Green Jobs Innovation in Portland, Oregon
Portland's program, called Clean Energy Works Portland, creates a Recovery Act-funded revolving loan fund that will enable Portland homeowners to take out long-term, low-interest loans and repay them through small additions to their utility bills. Green for All has partnered with the City of Portland to implement an innovative green jobs program that aims to retrofit 100,000 homes for energy efficiency while creating new green jobs and economic opportunities for low-income residents of the city. Grantee: Portland YouthBuilders (PYB) Location of Grant Activities: Oregon Amount: $100,000 Key Partnerships: Oregon Employment Department, Southeast Works OneStop Career Center, Portland Community College, the Oregon Institute of Technology, and the Oregon Employer Workforce Training Fund Project Description: Portland Youth Builders (PYB) will expand its current greenjobs training program to prepare low-income youth for entry-level obs and advanced training in the following energy efficient and renewable energy industries: energy efficient construction, weatherization, solar and wind energy, sustainable agriculture, and residential and commercial retrofitting. Project Outcomes: Key modifications will be made to the PYB programs including the development of a weatherization pathway, the development of a green internship program, the enhancement of existing green curriculum based on feedback from the Energy Trust of Oregon, the establishment of key partnerships with PostSecondary institutions and local green employers, and the construction of PYBbuilt Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified homes. Contact: Jill Walters Portland YouthBuilders 4816 SE 92 nd Avenue Portland, OR 97266
Posted On :
12/08/09 11:35AM
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485
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132
Corporation for Enterprise Development Announces Future of Economic Opportunity Award Winners
The Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) recently announced the winners of its Future of Economic Opportunity Award at the organization’s 30th anniversary celebration in Washington, D.C. CFED honored several organizations for outstanding work in the areas of Financial Security, Entrepreneurship, and Affordable Housing. Awardees were highlighted for their innovative accomplishments in integrating community practice, public policy, and private markets to achieve results at significant scale.
Posted On :
11/20/09 02:28PM
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587
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139
State Policy Resources for Supporting Adults’ Postsecondary Success
In early November 2009, the National College Transition Network hosted the Policy Forum “Shifting Adult Education Policies to Support Postsecondary Success.” The Forum explored policy changes being pursued by six Midwestern states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin) to create pathways to postsecondary education and family-sustaining careers (“middle-skill” and high-skill occupations) for low-income working adults. These states are part of the Joyce Foundation’s “Shifting Gears” initiative, which was launched in 2006 to promote regional economic growth by improving the education and skills training of the workforce. Shifting Gears grew out of the recognition that many adults lack the skills and postsecondary credentials necessary to obtain the new jobs emerging in the wake of the decline of traditional Midwestern industrial and manufacturing sectors. The initiative is helping these states implement significant, systemic policy changes to institutionalize innovation in adult education, workforce development, and postsecondary education programs and to strengthen the connections among these various programs. Click here for other related resources:
Posted On :
11/20/09 01:13PM
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427
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91
NGA Center for Best Practices Offers State-by-State Green Economy Profiles
The National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) commissioned Collaborative Economics Inc. (CEI) to prepare a profile of each state’s "green" economy. The profiles provide a comprehensive picture of each state’s existing assets across multiple green sectors and offer a foundation for identifying future green growth areas and related needs. Profiles discuss areas such as green business activity, employment concentration, technology innovation, and sector information.
Posted On :
11/04/09 10:14AM
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1029
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605
New York City Green Collar Jobs Roadmap
The Center for American progress has released a new resource entitled “New York City Green Collar Jobs Roadmap.” The Roadmap is a product of the Green Collar Jobs Roundtable, which was convened by Urban Agenda. The Roundtable was a participatory effort of over 170 job-training organizations, community-based programs, businesses, and labor unions that compiled data on green jobs and workforce development best practices while developing more than 30 recommendations for achieving the shared vision of a more sustainable, prosperous, and just New York City. The Roadmap includes recommendations related to green economic development, talent engagement and development, job creation, employer engagement, and partner collaboration.
Posted On :
10/30/09 01:14PM
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615
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157
2009 Excellence in Tech-Based Economic Development Award Winners
The State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) recently announced the winners of its 2009 Excellence in Tech-Based Economic Development (TBED) Award. The award recognizes outstanding achievements in TBED emphasizing impact, strategic value, and replicability.
