DIRECTOR’S CORNER
Happy
summer, everyone! It’s been a long time! Welcome to the reinvigorated Partner
Express, which we will issue on the first of the month. We paused the Partner Express as we thought we were going to pursue a
division-wide publication; that never took flight, so we’d like to take this
opportunity to bring back something that generated some pretty positive
feedback in the past. As the Interim Director of the Dislocated Worker program,
I am delighted to make this happen. Special thanks to Liz McLoone on our Rapid
Response team for pulling together contributions.
Staff Changes! As many of our partners have noted,
we’ve had a lot of change on the DW team at DEED HQ. Please review the list of
staff in this newsletter to acquaint yourself with our team members; we’ll
continue to reach out to make sure we’re aware of staff changes with providers
throughout the state as well.
One significant note: Security
Updates In response
to some recently updated security updates with some of DEED’s systems, we are
asking all users of Workforce One to reset passwords with stronger security. As
you know (and I’m sure you agree!) we take the security of our customers’
personal information very seriously. This is just one step that we will be
taking to enhance the security of private information moving forward. We will
do our best to communicate this clearly with you and all of our partners.
Thank you! As always, we are so grateful for the
excellent services you provide to laid off Minnesotans every day. We want to
support you in doing this very important work, and are always open to feedback,
be it policy updates (still waiting on those final WIOA regs), communication
processes, grant administration, or other areas, let us know, and we’ll do our
best to be better partners too.
-ANNIE
GRANTS
UPDATE
Dislocated
Worker Large Layoff Grants
We awarded
two new grants in the month of June to serve dislocated workers affected by
large layoff in the state:
Astora
Women’s Health
HIRED
$160,000 to
serve 40 participants
May 2, 2016
to June 30, 2017
Hutchinson
Technology, Inc.
Central MN
Jobs & Training Service
$120,000 to
serve 40 participants
May 2, 2016
to June 30, 2017
National
Dislocated Worker Grant Updates
Under WIOA,
the National Emergency Grants are now called National Dislocated Worker Grants
(NDWG). We currently have two active grants under the former name; the Job
Driven NEG (CMJTS and Washington County) and the Sector Partnership NEG (all
providers).
Sector
Partnership NEG Update:
The Sector
Partnership NEG or SP NEG, is the newest NEG awarded last spring for an amount
of $5,750,000 to serve 1102 Minnesotans. This NEG focuses on sector and
regional partnerships between the state, providers, employers, and the various
sectors that Minnesota encompasses. For the purpose of the grant there are five
focal sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Agriculture, Healthcare, IT, and
Transportation. Thus far, providers have done an excellent job putting all of
the moving parts in place to make this grant a success!
For NDWG
(NEG) questions, please contact Francisca Abbey via email at Francisca.Abbey@state.mn.us or at 651-259-7508.
POLICY AND PERFORMANCE NOTES
POLICY AND PERFORMANCE NOTES
REFRESHER: DISLOCATED WORKER PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
TRADE ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PARTICIPATION MEANS
DISLOCATED WORKER PROGRAM ELIGIBILITY
Should an individual walk in to your service provider
location with a letter of eligibility for the Trade Adjustment Assistance
program, this person is eligible for the Minnesota Dislocated Worker program.
This person does not necessarily need to meet other eligibility criteria, as
the TAA eligibility “trumps” other circumstances.
INELIGIBILITY FOR UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE DOES NOT MEAN
INELIGIBILITY FOR DISLOCATED WORKER PROGRAM
There are circumstances in which a person would be eligible
for the Dislocated Worker program even if s/he is not eligible for unemployment
insurance benefits. For example, s/he may have worked for an employer that was
exempt from paying UI taxes, or she may be eligible for the DW program based on
long-term unemployment (which we define as 15 weeks or more).
Review
the DW Eligibility policy located at https://apps.deed.state.mn.us/ddp/PolicyDetail.aspx?pol=154
Review
the 2015 Minnesota Statute 116L.17 State Dislocated Worker Program
Subdivision 1. Definitions
a. "Dislocated
worker" means an individual who is a resident of Minnesota at the time
employment ceased or was working in the state at the time employment ceased
and:
- has been permanently
separated or has received a notice of permanent separation from public or
private sector employment and is eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to
unemployment benefits, and is unlikely to return to the previous industry or
occupation;
- has been long-term
unemployed and has limited opportunities for employment or reemployment in the
same or a similar occupation in the area in which the individual resides,
including older individuals who may have substantial barriers to employment by
reason of age;
- has been terminated
or has received a notice of termination of employment as a result of a plant
closing or a substantial layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise;
- has been
self-employed, including farmers and ranchers, and is unemployed as a result of
general economic conditions in the community in which the individual resides or
because of natural disasters;
- MS 2011 Supp
[Expired, 2011 c 84 art 3 s 1]
- is a veteran as
defined by section 197.447, has been discharged or released from active duty
under honorable conditions within the last 36 months, and (i) is unemployed or
(ii) is employed in a job verified to be below the skill level and earning
capacity of the veteran;
- is an individual
determined by the United States Department of Labor to be covered by trade
adjustment assistance under United States Code, title 19, sections 2271 to
2331, as amended; or
- is
a displaced homemaker. A "displaced homemaker" is an individual who
has spent a substantial number of years in the home providing homemaking
service and (i) has been dependent upon the financial support of another; and
now due to divorce, separation, death, or disability of that person, must find
employment to self-support; or (ii) derived the substantial share of support
from public assistance on account of dependents in the home and no longer
receives such support.
