Above: Mayor Betsy Hodges poses with Minneapolis BUILD
Leaders attending the conference, along with their trainers David Carson (far
left) and Connie Rhodes (third from right).
On October 19th, 160 metro area
youth work professionals and community leaders gathered at the Whittier School
& Recreation Center for the annual Minneapolis PARTNERS with Youth
conference. For the seventh year,
the City of Minneapolis has supported the
convening of youth workers and provided workshops that speak to the expertise
of youth work professionals.
Attendees enjoyed workshops
built around creating pathways to equitable youth engagement that included
tracks in Healing, Activating, Sustaining, and Opportunity.
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges
gave a welcome presentation that thanked youth work professionals for their
outstanding commitment and vision for young people in our community to be safe,
engaged, and thriving. National keynote
speaker Jason Sole also spoke to attendees while discussing his memoir, From
Prison to Ph.D.: A Memoir of Hope, Resilience, and Second Chance.
The Partners with Youth
Conference was sponsored by Minneapolis Employment and Training, the
Minneapolis Health Department, the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board, and
Youthprise. Hennepin County Libraries,
Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board, Community Bridge, and Whittier Schools helped to coordinate the event.
National Apprenticeship Week (NAW) is a national celebration
that offers leaders in business, labor, education, and other critical partners
a chance to express their support for apprenticeship. NAW also gives
apprenticeship sponsors the opportunity to showcase their programs, facilities
and apprentices in their community.
The following events are happening in the metro area:
Apprenticeship Summit
Wednesday, November 15, 2017
Employer Panel: 9:00
- 10:00 a.m.
On-Site Hiring Event: 10:00 - 12 noon
Anoka County WorkForce Center - 1201 89th Ave. NE Ste. 235,
Blaine, MN
Flyer
Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest (FTIUM) Open House
Wednesday, November 15, 2017, 3:00 pm
FTIUM, 3205 Country Drive Suite 150, Little
Canada, MN
An updated version of the “Twin Cities Metro Area
Apprenticeship Programs” information sheet can be found here.
Hundreds of the nearly 8,000 Minnesota manufacturers opened
their doors to high school students thinking about careers making things during Minnesota Manufacturing Week in early October.
Minneapolis-based Graco, the global manufacturer of spraying
and fluid-handling equipment, played host to about 150 Minneapolis high school
students at its Northeast flagship facility that employs about 750. Graco
starts high school graduates at $15 an hour for assembly jobs, including
training-and-advancement opportunities such as tuition reimbursement for those
wishing to pursue two-year degrees at local colleges.
The future of the state’s economy is dependent on a
ready-to-train, adaptable workforce graduating high school. And it will be
increasingly diverse. More than a third of Graco workers at its headquarters
campus are minorities, as were most of the students who visited this month.
Read the whole StarTribune
article.
Minnesota employers added 6,400 jobs in September, according
to seasonally adjusted figures released by DEED. The state has gained 41,259
jobs over the past year, an increase of 1.4 percent. U.S. job growth in the
past 12 months was 1.2 percent.
Minnesota’s
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell 0.1 percent in September to 3.7
percent. The U.S. unemployment rate was 4.2 percent in September.
In the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, all regions gained
jobs in the past 12 months: Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA (up 2.1 percent),
Duluth-Superior MSA (up 1.3 percent), Rochester MSA (up 0.9 percent), St. Cloud
MSA (up 1.3 percent) and Mankato MSA (up 1.2 percent).
Learn more.
Due to the increasing shortage of workers with tech skills, Best
Buy is increasing its number of teen tech centers fivefold over the next three
years by growing the year-round after-school programs from 11 sites to more
than 60 across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
First launched in 2012, Best Buy's teen tech centers focus
on serving under-served youth. They provide free programming that includes
hands-on access to the latest technology in everything from robotics to 3-D
printing. Other subject areas include coding, filmmaking, music production and
design.
The expansion includes four new sites that will be open in
the Twin Cities in coming weeks, in addition to its existing location at the
Minneapolis Central Library. The new locations are at the Brian Coyle Center
and Hope Community in Minneapolis as well as at Keystone Community Services and
the YMCA in St. Paul.
The company is also launching a new post-high school career
readiness program that includes internship opportunities and mentorship. It
will serve 2,000 students a year.
Best Buy also runs the Geek Squad Academy, summer camps for
youth at about 40 locations around the country.
Read the whole story.
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