Posted On :
10/30/09 12:42PM
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690
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201
Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership Mobile Outreach Skills Training Program
The Florida Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) operates an innovative accelerated job creation and job training program called Mobile Outreach Skills Training, or MOST. The MOST program is a two-week, intensive job training and placement program that “fast-tracks” Florida’s most-in-need job seekers into skilled, entry-level positions in the aerospace, biotechnology, electronics, plastics, pharmaceuticals, precision metal, construction, energy efficiency/conservation, and renewable energy manufacturing sectors. Successful trainees are awarded a Lean to Green Institute Sustainable Manufacturing Certificate, helping them become an integral part of their employers’ green initiatives.
Posted On :
10/28/09 09:43AM
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688
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226
The Power of Technology To Transform Adult Learning
The Council for Advancement of Adult Literacy has released The Power of Technology to Transform Adult Learning: Expanding Access to Adult Education & Workforce Skills Through Distance Learning. The document further develops the general technology recommendations proposed in Reach Higher, America by the National Commission on Adult Literacy. Federal and state government is the primary audience but CAAL also aims to inform private sector engagement and program and curriculum development activities. The centerpiece recommendation among several given is for establishment of a national web portal for adult learners and professional use.
Posted On :
10/27/09 02:34PM
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421
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126
New Publication on Career Pathway Models and Programs
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for a Competitive Workforce (ICW) and the National Career Pathways Network (NCPN) have released a joint publication, Thriving in Challenging Times: Connecting Education to Economic Development Through Career Pathways. This resource highlights successful career pathway models that create relevant, challenging learning environments for students and are designed to increase American employers' access to highly-skilled, qualified workers. Thriving in Challenging Times profiles 17 local and two statewide career pathways programs in multiple industry sectors, documenting the challenges, strategies, results, and business engagement each partnership has experienced.
Posted On :
10/27/09 02:30PM
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652
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210
Regional Council Self-Assessment and Resource Toolkit
The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), in partnership with the Missouri Association of Councils of Governments and Development District Association of Appalachia, has published a self-assessment and resource toolkit designed to assist executive directors of regional councils, along with policy board members, in conducting an organizational analysis. This resource is intended to help regional development leaders explore the various aspects, challenges, and opportunities of governing and operating a high-performing regional council, and to evaluate their own organizations against various characteristics of successful regional councils. Other related resources: Innovation in Action articles- http://www.workforce3one.org/view/3000929249738360965
Posted On :
10/19/09 01:38PM
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600
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226
Opportunities for Rural Community and Economic Development
The Rural Sociological Society’s latest Rural Realities publication, “Homegrown Responses to Economic Uncertainty in Rural America,” explores three interconnected "homegrown" approaches for reinvigorating and growing struggling rural economies, which have been particularly hard-hit by the economic recession. The paper also offers several policy and strategic options for fostering homegrown rural development efforts. Related resources: Link to "Innovation in Action" article:http://www.workforce3one.org/view/3000929241996925905 Economic Gardening http://groups.google.com/group/econ-dev?msg=subscribe&hl=en The Farm Act of 2008 established the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program. This program will provide technical and financial assistance in the form of loans and grants to qualified Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) to support microentrepreneurs in the development and ongoing success of rural microenterprises. An MDO is an organization that provides access to capital and business-based training services to very small (micro) businesses. A microentrepreneur is an owner and operator, or prospective owner and operator, of a rural business with not more than 10 full-time equivalent employees who is unable to obtain sufficient training, technical assistance, or credit. USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service today has published a proposed rule in support of the implementation of this program to meet the goals and requirements of the Act. Comments are due by November 23, 2009. The October 7, 2009 FEDERAL REGISTER" contains the proposed rule.
