heartland work ready communities initiative...act work ready communities 12 where it all comes...

Heartland Work Ready Communities Initiative

(Douglas County, NE)

Who We Are

Heartland Workforce Solutions (HWS) is a non-profit organization made up of agencies from both the private and public sectors, dedicated to expanding employment opportunities for job seekers and employers in Douglas, Washington and Sarpy counties.

The organization focuses on dual clientele:

1. Job Seekers

2. High-Demand Industry Sector Employers (Businesses)

HWS strives to make the process of connecting more efficient, accessible, and user-friendly.

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• Serves as proctoring agent for NCRC

• Instructional Connection to High-Demand Industry

• Job/Skill Alignments

• Career Placement Pipeline Implementation

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Services offered through HWS & MCC

• Job Fairs/Hiring Events

• Self-Service Resource Room

• NEworks Registration (State-supported online job board)

• Unemployment Insurance

• Vocational Rehabilitation

• Personal Finance Coaching

• Services for Blind and Visually Impaired persons

• Meeting Space Rental

• Dept. of Health & Human Services

• Grants/Funding for Job Trainings

• Veterans’ Services

• Native American Services

• Ex-Offender Resource Services

• Metropolitan Community College Adult Education / GED Services

• Clothing Closet

• Bilingual Staff (Spanish)

• Resume Assistance

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Current Workforce Issues

Bridging the gap between employees’ skills, and high-demand industry's’ workforce needs is costly & time-consuming

• Skills gap in today’s workforce

• Difficulty for businesses to find and hire employees who are “career-ready” & trainable for specific jobs

• Employers are experiencing a high rate of employee turnover. Employee retention is a priority

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Unemployment in Greater Omaha

• Labor Force = 486,000

• Unemployed = 12,500

• 2.7% Unemployment

17,000 Available Jobs

There is currently less than 1 person available for the open jobs in Omaha

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ACT National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC)

A skills assessment, and portable credential, made up of 3 critical areas essential to workplace success:

• Applied Math

• Graphic Literacy

• Workplace Documents

This assessment gives individuals proof that they possess the skills employers deem necessary.

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Unique Branding for the Initiative

“Heartland Work Ready Communities”

• Workforce Partners

• Economic Development/ Chamber

• Community College

• K – 12

• Local Government

• Business & Industry Representation

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Heartland Work Ready Communities Douglas County Goals:

1,453 NCRC Certificates Earned

228 Employers Signed-On to Support

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The Kick Off! (March 1, 2017)

Congratulations! Douglas County is a certified ACT Work

Ready Community. You have joined an elite group of

counties who have demonstrated they have a robust

workforce development initiative in place that links

education and workforce development, aligns to

economic development and matches people to jobs.

As you visit your county's website, you will now see the

certified ACT Work Ready Community badge. To begin

using your badge, please login to your county

dashboard page accessible from the bottom of the

www.workreadycommunities.org home page.

The certified ACT Work Ready Community designation

is effective for two years from the date earned. You now

have the opportunity to begin to maintain your county's

certification status .

Congratulations!

ACT Work Ready Communities12

http://www.workreadycommunities.org/

Where It All Comes Together

• Career Placement Pipeline Program (CPP) - The objective of the

program is to utilize very intentional methods of identifying and preparing candidates for high-demand, high-skill, high-wage career opportunities with employers who are engaged with the ACT National Career Readiness Certificate and Heartland Work Ready Communities Initiative.

• Individuals who completed the process; a week-long series of training, certificate attainment, assessment, employer engagement, and mock interviewing. The program used a condensed formula designed to culminate in a hiring event for the individual job seekers who sought industry-relevant certifications and training with engaged employers, who sought talent for job opportunities that were immediately available.

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Career Placement Pipeline cont.

• Day 1: Work Ethic Training and Certification – Bring You’re ‘A’ Game to Workcurriculum utilizes the 7 A’s for sustained workplace success; Attendance, Appearance, Attitude, Ambition, Acceptance, Accountability, and Appreciation.

• Day 2: The ACT National Career Readiness Certification – Assessment-takers gain access to Career Ready 101 (the assessment and remediation tool are also offered in Spanish).

• Day 3: Basic Computers Skills Training (or Customer Service Training and Certification depending upon employers’ needs for their available jobs).

• Day 4: Resume Workshop and Mock Interviewing – Participants develop and refine their resumes and receive individual coaching to prepare them for interviews to take place on the final day.

• Day 5: Hiring Event – The employer conducts interviews with participants who have successfully completed the week’s series of trainings and certifications. This is a direct hiring opportunity for the business and job seeker.

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CPP Outcomes: (Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2018)

• 144 individuals completed all components of CPP.

• 300+ certificates and credentials awarded.

• 103 individuals completing full training were offered employment.

• 74% retention statistics for participants completing the program.

• 82% of participants retained their jobs after 6 months.

• The program has been scaled to include employers from other high-growth industry sectors: Advanced Manufacturing, Healthcare, Information Technology, Construction.

• Businesses participating in the process: Airlite Plastics, CHI Health, Valmont Industries, Marriott, Overhead Door, First Data.

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What Employers are Saying:

“The Career Placement Pipeline Program has benefited Airlite Plastics by improving retention within our company in key positions, and by providing support for employees to be placed in roles that are a match for their education and skillsets. By partnering with Heartland Workforce Solutions and Metropolitan Community College, our employees gain exposure to training opportunities that would potentially allow them to advance within our company. Airlite Plastics is proud to be one of the early adopters for this process, and we are pleased with the talent pipeline outcome from this endeavor.”

– Lori Bruckner, Director of Human Resources

Airlite Plastics Co.

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Media Coverage

(www.workreadycommunities.org/county/news/NE/055)

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Contact Info:

Keith Station – Director of Business Relations (Heartland Workforce Solutions)

[email protected] 402-934-2283

Krystal Rider – Business Service Coord./Work Ready Communities Project Mgr. (Heartland Workforce Solutions)


Coral Nieves-Cogar – Career Readiness Navigator (Heartland Workforce Solutions)


Tammy Green – MCC Dir. Career Skills/Adult Ed, (Metropolitan Community College)


Lyndsie Gibbs – MCC Career Skills Coach & Project Mgr. for Career Readiness (Metropolitan Community College)


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mailto:[email protected]



