Dislocated Worker Team Update
After seven years on the Dislocated Worker Program, Rapid
Response Coordinator Mai Neng Moua’s last day with DEED was May 31, 2017.
In Mai Neng’s years with us, she worked on National Emergency Grants, Trade
Adjustment Assistance and Rapid Response. She was a great collaborator
who worked hard to connect dislocated workers to resources. We will miss
Mai Neng greatly and her the best on her next adventures. While we look
for Mai Neng’s replacement, please forward your Rapid Response questions to
Jackie Buck at jacqueline.buck@state.mn.us.
Moving forward in upcoming Partner Express editions, we would
like to highlight some of the unique and creative efforts our providers are
doing to assist job seekers. If your
organization would like to be showcased in an upcoming Partner Express please
send the information listed below to Liz McLoone at liz.mcloone@state.mn.us.
Creative Corner
Please provide:
- A summary of the event or project
Example: Providing daycare and kid friendly activities at Job Fairs
- When is the event occur and do you have another one scheduled
in the near future?
- A picture from the event or project
- A contact for follow up questions from Partner Express
subscribers
Grants and Performance Updates
PY17/FY18 Allocation Planning
We are currently waiting on final federal allocation
information from U.S. DOL in order to generate the PY17/FY18 allocations for
WIOA Dislocated Worker and WIOA Adult formula funds. We anticipate receiving
this information by mid-June, according to our federal program officers. They
do not believe the final allocations will be significantly different from the
planning allocations we received in January, which included $7,260,588 for WIOA
Adult and $7,718,286 for WIOA DW.
Dislocated
Worker/Adult Policy Updates
In the next few weeks, we will be releasing the following
policies for a 30 day public comment period:
- WIOA Adult Allowable Activities Policy
- WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker Performance
Standards Policy
- WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker Transfer of
Funds Policy
- State Dislocated Worker CLIMB Policy
- WIOA and State Dislocated Worker Rapid Response
Policy
- WIOA Dislocated Worker Pre-Feasibility Grants
Policy
- State Dislocated Worker ERAG Policy
- WIOA and State Dislocated Worker Mass Layoff and
Competitive Process Policy (currently posted)
We will send out a mass email when these policies are posted
for review, and also include them in July’s Partner Express. Contact Chelsea
Georgesen (Chelsea.s.georgesen@state.mn.us)
with questions or concerns.
SPNEG No-cost
Extension Modifications
We are working to generate the PSPs for the SPNEG
modifications this week, and hope to have them out for signature very soon.
Please watch for them in the coming weeks – we appreciate your quick
turnaround!
 CORNER ON THE MARKET:
WITH CAMERON MACHT
Regional Analysis & Outreach Manager
Minnesota Dept. of Employment & Economic Development
cameron.macht@state.mn.us
320-441-6596
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With the song of Pomp and Circumstance
ringing through the air at graduation ceremonies across the state, our
investments in education can be seen very clearly. A recent article (“Stackable Credentials: Myths and Reality”)
by Alessia Leibert, DEED Research Project manager, looks at the value of
additional higher education.
Many of these graduates will enter postsecondary training to start
their career pathway, or to further it by gaining additional credentials.
DEED’s Graduate Employment Outcomes data tool
shows the value of these credentials in the marketplace. In addition to past
articles, Leibert’s most recent analysis shows that completing more than
one postsecondary degree can boost earnings if it helps people move up a career
ladder. However, it depends on the field studied and the job opportunities
available.
According to Leibert, “This
concept of building workforce competencies block by block through shorter, more
affordable credentials that help people progress through a career has become
popular among higher education and job training professionals. Implicit in the
concept is the idea that short training programs with low stand-alone market
value can be leveraged as stepping stones to further education.
What
looks good in theory may not be easy to realize in practice, however. For the
investment to be worthwhile, educational credentials must lead to marketable
skills, and associate degrees designed to transfer to a four-year program must
lead to degree completion in that four-year program.”
Leibert’s
article provides examples of instructional fields where progressing from an
associate’s degree to a bachelor’s degree pays off – such as engineering and
information technology – and also provides data on fields where the wage gains
are not as significant – including liberal arts (see Figure 1).
In some areas, such as child development, educational attainment does
not necessarily translate into career mobility and better jobs. For students
and jobseekers weighing their options, “It is hard to justify investing in
higher education when credential holders end up competing for the same jobs and
wages as those without a degree.”
Instead, the value that employers place on the training is key, with
employers playing an important role in helping to establish the return of
additional credentials by paying a wage premium to workers with higher
education. Schools can also help by monitoring program performance and focusing
on seeing that students succeed in programs that offer high enough wages to
afford the cost of schooling.
“In general, certificates in the skilled trades and engineering
technologies pay off even without further education, whereas certificates in
service occupations, such as child care, bookkeeping, administrative assisting
services, or cosmetology, are less rewarded. The difference stems from the
types of occupations the programs are designed to prepare for.”
The article concludes with Leibert offering a set of recommendations to
schools, employers, and students that help them all understand how to get the
most value from higher education and stackable credentials. For more
information, please read the entire article on DEED’s website at: https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/march-2017/stackable-credentials.jsp
SUCCESS
STORIES
 SUCCESS STORY: Joe
AEOA
Joe came to AEOA through the Dislocated Worker program,
having lost his job of years due to the closure at KidsPeace Mesabi Academy in
Buhl. He was unsure of the future, and
in need of some support and guidance.
In 2000, Joe made the decision to leave a nearly 20-year
career with MN Twist Drill for something new.
He was in need of change, and an opportunity presented itself for him to
work at a juvenile correctional facility near his home. He was eager for a new challenge and this felt
right to him, so took a job at the Academy.
Joe was one of about 3 men who ran the building and grounds maintenance
department. He didn’t work directly with
the youth, but definitely developed close ties to the students and staff around
him. In 2016, that all came to an end as the facility was permanently closed,
and Joe was left without a job, this time not by choice.
He enrolled in the dislocated worker program and began
working with an employment counselor.
Joe was struggling with the idea of losing a job he enjoyed and having
to face the job market again at his age.
Working with his counselor to improve his resume and interview skills
Joe flourished in the program as a result got a job work at the Hibbing Public
Utilities in January.
He is excited about this new opportunity and looks forward
to spending many years at the HPU. Joe still stops by the WFC now and again to
chat, and he says he is grateful that a program, such as the dislocated worker,
existed to help him with regaining his equilibrium, while offering support and
guidance in his pursuit of new employment, and essentially a new future.
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We want this e-Newsletter to meet your needs! We
encourage you to send your comments and suggestions to Liz.McLoone@state.mn.us,
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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