Posted On :
10/19/09 11:34AM
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549
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151
New Tools and Resources for “Adult Education for Work” Programs
Jobs for the Future’s (JFF) Workforce and Education Policy Group, a partnership between JFF and the Workforce Development Strategy Group of the National Center on Education and the Economy (NCEE), has released a series of four publications on adult education trends, promising practices, and opportunities. These papers seek to advance Adult Education for Work programs and strategies that help low-skilled adults obtain the skills necessary for workplace competitiveness, thereby enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. firms. http://www.jff.org/publications/workforce
Posted On :
10/19/09 11:01AM
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1011
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602
When Any Job Isn't Enough: Jobs-Centered Development in the American South
This study, released by the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation, a philanthropic grantmaker in Winston-Salem, NC, looks at innovative ways of linking economic and workforce development policies and practices. Entitled "When Any Job Isn't Enough: Jobs-Centered Development in the American South," the report analyzes changes in development practices that have occurred across the South over the past decade and identifies lessons relevant to current economic realities. The study focus on the idea of "jobs-centered development" as an alternative framework for integrating economic and workforce development policies and practices. The goal is to increase community prosperity by simultaneously meeting the workforce needs of local firms and the career-building and skill development needs of local workers, especially. low-income ones. The study found that successful jobs-centered development efforts are regional ones built upon five building blocks: 1) an awareness of the macro context; 2) an understanding of the regional economy; 3) knowledge of industry realities; 4) a commitment to worker development and advancement; and 5) the involvement of high-performing intermediary organizations. These components then can be combined to deliver a variety of strategies tailored to local conditions. The study focuses on the eleven southeastern states where the foundation grants funds: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Other related resources: Southern Growth Policies Board at http://www.southern.org/. Innovation Awards program http://www.doleta.gov/usworkforce
Posted On :
10/09/09 01:59PM
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666
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202
Offender Workforce Development Strategies to Reduce Re-incarceration
This publication from the U.S. Department of Justice’s National Institute of Corrections details key elements and results of an innovative Vermont program designed to reduce recidivism for offenders with poor work histories and moderate to high risk of reoffending. Vermont’s Workforce Development Program is a research-based correctional strategy that teaches offenders social and work-related skills in a “strengths-based” context that extends throughout the correctional facilities’ education, work, and living-unit settings. The program achieved significant reductions in recidivism, and helped to create a shared organizational culture among correctional staff and program participants. Other related resource: http://www.workforce3one.org/view/5456/info
Posted On :
10/09/09 01:50PM
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823
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390
Iowa Leverages Social Networking Media to Launch Career Hub
The Iowa Coalition for Innovation and Growth has launched the Iowa Career Hub on the Facebook social networking platform. The Iowa Career Hub is designed to raise awareness about career pathways and related academic opportunities among Iowans of all ages. Through the Career Hub, Iowans can access organizations in both the public and private sectors to learn more about career opportunities and planning.
Posted On :
10/05/09 12:48PM
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955
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388
Award-Winning Ohio Soft Skills Training Program
The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services’ Workforce Development Office has given the state’s One-Stop Best Practices Award to the WorkPlus One-Stop Center of Clark County (Springfield, Ohio) for the Center’s innovative “Rise Above” training and job placement program. The Rise Above program is designed to help unemployed individuals develop the soft skills necessary to successfully re-enter the workforce. Workforce3 One also includes a number of other profiles on “soft skills” program implementation including Delaware’s “Soft Skills Career Essentials.”
Posted On :
10/05/09 12:29PM
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1028
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417
Sustainable Prisons Project
The mission of the Sustainable Prisons Project, a partnership between the Washington State Department of Corrections and The Evergreen State College, is to reduce the environmental, economic, and human costs of prisons by training offenders and correctional staff in sustainable ecological practices.
Posted On :
09/11/09 10:27AM
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860
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474
A Guide to Effective Investments in Positive Youth Development
The Finance Project has released an August 2009 report entitled: “A Guide to Effective Investments in Positive Youth Development.” The brief reviews the research on “what works” to promote positive youth development and it provides decision makers with background information for making good investment decisions. The brief discusses the effects of various program- and system-level strategies on key outcomes for youth in an effort to shed light on how to invest limited resources to achieve desired outcomes. Examples of effective youth programs are highlighted, as are efforts to build strong systems that support youth development.
Posted On :
08/19/09 10:39AM
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1047
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656
Private Industry Council Provides Summer Youth Employment
The Private Industry Council of Westmoreland/Fayette, Inc. (PIC) is partnering with the Westmoreland-Fayette Workforce Investment Board to provide a Summer Youth Employment Program to over 210 Westmoreland and Fayette County (Pennsylvania) youth, ages 18 to 24. This program is designed to build a strong foundation of work skills through meaningful, supervised work opportunities supplied by municipalities, townships, state government offices, county government departments, and local non-profit organizations. The Summer Youth Employment Program is a key component in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), with the goal of developing work maturity skills across the nation.
Posted On :
08/10/09 01:30PM
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563
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257
STEEL VALLEY AUTHORITY-The Strategic Early Warning Network (SEWN)
The Steel Valley Authority (SVA) is a public authority created by union, community and religious leaders to respond to the loss of more than 157,000 high-quality manufacturing jobs in western Pennsylvania. The SVA a regional development entity, intervenes with companies in crisis and employs a range of industrial retention tools, including early warning systems; worker and manager buy-outs; management consulting and financial packaging; training for labor and management. This article describes the Steel Valley Authority as well as its Strategic Early Warning Network (SEWN). SEWN provides distressed manufacturing businesses coordinated access to available resources, and designed to enable management and labor to quickly find common ground.
