Spotlight on Prosperity 10,000
What is Prosperity 10,000?
The Future Ready Oregon investment package set aside $35 million in Prosperity 10,000 funds for Oregon’s nine Local Workforce Development Boards (LWDBs) to expand opportunities for Oregonians to jumpstart and advance their careers in high-demand industries and occupations that put them on a pathway to self-sufficiency. The Prosperity 10,000 Program is designed to provide a series of workforce development opportunities and supports especially for priority populations through the LWDBs. Priority populations include communities of color, women, low-income communities, rural and frontier communities, veterans, persons with disabilities, incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, members of Oregon’s tribes, older adults, and individuals who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.
In this issue, we kick off a new series about how the LWDBs have been using these funds since receiving their first allocation of $15 million in state General Funds in May 2022 and their second allocation of $20 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding in early 2023. Check out our first "spotlight" story on Clackamas Workforce Partnership below, along with a brief update from Willamette Workforce Partnership, and stay tuned for additional stories from the other LWDBs in future issues.
Clackamas Workforce Partnership’s Clean Slate Program Removes Barriers and Builds Trust
Clackamas Workforce Partnership (CWP) supports businesses, community-based organizations, and community members throughout Clackamas County by developing workforce training and education programs for people 14 years and older. This support ranges from advocating for wraparound services, such as affordable childcare, to providing direct services to jobseekers at the Oregon City WorkSource Oregon Center. CWP also plans for workforce development in the construction, healthcare, manufacturing, and technology sectors.
CWP has used Prosperity 10,000 funds to provide training opportunities, connect individuals with jobs, and support rural residents of Clackamas County. Examples of these activities include producing a report examining what would be needed to establish universal childcare in the county, and providing community partners and employers with access to courses in English language acquisition that are tailored to specific industries.
Another standout example is Clean Slate Clackamas, which provides expungement clinics where partners help community members overcome barriers to employment, housing, and other local services. CWP has used Prosperity 10,000 funds and leveraged other resources to expand the clinic’s offerings. In addition to helping expunge certain criminal records, area residents can now receive support expunging eviction records, renewing Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status, and changing gender markers.
That’s not all. Bridget Dazey (she/her/they), executive director of CWP, reports, “We’re working now to expand [Clean Slate Clackamas] to have a homeless court where fine forgiveness can be done through our system instead of just through volunteer hours. And so this investment served as a catalyst for us to expand what that work could look like in our community, and it’s certainly taken off.…It’s really extraordinary work.”
Clean Slate Clackamas is known for the emphasis partner staff place on building relationships with clients and helping them explore a variety of options in support of their paths to meaningful, quality employment.
“There is a lot of distrust and fear around engaging with public services for people who have been legal-system involved, and a lot of too-good-to-be-true conversations happen,” Dazey explains. Clean Slate partners ease those fears through a comprehensive approach. They don’t simply help expunge records. They also talk about related programs and services, learning opportunities, and a variety of job options and supports. These conversations help clients see themselves in a particular job or industry and help set them up to make these possibilities a reality.
“I think that level of trust building with our community when we say, ‘we want to remove these barriers from you or from what’s getting in your way,’ is a huge outcome for us,” says Dazey. “And we continue to see it every day in the stories we hear back from people.”
To learn more about Clean Slate Clackamas, visit the Expungement Clinics webpage or Clean Slate Clackamas webpage for full details. And be sure to check out CWP’s homepage to learn more about CWP's array of services, including other programs supported by Prosperity 10,000.
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Latest Future Ready Oregon Updates from Willamette Workforce Partnership
Last year, Willamette Workforce Partnership (WWP) invested $1.3 million in Future Ready Oregon funds in high-demand skills training to benefit underserved communities. Watch WWP’s video here to see the results. WWP also recently shared a video update on Salem for Refugees, which received a WWP Future Ready Oregon Prosperity 10,000 grant to train Afghanistan refugee pilots. Interested in learning more about how WWP is putting Future Ready Oregon to work? Be sure to visit the WWP homepage for full details.
