February Partner Express Newsletter

Adult Career Pathways

Legislative Direct Appropriation Grants/Competitive Grants SFY 20/21

An email was sent to all Competitive and Direct Appropriation Grantees on 1/20/2021 offering the opportunity to further extend the SFY21 contracts to either 9/30/2021 or 12/31/2021. The ACP team requested Grantees contact their Grant Coordinator by 2/1/2021 to receive the required documents. See ACP Team Messages to grantees below for the complete email.

As a reminder, if you request an extension, or have already completed one, also review all your subcontracts/MOUs end dates to ensure they align with the new DEED contract end date. Any services or trainings offered outside of those dates cannot be submitted for reimbursement. Please contact your Grant Coordinator with any questions regarding this. We encourage all Grantees to review current subcontracts and MOUs to ensure dates are accurate.

SNAP E&T 50/50

DEED has contracted with a total of eight SNAP E&T 50% Reimbursement Grantees for SFY21. This program offers 50% reimbursement on expenses already incurred through ACP’s Pathways to Prosperity and MN Family Resiliency Partnership programs. The goal is to reimburse these organizations up to $200,000 in additional funds in SFY21 to grow capacity and support participants.

MN Family Resiliency Partnership (formerly known as Displaced Homemaker Program)

The team encourages everyone to review the Minnesota Family Resiliency Partnership program on DEED’s ACP webpage at https://mn.gov/deed/job-seekers/find-a-job/targeted-services/homemakers/ and refer participants you may feel eligible. Service providers are located throughout Minnesota; Mankato, Rochester, Brainerd, Minneapolis, St. Cloud, and Virginia in the Arrowhead region. 

Workforce One Tips

Workforce One User Guide: The ACP team is working to update the ACP Workforce One Guide to reflect updates and changes to programs in the past two years. Stay tuned for the updated guide to be ready soon!

Guidance on Workforce One use: As a reminder, ACP contracts (including master contracts) include the following language regarding the usage of Workforce One in accordance with 2020 Minnesota Statute Sec. 116L.98:

All Grantees receiving funds under this grant contract will track participants with the Workforce One (WF1) Case Management System. Data must be submitted per the standards and time frames agreed to by the State. The State shall withhold funding is data compliance requirements are not met in a complete, accurate, and timely manner.

Grantees are required to enter and enroll all participants in Workforce One within 15 business days of participant application date and all contact with participants and maintain current data entry throughout the contract period. Remember, if it is not in WF1 is doesn’t count!

ACP Operations Guide

ACP’s Operations Guide is now available from the ACP home page. The Guide documents current practices for ACP.  The ACP Team meets monthly to discuss suggested additions, updates, modifications, and other changes to the guide and update as necessary. The Guide is intended to be a living document and will be updated as procedures evolve.  It does NOT include measures implemented in response to COVID-19, which are listed separately.

ACP Team Message to Grantees

Email sent 1/20/2021: As you continue to provide services and training to our communities to reduce and remove barriers amidst the COVID19 pandemic, we at DEED continue to recognize your efforts and dedication by ensuring that you get enough time to accomplish this great task. In June 2020, many organizations took advantage of the opportunity to extend their State Fiscal Year 2020 (SFY20) contracts to December 31, 2020. In December 2020 more organizations also seized the opportunity to extend their SFY20 contracts up to June 30, 2021. Now, DEED will grant requests to extend Adult Career Pathways (ACP) SFY21 contracts up to December 31, 2021 in order to allow grantees time to complete objectives and to ensure continuity of services in anticipation of SFY 22-23 competitive funding and direct appropriations.

Any outstanding SFY20 contracts will expire on June 30, 2021 and cannot be extended past this date.

SFY 20-21 Grantees who do not receive additional funding from SFY 22-23 awards of the same type (I.E. SFY 20-21 WESA and SFY 22-23 WESA) may further extend their contracts to June 30, 2022 after SFY 22-23 funding has been determined.

If you would like to extend your ACP SFY21 contract, please reach out to your Grant Coordinator by February 1^st, 2021, with your expected date of completion (Sept 30, 2021 or Dec 31, 2021). Your Grant Coordinator will then send you the required grant modification paperwork to begin the process.

We encourage Grantees to fully analyze program outcomes and budgets to ensure that funds continue being spent on training and moving participants to sustainable wage employment.

ACP Grantee Spotlight

This month, the ACP team would like to spotlight AccessAbility Inc. This organization serves individuals recently released from incarceration and provides them with the opportunity to achieve and retain competitive employment. Through their Project Connect program, AccessAbility focuses on reducing participants’ criminogenic thinking and behavior to reduce recidivism, improve participants’ basic education, job readiness skills, and vocational skills. By creating goals, the program helps participants to realize their skills and abilities and how those can apply to the workplace at a significant time of their lives.

Although the current State of Emergency has brought further challenges to this population and services, AccessAbility has been able to pivot communication and training with participants utilizing online platforms for distance learning. For more information on AccessAbility services, visit them online at: www.accessability.org.     

