INFORMATION BULLETINS (PY 2006)
WIA Local Plan Modification PY 2006–07 X. Addendum
a WIA Local Plan Modification PY 2006–07
0 Modification # ___________________ LWIA: ALAMEDA COUNTY
Date: 04/01/2006
X. ADDENDUM
A. Consistency with the State Plan – WIA Section 118(a) requires Local Plans to be consistent with the State Plan.
The Governor’s key priorities for California’s public workforce system are:
· Understanding and Meeting the Workforce Needs of Business and Industry in order to Prepare Workers for 21st Century Jobs
· Targeting Limited Resources To Areas Where They Can Have the Greatest Economic Impact
· Collaborating to Improve California’s Educational System At All Levels
· Ensuring the Accountability of Public and Private Workforce Investments
These four key priorities for California’s workforce system are addressed in the Governor’s vision for the system in more detail in Section I of the State Plan. Describe how your local vision and workforce development strategy is consistent with the Governor’s workforce development priorities.
The Bay Area is currently one of the leading biotechnology research centers in the Country. In order meet the workforce needs of this industry and to prepare workers for 21st Century jobs, a Biotech Training project has been funded by the Department of Labor (DOL) to continue and expand a pilot project that was created to connect dislocated airline workers with jobs in biotech manufacturing and biotech quality assurance. A partnership between Genetech and other biotech companies, Ohlone, Los Medanos and Skyline Community Colleges, the Alameda, Contra Costa and San Mateo Counties’ Workforce Investment Boards and other partners are working towards the continuation of this award winning project on a regional basis.
The Alameda County Workforce Investment Board (ACWIB) currently focuses its investments and leveraged resources on high-growth, high-wage jobs that will advance workers with barriers to employment. These resources have been targeted to impact the local area where it will have the best economic advantage in alignment with the Governor’s vision and the State Plan.
ACWIB is committed to collaboration to improve California’s Educational System at all levels as demonstrated by the Biotech Training program mentioned above. In addition, a Career Pathways Pilot Project targeting at-risk youth began in PY05-06, in partnership with Peralta Community College and Chabot/Las Positas Community College Districts offer career technical and vocational education and training programs delivered through a learning community concept. The number of high school graduates has increased as the result of our partnerships with local educational entities.
In order to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the workforce investment system, the ACWIB is committed to collaborating on a regional level with other Local Boards in order to maximize the use of public and private funds and to expand existing workforce training in high-growth areas. This strategy is designed to ensure accountability of the workforce investments in the local area and the Region.
B. Other information as required by the Governor [WIA Section 118(b)(10)] – Since the development of the State Plan, the State Board has adopted vision statements regarding business services and lifelong learning. Also, there are other elements that the State is requiring in the Local Plan.
1. The State Board Business and Industry Special Committee has adopted the following vision statement, "The One-Stop System, in collaboration with the economic development community, partners with California's business to provide best-in-class local services to business to support job retention and growth." Provide a description of your local strategies, based upon your Local Board’s vision for business services, to improve the services to employers, and include in your description:
a. Your vision and strategic planning efforts for business services.
b. How you use industry partnerships and other employer contacts to validate employer needs.
c. What actions the Local Board has taken, or plans to take, to ensure that local business services are not redundant and coordinated with partner programs such as Wagner-Peyser and Economic Development Corporations.
d. How the Local Board measures the satisfaction of business services and how the data are used to improve services.
The role of the Local Board entails the development of a systems framework that supports the State’s direction and is built upon the needs of regional and local industries, business, and communities.
The Economic Development and Employer Services Committee (EDES), a subcommittee of the ACWIB, is comprised of WIB members, and representatives from East Bay Economic Development Alliance (East Bay EDA), Business Service Representatives, Employer Services Representatives, and One-Stop Operators. This committee sets the direction for the local vision and provides strategic planning in aligning the economic development community to business partners to promote and provide a first class business service model for the Alameda County workforce investment system.
Strategic planning for services to businesses has been structured through the development of system-wide and Business Service performance indicators that align goals with activities for the One-Stop and for ACWIB. The One-Stops have performance indicators that are primarily system-wide that respond to Universal Business Customers and On-The-Job Training and placements.
Specific Business Services performance indicators, goals, and activities have been enhanced for PY06-07. Indicators for Business Services are targeted to small and large businesses, establishing and maintaining repeat business, forming formal business relationships, and expanding and developing the ACWIB Business Network. New performance indicators for PY06-07 will include Maximizing Customer Service, Increased Collaboration with Economic Development, and enhancing Rapid Response activities. Benchmarks and goals for the new performance indicators are aligned according to specific activities.
The ACWIB utilizes industry and employer partnerships in order to validate employer needs. Memberships for PY06-07 will include collaboration with East Bay EDA, Economic Development Directors Council, Bay Bio, Biotech Alliance, California Economic Development, and Chambers of Commerce.
Activities and events scheduled for PY06-07will include Manufacturing Matters, Bio 2007, Northern California Human Resources Association, and the Rapid Response Summit.
As Business Services strategies is overseen by EDES of the ACWIB, the local area has assurance that duplicative and redundant services are kept to an absolute minimum with Wagner-Peyser and Economic Development program partners.
The ACWIB measures the satisfaction of Business Services through a comprehensive Customer Satisfaction Survey, and the measurement of new and repeat business. These activities are tracked in an automated system called SMARTWARE.