Manufacturing and Technology Industry Consortia Convene to Identify Opportunities and Barriers to Workforce Development, Plan for Upcoming Rounds of Future Ready Oregon Grants
The Manufacturing Industry Consortium convened for its second quarterly meeting on October 23rd at the Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center (OMIC) in Scappoose to identify opportunities and gaps in the development of Oregon’s manufacturing workforce. Members examined their roles and responsibilities as advisory to the Workforce and Talent Development Board, reviewed HECC’s equity lens and discussed how it applies to their work, and considered data from the Oregon Employment Department—all in preparation for establishing the Consortium’s objectives at the next meeting.
A facilitated panel of industry and education partners also presented on manufacturing education and training programs and strategies to advance a diverse workforce. Panelists included representatives from Worksystems, Inc., Portland Community College (PCC), Mt. Hood Community College, and Microchip Technology Inc.
For more information about the Manufacturing Industry Consortium, check out the HECC’s latest press release announcing the Consortium’s launch, available here in English and here in Spanish.
 Manufacturing Industry Consortium members and HECC staff tour the OMIC R&D Additive Innovation Center and PCC OMIC Training Center after the October 23rd Consoritum meeting.
On November 14th, the Technology Industry Consortium hosted its second quarterly meeting at the Oregon Institute of Technology Portland-Metro Campus in Wilsonville. Members reviewed high tech employment statistics with Amy Vander Vliet, regional economist with the Oregon Economic Department, discussed definitions for the technology sector and the high-tech workforce, and prepared to make recommendations for upcoming rounds of Workforce Ready Grants.
Thanks so much to our presenters, members, and hosts for an insightful set of meetings!
Please visit our Industry Consortia webpage for more information about each Consortium, including past meeting materials and recordings. The quarterly meetings are open to the public.
Round Two Workforce Ready Grantees Announced
The HECC officially announced the 30 recipients of Workforce Ready Innovation in Workforce Programs Grants in early November. Learn more about this latest round of Future Ready Oregon grant funding in the HECC’s press release, available here in English and here in Spanish, and be sure to check out the table of the preliminary project descriptions here.
Future Ready Oregon in the News
HECC grants PCC $2.2 million to boost workforce development - November 20, 2023. Portland Community College. James Hill. “The Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) is providing a significant boost…”
Oregon gives out $35M grants to programs training workers for high-demand industries – November 13, 2023. OPB. Kyra Buckley. “Oregon is sending a total of $35 million in grant funding to 30 projects across the state…”
RCC gets $900,000 grant to expand nursing program as RN shortage lingers – October 26, 2023. Rogue Valley Times. Kevin Opsahl. “Rogue Community College announced it received a grant of over $900,000 to help expand its registered nursing program…”
Oregon seeks to jump-start semiconductor workforce with intensive, two-week program – October 22, 2023. The Oregonian. Mike Rogoway. “Standing at a lab bench in a Hillsboro classroom, Omotara Chukwuemeka seems to be wrestling with a torque wrench…”
Oregon’s mental health workforce ‘crisis’ exacerbates challenges finding care – October 21, 2023. The Oregonian. Sami Edge. “Oregon’s mental health clinics can’t find anyone to fill a quarter of their jobs…
Lane County Organization gets million-dollar grant for workforce development – October 19, 2023. KEZI-9 News. Albert James. “A Lane County organization recently got over $1 million in grants to support workforce development…”
PCC mobile welding training center unveiled – October 19, 2023. Portland Tribune. Jim Redden. “Portland Community College is expanding its welding training program across the region…”
Pathway provided through grant and UCC/Aviva Partnership – October 12, 2023. KQEN. “Umpqua Community College has a new program stemming from a partnership between the college and Aviva Health…”
Future Ready Oregon in the News contains links to news content that includes information created, published, maintained, or otherwise posted by institutions or organizations independent of the HECC. The content represents a selection of recent coverage from reputable, non-partisan media sources and institutional or government partners. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of information available via these links.
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