Dislocated Worker & Federal Adult Programs

PY21 WIOA Allocation (Initial)

TEN 14-20-- Planning Estimate for Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Youth, Adult, and Dislocated Worker Program Allotments for Program Year (PY) 2021 was issued by DOL on 1/14/21

• Provides projected allocations for PY 21 Youth, Adult and Dislocated Worker Programs. These are estimates, and we will receive the final information March or April. The estimates look positive over last year's
  • Adult Allocation: $852M for states and $2.1M for Outlying ($9.0M for MN)
  • DW Allocation: $1B for states and $3.3M for Outlying ($10.3M for MN)

TEGL 7-20 – Effective Implementation of Priority of Service Provisions for Most in Need Individuals in the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Adult Program, was issued on 11/24/20.

• New requirements:
  • Strengthen state and local policies and procedures that enhance workforce development services to the recipients of public assistance, low-income individuals and individuals who are basic skills deficient(most in need)
  • At least 75% of participants receiving individualized career and training services must be from at least one of the priority groups
  • DOL expects this rate to be no lower than 50.1%; effective PY20

Coursera

Would this be an allowable non-credentialed training service to provide to Adult/DW participants, even though Coursera does not fall on the ETPL or is licensed/registered/exempt from OHE?

• Activities in Coursera are pre-vocational or work readiness. If you have a client interested in training, search with them on the Career and Education Explorer for a WIOA certified training opportunity. WIOA certified programs and courses include recognized postsecondary credentials that meet federal expectations for quality training. Non-credentialed trainings also carry a noncredentialled designation in the training search tool.

Would it be appropriate to use the “Partnering” WF1 activity to document a participant’s engagement in Coursera training?

• The only time “partnering” should be used is when another program is partnering with the program the participant is enrolled in that has the partnering activity on it. This means there is another program financially supporting the participant in some way. Since Coursera is a vendor, not a partner program, the activity should not be “partnering.”

• If Coursera activities help the participant improve their skills and even prepare them to enter credentialed training in the future and given that access to computers is more important now than ever before, it makes sense to support the participant in getting a computer. I would recommend that it be paid out of support services instead of training funds since Coursera courses are not training.
• WIOA Title 1 Training (Adult, DW, Youth)

I want more information about ETPL and related training documentation to feel more confident in my work! When can I learn more?

• ETPL Administration and the ETP Team representatives will be sharing about the ETPL for part of the Jobseeker Services Committee Meeting on February 24, 2021 The meeting starts at 1pm. For further information about attending the meeting, check in with your manager, then email the JSS co-chair, Nicole Swanson: Nicole.Swanson@co.anoka.mn.us. 

MJSP Supplemental Funding Request

MJSP Board Meeting is scheduled for March 8, 2021

CLIMB

DW program staff is aware that SBA has changed its user interface, which is negatively affecting CLIMB requirements. Printing a certificate of completion at the end of online training is no longer an option; instead, clients need to complete a ‘checklist’ of objectives they have completed.

DEED leadership is aware of this and investigating ways to improve CLIMB requirements.

In the interim, please have participants provide screenshots of completed objectives as proof of having done the requirement.

Please contact, Rita, the DW staff assigned to CLIMB with any questions at Rita.Apaloo@state.mn.us

Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP)

Federal Monitoring Report was received Dec. 22, 2020 and included 3 findings (all related to case noting); response to report was sent on January 21, 2021. Staff will be in touch if additional information is required.

DOL announced that the program is fully funded and are working on an allotment TEGL which they hope to send out soon

CDL

Mike Slezak, City of Minneapolis, is held a virtual event on February 2, 2021 at 2:30 PM to discuss CDL issues. Contact him at michael.slezak@minneapolismn.gov for more information

Trade Adjustment Assistance

Virtual Roundtables for Dislocated Worker Counselors April 13-15, 2021

Minnesota TAA will host Roundtables via Microsoft Teams; please plan to attend! This is the anticipated schedule:

Tuesday, April 13

• 10:00am-11:00am: Final Rule implementation
• 1:00pm-2:00pm: *TAA overview

Wednesday, April 14

• 10:00am-11:00am: Waivers and TRA
• 1:00pm-2:00pm: *Training applications, Labor Market Information (LMI)

Thursday, April 15

• 10:00am-11:00am: “Other” training topics (*school justification, Training Progress Reports, Computers, Tools, *Transportation, TAA/DW/customer roles, etc.)
• 1:00pm-2:00pm: OJT, *Job Search Allowance, *Relocation Allowance

*Changes to existing process expected from Final Rule

Reversion and Sunset Clauses

Blog from DOL re: Reversion and Sunset Clauses of the 2015 TAA Program

Minnesota TAA will follow Department of Labor’s guidance for continued guidance and planning.

Reversion 2021: Without Congressional action, on July 1, 2021, the TAA Program will revert to a modified version of the Trade Reform Act of 2002. Any workers covered under a Petition for Trade Adjustment Assistance filed on or after July 1, 2021, would be covered by this modified version.

