Director's Corner
As we push through the “busy season” of training approvals
for Dislocated Worker and related employment and training programs, we at DEED
would like to encourage our colleagues in field offices, our local Workforce
Service Area partners, and our friends at independent non-profit organizations
to continue to communicate honestly and assertively through their local chain
of command, regarding demand for services. Unlike the post-recession budget
crisis, we are finding we do have sufficient resources to meet demand statewide
for Dislocated Worker program services. Now is the time to ensure we are
doing everything we can for each and every eligible job seeking customer we
serve.
Our program has already done essential work through the
worst recession in state and national history, finding good, permanent jobs at
good wages for more than four out of every five Minnesotans who’ve exited for
the past several years. Even in the growing economy we’re experiencing today,
economic churn is a fact of life. We must remain at the top of our game and use
the resources allocated to do our very best work. Our job seeking customers,
hiring employers, and taxpaying investors deserve no less.
If you are a counselor who wishes you could do more for your
customers, talk to your supervisor or other appropriate management about what
you could do with a modified grant. If you are a supervisor or management,
please consider the process of modifying your grant. In particular, we are
looking for smart, appropriate requests to come through the traditional project
grant modification process and/or formula grant request process and show
Minnesota just how dedicated we are to addressing long-term unemployment and/or
employment/wage disparities among specific populations.
Given the strong historical record the Dislocated Worker
program has in Minnesota, we have no doubt that we can rise to the opportunity
here. Keep the creative conversations going, and we look forward to continuing
our strong support of your efforts!
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Corner On The Market:
We've got the power!
With Cameron Macht
Regional
Analysis & Outreach Manager
Minnesota
Dept. of Employment & Economic Development
As Minnesota’s population and economy have grown, consumer and
business needs for power have also grown. In response, the state’s electric
power generation, transmission and distribution sector added 1,280 net new jobs
in the last decade, an increase of nearly 12 percent from 2003 to 2013. That
was more than twice as fast as all industries in the state added jobs, with no
decline during the recession! (See Figure 1.) It was also one of the
highest paying sectors in the state, with average annual wages of $97,552 in
2013, compared to $50,128 for the total of all industries.
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 Through 2013, there were 321 business
establishments providing 12,101 jobs in the electric power generation,
transmission, and distribution industry in the state of Minnesota. Much more than other sectors, electric
power generation relies on an older workforce, many of whom are nearing
retirement age, which will lead to more growth in hiring in the next decade.
According to demographic data from DEED’s Quarterly Workforce Indicators (QWI)
program, well over half (55.6 percent) of electric power generation workers in
Minnesota were 45 years and over, as compared to just 39.4 percent in the total
of all industries. What’s more, one in every four (24.8%) industry workers was already
55 years and over, most of whom could retire at any time (see Table 1).
Click on graph for larger image.
  In addition to the high wages and economic stability, workers
might also be attracted to the wide range of career opportunities within the sector,
which require a wide range of technical skills. According to data from DEED’s
Occupational Employment Statistics (OES) program, eight of the top 10
occupations in the industry earn more than $50,000 per year; yet the training
and education requirements range from on-the-job training to bachelor’s
degrees. Meter readers, which require just short-term on-the-job training, are
expected to see the biggest decline in demand as they are replaced by technology.
Still, they earned almost $48,000 a year. (See Table 2.)
Dislocated Worker Large Layoff Grants
We awarded three grants this month to serve dislocated workers affected
by large layoff in the state:
DPMS
Central MN Job & Training Services
$180,000 to serve 45 participants
MoneyGram
HIRED
$600,000 to serve 150 participants
Quad Graphics
Stearns-Benton Employment & Training Council
$604,500 to serve 150 participants
National Emergency Grant Updates
Kudos to Central Minnesota Job and
Training Services and the Anoka County Job Training Center for providing
outstanding career counseling and case management to dislocated workers as
noted in a recent DOL monitoring visit.
Counselors at both locations delivered exemplary services by documenting
LMI data to support career guidance, offering appropriate assessments, and
providing thorough and detailed case notes on each participant.
Performance Updates
The WF1 Rewrite version 5.0 will launch
during Labor Day weekend! In preparation of the new WF1 version, we will shut down legacy WF1 at 4:30 p.m.
on Friday, August 29th. Therefore, please plan to save your work prior to that time.
The new WF1 will be available at the
current website address of www.mnworkforceone.com by Tuesday, September 2nd
unless we inform you otherwise, for users who work with the Department of Human
Services (DHS) programs (MFIP, DWP, SNAP ET, Heading Home, and Custom Programs)
and Workforce Development Division (WDD) programs (Adult, Custom Programs,
Dislocated Worker, Displaced Homemaker, FastTRAC, Migrant Seasonal Farmworker,
Trade Adjustment Assistance, Veterans, and Youth). We recommend going into our
Sandbox website and playing around by entering fake customers or accepting fake
referrals and case managing them. The Sandbox is found at
http://mnwf1sandbox.deed.state.mn.us/Default.aspx. If you are unsure of your
username, type in your email address in the bottom part of the screen. If you
are still unable to get in, email workforceone.deed@state.mn.us and indicate
that you are having trouble accessing the Sandbox.
Please email
workforceone.deed@state.mn.us with any questions about how the new WF1
functions or with suggestions about changes to the new WF1.
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