|
IowaWORKS’ new Mobile Workforce Center is hitting the road this month to bring career planning assistance to Iowans across the state.
The brand new 32-foot-long workforce center was publicly unveiled by Gov. Kim Reynolds and IWD Executive Director Beth Townsend at the Iowa State Capitol last week. The custom-built, ADA-accessible bus has 10 computer workstations and two 40-inch monitors (one on the outside), making it possible for IowaWORKS to provide both outdoor workshops and one-on-one career advising in every far-flung corner of the state.
Linda Rouse, IWD’s Division Administrator overseeing IowaWORKS offices around the state, describes the Mobile Workforce Center as a valuable tool that will help the department expand the number of people it serves.
“There are Iowans out there who simply are not aware of the vast services and programs that are available at our IowaWORKS centers,” Rouse said. “Our IowaWORKS Mobile Workforce Center will be deployed to communities that do not have a brick-and-mortar IowaWORKS center. This is a great resource to reach out and serve Iowans where they are.”
Click here to continue reading.
|
 Click the image above to view a teaser for the new IowaWORKS Mobile Workforce Center. Visit the mobile workforce center's page to schedule an appearance in your community.
|
|
|
Iowa Workforce Development in February approved its first employer program under a new partnership with SkillBridge to help attract transitioning military personnel find Iowa jobs.
IWD recently was approved to become a third-party administrator for SkillBridge, a U.S. Department of Defense program that places military service members in civilian jobs for up to the last six months of their tours of duty.
IWD’s new role involves approving training programs for the service members to learn new jobs. The agency hopes to work with Iowa companies to vastly expand the use of SkillBridge in this state.
Michelle’s Vocation Placement, a Davenport firm that provides employment services for people with disabilities and at-risk youth, last month became the first business to join the SkillBridge program under IWD’s oversight. The company is offering an internship opportunity for a job coach position.
For more about SkillBridge, visit the SkillBridge Program page on IWD’s website.
|
IWD is streamlining the process for proving the identities of unemployment claimants.
Since January 1, jobless Iowans have been able to use the online ID.me service to verify who they are when filing initial unemployment claims. The system includes three options – online self-service, video chat, and in-person verification – and has vastly improved the speed with which identifications have been certified.
IWD unemployment officials are encouraging all unemployment claimants to use the system when filing claims. For most of the last two months, most claimants have been completing the ID verification process in less than 10 minutes.
ID.me is currently being used by 15 federal agencies, 30 states, and more than 600 name brand retailers to verify the identity of users. IWD believes the new process will speed up the processing of unemployment claims and reduce fraud by stopping bogus claims before any benefits are paid.
For more information on ID.me, visit this guide to the process on the IWD website.
|
|
 More than 35,000 downloads so far by listeners around the world. Hosts Ben Oldach and Kathy Leggett will introduce you to a host of workforce programs and people making a difference.
Click to download.
|
|
 Daniel Bramlett knew it was time for a change.
At 41, you tend to start thinking about a different kind of life – one with a more professional career that can support a family and provide a pension. But getting there sometimes requires that you explain where you’ve been.
Today’s Daniel Bramlett is not the same person who left the Army 20 years ago. The jail time (tied to 10 court cases involving an assortment of drugs and associated criminal behavior) is long in the past – buried beneath some introspection, a few concentrated treatment programs, and a lot of focused self-improvement. But does obtaining four college degrees over the last eight years really make up for a work history that’s filled with some pretty abnormal gaps? How exactly does someone explain that to a potential employer?
Simple: With help.
“IowaWORKS helped me get the confidence to go in there and really sell myself,” said Bramlett. “With the rehabilitation that I had gone through, with my education, I achieved a lot of acceptance and took responsibility for my actions over the years… I’m not really seeking validation from people on my rehabilitation and how I’ve changed my life. It’s just that I need to know how to explain that to people so they understand that I’m not that person anymore.”
Click here to continue reading.
|
|
Iowa Workforce Development is launching a new bureau to help employers connect with a valuable-but-underused pool of potential employees – Iowans with disabilities.
Disability Engagement Bureau Chief Michelle Krefft (at right) said the new bureau, part of IWD’s Business Engagement Division, will be focused on helping employers understand the capabilities of Iowans with disabilities, as well as the accommodations that a company will need to make to be successful in hiring them.
“If we can work with businesses to help them understand nontraditional ways of doing things, they can tap into that untapped talent,” Krefft said.
Iowa Vocational Rehabilitation Services, which in July became the Vocational Rehabilitation Services division of IWD, has a long and successful track record of helping Iowans with disabilities develop the skills necessary to succeed in employment. Until now, however, there have not been dedicated individuals focused on engage employers for the long term.
Click here to continue reading.
|
|
|
|
|