Sunset Provisions: Again, this is only if no Congressional action is taken. The TAA Program will sunset (expire) on June 30, 2022. No additional Petitions will be accepted after that time. No additional funding will be awarded after June 30, 2022. Unexpended funds from previous, but active, fiscal years will still be available for expenditure subject to any restrictions explained in the Operating Instructions. 

TAA Petitions

Check the status of petitions with U.S. Department of Labor 

• Recently certified:
• 95974 – Dura Supreme LLC, Howard Lake
• 95964 - Medallion (ACPI Wood Product, LLC, FKA Elkay Cabinetry), Waconia

• 96019 – Verso Corporation – Duluth Mill, Duluth
• 95703 – HED Cycling Products, Roseville
• 96702 – Emerson, Elk River
• Pending DOL’s investigation
• 96651 -- DeCare Dental, LLC. a subsidiary of Anthem Companies, Inc. Eagan
• 95467 – Wisconsin Central LTD /Canadian National, Proctor
• 95764 – Landis Gyr, Pequot Lakes
• 95830 – Wayzata Home Products, Edina

DEED Labor Market Information

By the Numbers 

Having a comprehensive understanding of Occupations in Demand in Minnesota that considers current job vacancies, the number and types of jobs people have been laid off from, the prevalence of certain occupations in each region, longer term demand projections, and regional differences in labor market supply is critical to helping employers, job seekers, career counselors and educators during these challenging times.

Even with economic uncertainty during the pandemic, thousands of Minnesota employers are looking for workers. Throughout the fall and even into the winter, there were an average of about 75,000 openings on any given day on MinnesotaWorks.net, the state’s online job bank, up considerably compared to the summer when postings hovered around 60,000 to 65,000 a day. But many employers with job openings are finding it difficult to locate and hire new workers.

This lack of applicants seems counter-intuitive since the number of unemployed workers surged nearly 250% in May 2020 compared to May 2019. It was more than 100% higher by September and was still up 33% in November 2020. A variety of factors are keeping some of these workers on the sidelines, including a mismatch between what skills employers are looking for and the skills of workers looking for jobs.

In the short-term, to help unemployed workers see at a glance what jobs are currently available, CareerForceMN.com started publishing a list of the top 30 jobs that are hiring now – which provided a summarized list of postings from Minnesota employers that are showing up on the National Labor Exchange , including openings from MinnesotaWorks.net and linking to additional information about each type of job as well as current job postings. As an immediate response to the labor market turmoil at the start of the pandemic, the first top 30 list was published in April, and has since been updated each month as new job posting data comes in. In addition, job seekers can always rely on the staff, tools, and resources available through CareerForce locations across the state to get back to work.

However, as we get a clearer picture of the impact of the pandemic, job seekers and employment counselors may be looking for more comprehensive and better information on how to transition back into the labor market that takes into account various factors related to labor market supply and demand. While the top 30 list was helpful as a tool for those looking for employment quickly, it included no analysis; it was simply a count of job postings. It did not take into account any other measure of labor market supply or demand.

For example, the list showed that there were currently more than a thousand jobs posted for cooks and food prep workers in the state, placing them in the top 30 for jobs that are hiring now. However, it did not address the fact that tens of thousands of people have been laid off from those same types of jobs. These displaced workers will likely be seeking re-employment in similar positions, creating increased competition that may be difficult to overcome. As a simple illustration, imagine 10,000 qualified job seekers vying for 1,000 jobs – 9,000 of those jobseekers are not going to be re-hired. With that kind of mismatch, unemployed workers hoping to get back into those jobs may need to rethink their path back into the labor force and consider a career change to one that is more in demand.

DEED’s Occupations in Demand (OID) tool was developed to provide a more comprehensive look at current demand for job seekers and career counselors, specifically in the Dislocated Worker program. The updated OID list is a ranking of occupations that have the most favorable demand conditions as measured by the following factors:

• What jobs are open and available in the region now and have had openings since the start of the pandemic? (Source: Minnesota Job Vacancy Survey)
• How large and prominent is each occupation in the region? (Source: Occupational Employment Statistics)
• How many people were laid off and how hard has it been to find re-employment in an occupation since the start of the pandemic? (Source: Unemployment Insurance claims data)

Based on the Occupations in Demand December 2020 Update, four of the top 10 Occupations in Demand in Minnesota were health care careers – led by Registered Nurses in first place overall, followed by Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Certified Nursing Assistants, and Licensed Practical Nurses. Retail Trade and transportation and delivery have also been essential throughout the pandemic, leading to high demand for Retail Salespersons, Stockers and Order Fillers, Store Managers and other First-line Supervisors, and Customer Service Representatives, as well as Truck Drivers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers (see Table 1).

To read the entire article, go to: https://mn.gov/deed/newscenter/publications/trends/december-2020/understand-demand.jsp

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