2. The State Board’s vision for Lifelong Learning states: “The vision for lifelong learning, in the context of workforce development, is to enable current and future workers to continually acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to be successful in the workplace.”
a. Describe how the Local Board is addressing lifelong learning, in the context of workforce development, through collaborative policy and planning.
ACWIB is committed to lifelong learning through its' "Customized/Upgrade" training program. Funding has been dedicated to train incumbent workers so that they may expand their skills base to ehance promotional and career advancement opportunities. Working with the private sector, economic development, community, curriculm and college partners, incumbent workers’ needs are identified and training plans are developed tapered to industry needs.
b. Describe how the Local Board will improve and promote access to lifelong learning in the next year. Include existing or planned efforts to leverage resources with local lifelong learning partners, including business and education.
ACWIB has partnered with the private sector, other WIB's, community colleges and economic development agencies to bring in discretionary funds. These funds address the needs of the Healthcare, Bioscience and Energy sectors in our region by developing industry based training that prepares our workforce for current and future jobs. In the area of incumbent worker training, the private sector has provided at least 50% of the costs. Kaiser Permenente, Pepsico, Kobe Precision, Genetech, USS Posco, Dow Chemical, Bayer and Injex are just some of the companies we are currently partnered with. We are currently partnered with 3 community college districts on DOL applications that will cover four high growth sectors including constuction, automotive, bioscience and healthcare. The WIB is also working with the adult school to develop a "Math Refresher" course as many of the tests for the new high growth jobs require some algebra.
C. Additional Required Elements – The following elements were not included in the Initial/Supplemental Planning Narrative or the one-year extension for Program Year 2005–06, but are required in Local Plans.
1. How will your Local Board ensure continuous improvement of eligible providers of services through the system and ensure that such providers meet the employment needs of local employers and participants? [WIA Section 118(b)(2)(A)]
The ACWIB strongly believes in the continuous improvement process and has adopted several systems to ensure that the one-stop career centers develop action plans to enhance their activities.
Since 2001, EASTBAY Works has contracted with a private sector firm, to implement a customer satisfaction survey of the universal services clients who use the One-Stop career centers. Each year, the scores have improved as the centers implement their action plans. The EASTBAY Works 2006 Customer Satisfaction Survey composite score for all fourteen centers totaled 88%. The State of California negotiated level was 75%.
EASTBAY Works has just implemented a Customer Satisfaction Survey for the enrolled job seekers beginning with those who exited starting April 1, 2006. We expect the data to be available in October. Information gleaned from the surveys will help the one-stop career centers enhance their Core B, Intensive, and Training activities.
EASTBAY Works has also implemented a Business Services Customer Satisfaction Survey. While the returned responses are not enough to be statistically significant, they show a very positive trend. EASTBAY Works continues to refine the survey and the process with the goal of having an adequate number of responses to begin to obtain data.
The ACWIB staff has developed a Vendor Performance Report that compiles the performance of training providers. The reports have been used by the One-Stop career centers from October 20, 2000 through June 30, 2006. One-Stop career center counselors and the general public can review the reports to determine if clients have been successfully placed, if the placements were training related, and at what wage.
2. If your Local Board has entered into an agreement with another area (including another Local Board that is a city or county within the same labor market) to pay or share the cost of educating, training, or placing individuals participating in programs assisted under Title I of WIA, including provision of supportive services, provide copy of your approved agreement. [WIA Section 195(3)(B)]
Our Local Board has not entered into any agreements with another area; therefore, we will not be providing agreement documentation for this topic.
3. Is your Local Board providing training services that are made as exceptions to the Individual Training Account process? If so, describe the process you used to procure and justify these exceptions. This process must include a 30-day public comment period for interested providers. [20 CFR Sections 661.350(a)(5) and (10) and 20 CFR Section 663.430(a)]
Our Local Board is not providing training services that make exceptions to the Individual Training Account process.
4. Priority of Service – What local policies and strategies are in place to ensure that, pursuant to the Jobs for Veterans Act (P.L.107-288)(38 USC 4215), priority of service is provided to veterans (and certain spouses) who otherwise meet the eligibility requirements for all employment and training programs funded by the Department of Labor, in accordance with the provisions of TEGL 5-03 (9/16/03/)? Include in your discussion how this policy is shared with all of the One-Stop Career Center partners and if/how you conduct outreach to veterans and veteran organizations to encourage use of One-Stop Career Center services.
In response to TEGL 5-03, our Local Board established local policies and strategies consistent under the Jobs for Veterans Act to the extent that the WIA Adult, Youth and Dislocated Worker programs will provide a priority of service to veterans/spouses of certain veterans under the beginning with PY 2004-05. The following criteria developed by the ETA will be applied for the Adult, Older Youth (19-21 years of age) and Dislocated Worker programs:
· Eligibility for the WIA Adult, Older Youth and/or Dislocated Worker program is not changed by the veterans’ priority.
· The Jobs for Veterans Act provides priority service only to veterans/covered persons who meet the WIA Adult, Older Youth or Dislocated Worker program eligibility requirements.
· Available funds will not change nor are local areas required to set aside funds to serve veterans.
· The priority for veterans is mandated by law and cannot be waived.
· When eligibility requirements are met and all other things are equa,l veterans or spouses of certain veterans will receive priority over non-veterans.
The aforementioned local policy (Action Bulletin 43, September 16, 2004) is mandated and shared with all One-Stop Career Centers, Youth service providers and all other WIA funded partners with the encouragement to conduct outreach to veterans and to actively partner with The Employment Development Department (EDD) Veterans services Units.
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