Groups Receive Funding to Help Address Regional Skill Shortages
JEFFERSON CITY - Five local workforce investment boards will receive
more than $850,000 to help address employer needs in their regions
as part of Gov. Matt Blunt's commitment to improving Missouri's
business climate.
"In order to create jobs and expand our economy, we must reduce
skill shortages in our workforce, and this funding will go a long
way in addressing those shortages," Blunt said. "By providing
regions with additional resources we can make Missouri more
competitive by developing work skills needed to improve the quality
of life for all Missourians."
The Northwest Workforce Investment Board, the Southwest Workforce
Investment Board, the South Central Workforce Investment Board and
the Kansas City & Vicinity Workforce Investment Board joined with
the East Jackson County Workforce Investment Board and will all
receive funding for projects that address the critical skills gaps
identified during regional workforce planning.
The program, known as the Missouri Regional Skill Gap Initiative, is
a cooperative effort between the Department of Economic
Development's Division of Workforce Development and Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education's Division of Career Education.
Funding for the initiative is being provided through employment and
training programs authorized by the Workforce Investment Act, the
Adult Education and Family Literacy Act, and the Carl D. Perkins
Vocational and Technical Education Act.
The Northwest Workforce Investment Board will receive $222,700 to
promote a life-long learning strategy, including the establishment
of Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs). LiLAs are portable savings
accounts where employers match the pre-tax wage contributions by
employees to finance their own education and training. This region
will also support the training of two registered nurses to become
clinical nursing faculty to increase the capacity for training
registered nurses. They also plan to have a minimum of 204
job-seekers complete the Regional Career Readiness Certificate
program.
To meet the needs of the region's businesses for enough qualified
entry-level workers in advanced manufacturing and healthcare, the
Southwest Workforce Investment Board will receive $175,000 to
initiate the Work Readiness Credential program. This program
provides a national, portable assessment-based certification that
affirms a jobseeker has demonstrated the foundation knowledge and
skills, including soft skills, which are needed for successful
performance as entry-level workers. Overall, the skills gap project
in Southwest Region will assess and/or train 2,100 job seekers
through the Career Center.
The South Central Workforce Investment Board will receive $250,000
to help employers maintain and upgrade the quality of their
workforce and assist current and future employees in developing the
skills needed to be successful in their jobs and to advance in their
fields. They are projecting 720 workers will be assessed.
Additionally they plan to increase the number completing their GED
and provide skill training to 96 workers in 12 companies.
Together, the Kansas City & Vicinity and the East Jackson County
Workforce Investment Boards will receive $227,273 to partner with
the Kansas City Metropolitan Health Care Council, which represents
over 25 area hospitals. Activities in their project include the
development of a Clinical Faculty Academy to train 36 registered
nurses (through the incumbent worker training program) as adjunct
clinical staff to increase the number of registered nurses trained.
Also, this project will provide training for new workers in various
healthcare occupations. A minimum of 90 clients will be trained and
placed into the nursing field. These placements will be new
employees, not incumbents.
Another goal is to serve an additional 45 incumbents in the second
phase in positions such as CNAs, LPNs, RNs, and RN
supervisor/management and RN clinical faculty.
The first phase of this initiative, which has already been
completed, involved each of Missouri's 14 workforce investment
regions receiving $10,000 used to develop a local consortium that
conducted a regional supply/demand skills gap analysis, identified
current and future needs of business and industry and selected the
targeted occupations for each region. The five Regions were selected
as part of a competitive process with reviews conducted by a
multi-agency panel. Those proposals that were not selected for
funding are encouraged to continue to analyze the needs of their
local economy and structure their future plans to respond to the
skill gaps that have been identified.
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