If you have
further questions on this topic, please contact Amy Carlson at Amy.Carlson@state.mn.us.
Workforce
One (WF1) auto-generated ticklers instructing WIA activities be closed
Counselors
who work with program participants funded by WIA or WIAO DW (and Adult, for
that matter) are receiving auto-generated ticklers instructing them to close
all their WIA funded activities with an end date of June 30, 2016. The task
within these ticklers needs to be completed for every WIA funded participant
and on every open WIA activity on their case. The end date for these open
activities can be within the date range of 04/01/2016 – 06/30/2016.
If the participant will continue
services after 06/30/2016, make sure there is an open WIOA activity on their
record.
- Process for participants continuing services:
- Go into the
participant’s WF1 record
- Click on
“Activities” in the side panel of their record
- Click “Edit”
on the left side of the open WIA activity line
- Scroll to
the bottom of the page
- Enter the
completion status of that activity
- Enter an
activity end date using the range of 04/01/2016 – 06/30/2016
-
If the
participant will continue services after 06/30/2016 and/or if they will
continue to take part in the now closed WIA activity
--Make sure the WIA activity is closed with the
date of 06/30/2016
--Open a new activity with the same name, the
same activity details, the start date of 07/01/2016
--Select the WIOA DW funding stream within the
new activity
CORNER ON THE MARKET:
CONTRIBUTION
FROM CAMERON MACHT
New Hires by Age Group
As Minnesota’s economy continues to recover from the recent recession, the
biggest increase in new hire activity occurred in the youngest age groups,
which got hit hardest during the recession. Teenage labor force participation
rates have been dropping over time, but as employers have found it more
difficult to find new available workers, teens are pouring back into the labor
market and are finding long-lasting employment.
The state saw an increase of nearly 5,200 more stable new hires in the
14-18 year old age group from 2010 to 2014, a 51.0 percent increase, which was
about twice as fast as total hiring activity picked up. Likewise, young adults
from 19 to 24 years of age also enjoyed a strong increase in hiring activity
since 2010.
On the other end of the age spectrum, the fastest increase in stable new
hires between 2010 and 2014 actually occurred in the oldest age group - the
number of stable new hires jumped 79.4 percent for workers aged 65 years and
over, nearly three times as fast as total hiring increased.
The largest hiring expansion occurred for workers in their prime working
years, from 25 to 54 years of age. This accounted for 60 percent of total
stable new hires and a net gain of more than 20,000 new hires from the first
quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2014 (see Figure 5).
In recent years industries like Accommodation and Food Services, Retail
Trade, and Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation have increasingly relied on
younger or less educated workers, while other industries such as Finance and
Insurance, Professional and Technical Services, and Educational Services
continue to hire workers with higher educational attainment. As baby boomers
continue retiring and employers keep adding new jobs, Minnesota's labor market
will continue to tighten. Employers in different industries will need to have
different strategies to bring in qualified workers to meet their demands.
To learn more about hiring activity, please read “A Higher
Level of New Hires” from DEED’s Labor Market Information office: http://www.mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/review/june-2015/higher-hires.jsp
 SUCCESS STORY
Dislocated
Worker and Veteran Services Success Story in Anoka County
In July of 2013 I was laid off from my job as a
Spectroscopist. A quick scan of the job market showed that I would not be able
to find another job in this field. I joined the Dislocated Worker program and
discussed my options with my counselor. We decided that I would look for a
position as a Quality Engineer. It seemed right for me since I had done QE work
many years ago and I love Math, Physics and Engineering.
I
took a QE Certification class and the Dislocated Worker program helped with
some of the expenses which was good since I was on a very tight budget at the
time. During this time, I attended the Veterans Networking Group at the Anoka
County WorkForce Center, as I am an Air Force Veteran. While studying for the QE
Certification test I interviewed at numerous companies. Both the Veterans
Networking Group and my Counselor provided encouragement when I failed to get
hired again, and again, and again….
Finally, in June 2014 after a mere 11 months of being
unemployed I passed my CQE exam and was hired as a contractor for a QE
position. I worked on and off for this company until May 2015 when my contract
ended.
I was once again unemployed and again enrolled in the
Dislocated Worker program and started attending the Veteran’s Networking Group.
They provided me with the encouragement that I definitely needed at this time
in my life. I started interviewing again, and failed to get hired again, and
again, and again …
On September 2nd 2015 I was hired as a QE
contract employee at a small, privately owned company in St. Paul that does
High Velocity Oxygen Fuel (HVOF) metal coatings. I absolutely love the work,
the owners are great and my coworkers are just as odd and nerdy as I am.
Last week I was made a permanent employee and two weeks from
now I will be celebrating my 60th birthday. I have no intention of
retiring early I love this job too much. This testimonial is a tribute to the
folks at the Anoka County and Teamsters Dislocated Workers Programs, and those
that run the Anoka County WorkForce Center Veterans Networking Group. Without
them I don’t think I would have made it.
Sincerely,
Brad A. Carlson, Certified Quality Engineer
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View past editions of the Partner Express
Newsletter at http://mn.gov/deed/programs-services/dislocated-worker/counselors/news/index.jsp
Wanting to subscribe to this newsletter? Contact Liz McLoone at Liz.McLoone@state.mn.us with your request!
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