for self-sufficiency in metro and non-metro areas.
This is a routine update, and does not impact the intent of the policy.
Joint Counselor Training Awards
Look for communication from us later this week on how to
nominate a coworker or yourself for one of our Joint Counselor Training awards:
- Dislocated
Counselor of the Year (winner last year was Amy Lord!)
- Lifetime
Achievement Award (winner last year was Ed Duda!)
- Exceptional
Performance by a Team (winner last year was the team at Washington County:
Deb Reckner, Karen Ritter, Sharon Hansen, Mark Pozzini, Angela Plumbo, and Alex
Munoz!)
Congratulations again to last year’s winners. Don’t miss out
on this chance to recognize your colleagues who go above and beyond!
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