Regional Workforce Network looking for input on Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act

 
The Employers First Regional Workforce Network hosts a forum Oct. 30 on the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), which aims to streamline and improve workforce development systems so potential employees can develop needed skills and talents.
 
The workforce network is a coalition of four Workforce Investment Boards from Southwest Ohio, Southeast Indiana and Northern Kentucky that work to connect businesses with potential employees. The boards formed the coalition 14 years ago after recognizing that their efforts needed to reach across the tristate region.
 
“The realization that began the conversation was that employers weren’t concerned about which state their potential employees came from, they just wanted qualified employees,” says Barbara Stewart, Associate Director of Workforce Development at the Northern Kentucky Workforce Investment Board. “So we would ‘circle our wagons’ to align and coordinate workforce services for the employers.”
 
Since then, those Workforce Investment Boards have worked together to help businesses connect to talent in the region. According to Stewart, it’s a great model.
 
“I was delighted to get involved with the workforce network because it made so much sense,” she says. “In the workforce development arena, success is closely tied to the relationships that support linking job seekers to employment opportunities.”
 
The Employers First Regional Workforce Network allows the four workforce boards to strengthen those relationships by pooling resources and combining their networks. In addition, the WIOA legislation emphasizes regional efforts.
 
“It realizes that workforce development does not stop at county borders,” Stewart says. “In our area, efforts don’t stop at state borders either.”
 
Consequently, the workforce network has developed a proposal for a regional workforce development strategic plan in reaction to the WIOA legislation but is looking for public input on the plan. Stewart encourages people to come to the Oct. 30 forum to help provide that input.
 
“We very much want to collect comments and insights from employers and community stakeholders that will help with our regional approach,” she says. “This will ensure our Employers First region becomes a more effective workforce development partnership.”
 
The Employers First Regional Workforce Network has held several similar forums in the past on topics ranging from skill shortages during high unemployment to the future of manufacturing. Stewart sees this week’s forum as an important step in the future strategies of Workforce Development Boards in the tristate.
 
“This one is bringing us into the next phase of the workforce development scene,” she says. “It will strengthen our direction, making sure we’re addressing the current and future needs of employers and the job seekers they’ll hire.”
 
The forum will be held 9-11 a.m. Oct. 30 at the Fifth Third Convening Center at United Way, 2400 Reading Road, Walnut Hills. RSVP to Nori Muro by phone (513-762-7234) or by email at [email protected].