Category: Uncategorized
Wyoming Workforce Development Council Seeks Public Comment on Wyoming’s Unified State Plan
Feb.5, 2024
The Wyoming Workforce Development Council is seeking public comment on a draft of Wyoming’s Unified State Plan (Plan). Wyoming is required to submit the Plan under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). The Plan ensures compliance with Public Law 113-128. Comments are sought by Feb. 19, 2024.
WIOA brings together the following programs: employment and training services for adults, dislocated workers, and youth; Wagner-Peyser employment services; adult education and literacy programs; and Vocational Rehabilitation state grant programs that assist individuals with disabilities in obtaining employment.
Additional information on WIOA may be found on the Department of Labor’s website.
A copy of the draft Plan is available for public inspection online here. Hard copies of the Plan will be made available for review at the local Department of Workforce Services’ Workforce Centers. In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, special assistance or alternate formats will be made available upon request. Chief elected officials, businesses, labor organizations, institutions of higher education, primary stakeholders, and the general public are encouraged to provide comments. Comments should be made in writing and must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 19, 2024, to jennifer.wilch@wyo.gov or mailed to the attention of Jennifer Wilch at 5221 Yellowstone Road, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002.
Workforce Development Council invests in workforce centers, Wyoming at Work upgrade, and high school outreach
ROCK SPRINGS – The Wyoming Workforce Development Council voted on several funding measures during its quarterly meeting in Rock Springs on May 10-11.
The Council voted to move funds from the Council’s discretionary reserves to operations for the 18 workforce centers and participants in the Title I core programs of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. The action reduces the Council’s discretionary reserves for program years 2021, 2022, and 2023. The recommendation from the Department of Workforce Services was prompted by an increase in participants and rising costs of operations. Additionally, a $14,000 request for non-cloth chairs in several workforce centers was approved.
A request from DWS for $500,000 for the transition of Wyoming at Work to a new platform was also approved by the Council. Wyoming at Work functions as the Management Information System that provides many functions required by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, including labor exchange, case management, financial tracking of grant funds, and mandatory federal reporting. The system has not been significantly upgraded in 15 years.
The Council also approved a Next Generation Sector Partnership grant application from the Southwest Wyoming Manufacturing Partnership for $15,000 to connect Southwest Wyoming high school students to career pathways. The grant funds will be used to conduct career exploration and awareness activities during the 2023-24 school year.
The next meeting of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council will be held in Buffalo on September 22-23, 2023. Meeting information is available at wyowdc.wyo.gov.
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Contact: Kari Eakins at 307-777-5287 or kari.eakins1@wyo.gov.
Workforce Development Council to review funding requests in Rock Springs
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Workforce Development Council will conduct its quarterly meeting in Rock Springs from 1-5 p.m. on May 10 and 8 a.m.- noon on May 11, 2023, to take action on several funding requests from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services and a Next Gen Sector Partnership grant application from the Southwest Wyoming Manufacturing Partnership.
The funding requests include reallocations of federal program funding for Program Years (PY) 2021 and 2022 as well as the initial allocation of funding for PY 2023, funding to support the launch of the new platform for Wyoming at Work, and funding for new chairs in several of the workforce centers. The grant application request would provide funding to provide career awareness and exploration activities at Southwest Wyoming high schools during the 2023-24 school year.
During the meeting, the Council will also receive updates on the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, the Wyoming Resilience Project, and Wyoming’s Tomorrow Scholarship. Additionally, the Council will tour the Kel-Tec CNC Industries facility, which recently opened in Rock Springs.
Anyone wishing to attend the quarterly meeting may do so in person at Bunning Hall, 603 South Main Street in Rock Springs, or virtually via Zoom. Information about joining the meeting as well as the full agenda is available at wyowdc.wyo.gov.
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Contact: Kari Eakins at 307-777-5287 or kari.eakins1@wyo.gov.
Workforce Development Council meeting to be held virtually
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Workforce Development Council quarterly meeting and work session with the Wyoming Business Council will now be held virtually.
The work session with the Wyoming Business Council will start at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, February 21. Anyone interested in joining the meeting may do so at wbc.pub/wbc_meeting or by calling 1-669-900-6833; enter Meeting ID 295-704-768 (no PIN required, press # when prompted).
The quarterly meeting of the Workforce Development Council will take place via zoom from 1-5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 22 and 8 a.m.-noon on Thursday, February 23, 2023. Information about joining the quarterly meeting, as well as the full agenda, is available at wyowdc.wyo.gov.
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Contact: Kari Eakins at 307-777-5287 or kari.eakins1@wyo.gov.
Workforce Development Council to meet with Wyoming Business Council
CHEYENNE – The Wyoming Workforce Development Council will hold a work session with the Wyoming Business Council from 1-3 p.m. on February 21 ahead of its quarterly meeting in Cheyenne from 1-5 p.m. on February 22 and 8 a.m.- noon on February 23, 2023.
The work session with the Wyoming Business Council offers an opportunity for both councils to learn about each other, receive an update on the Wyoming Innovation Partnership, and explore the potential for future collaboration. The session will take place at Laramie County Community College.
“As the Workforce Development Council, we’re eager to work shoulder-to-shoulder with our peers at the Wyoming Business Council,” said Workforce Development Council Chair Fabian Lobera. “There have always existed like-minded sets of goals for our organizations centered around the enhancement of the state’s economy, but taking the time to mutually detail those unified efforts will go a long way towards ensuring that reaching those goals is streamlined.”
During its quarterly meeting, the WWDC will continue its strategic planning efforts and receive several updates from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, including the Safety and Workforce Summit and the Workforce Development Training Fund. Additionally, Wyoming Business Council CEO Josh Dorrell will present on the grant recently awarded to the City of Laramie for the development of a vertical farming research center.
Anyone wishing to attend the quarterly meeting may do so in person at the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services, 5221 Yellowstone Road, or virtually via Zoom. Information about joining the meeting as well as the full agenda is available at wyowdc.wyo.gov.
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Contact: Kari Eakins at 307-777-5287 or kari.eakins1@wyo.gov.
Executive Committee approves two funding requests
CHEYENNE – The Executive Committee of the Wyoming Workforce Development Council approved two funding requests during its virtual meeting on January 31.
The first funding request approved came from the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services for $45,000 to contract with Northern Illinois University Center for Governmental Studies to conduct an evaluation of Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Title I programs. Federal law requires that these evaluations be conducted.
The second funding request approved is a $4,000 sponsorship of the Wyoming Future Business Leaders of America’s 2023 State Leadership Conference. This is the Council’s first approval using the Workforce System Support Grant application process, which was finalized in November 2022. Grant applications are available on the Council’s website: wyowdc.wyo.gov.
The next meeting of the Workforce Development Council will take place February 22-23 in Cheyenne.
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Contact: Kari Eakins at 307-777-5287, or kari.eakins1@wyo.gov.