PLATTEVILLE - The Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board was the only one of Wisconsin's eleven regional boards to exceed all nine WIA performance standards and will receive $100,666 in recognition of its performance.
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson announced Tuesday that six Workforce Development Boards exceeded some performance standards for the most recent program year, and they will receive a portion of $300,000 in total funding awards for recognition of their workforce partner performance.
SWWDB is responsible for the planning and oversight of the workforce system in southwest Wisconsin, covering Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, and Rock counties.
The funding award is a nice reward for their efforts, according to said Dr. Robert T. Borremans, executive director of SWWDB.
"It was a surprise for us," Borremans said. "We've known for a while that we exceeded performance."
Borremans said his board and staff have "always been competitive" about meeting and surpassing performance standards, but the state has not always been forthcoming with sharing financial funding to encourage good performance. The source of the awards is federal Workforce Investment Act funding, as allocated to states and regional workforce areas by the U.S. Department of Labor to support training and other workforce programs.
"Some years you get nothing," he said. "It used a nice formula this year. I feel it's fairer now."
Borremans said the unexpected revenue "shows a commitment on the part of (state) DWD to work and create incentives to perform, and is geared toward local boards "for work that is well done."
Only one other time has a local board exceeded all performance standards, according to Borremans.
"That was in 2004, and it was us," he said. Back then, all the organization received in recognition was a certificate and a thank-you, he added.
As a condition of receiving the funding, WDBs must indicate how they plan to use the funds by the required deadline of June 30, 2013. The boards have discretion to invest the funds in WIA-approved programs serving adults, youths and dislocated workers.
Borremans said he has until Jan. 11 to submit those plans to the state. He has asked his staff to submit ideas by Jan. 4, but there are already ideas in the boards' plans.
"There are some things we have not been able to do," Borremans said, and the award money will probably go toward setting up those programs.
Career clustering and career pathways are important to the system now, he said. Logistics in transportation and food processing, specific to dairy, are already being discussed with dairy producers, and creating a set of core competencies "so we can organize training around them" may well be moved into the forefront for action. Also, designing a system for matching available job openings in the region with job seekers may get a boost.
Borremans said the SWWDB contracted with Manpower about two years ago to be its service provider to take care of case management and assessments and to help job seekers develop an employability plan.
"The results have been positive," he said, "and we find out our performance has exceeded standards. Of course, our staff monitors everything to make sure we are well in position to out perform standards."
The Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board is one of Wisconsin's eleven regional boards established by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
"While all of our regional workforce partners contribute significantly as a team in connecting job seekers to jobs, I am pleased to recognize those that exceeded expectations in serving dislocated workers and other job seekers of all ages," Secretary Newson said. "I challenge those getting the additional funding to further invest these resources in efforts that will continue to yield powerful results in developing our state's workforce."
In accordance with WIA regulations for statewide activities funding, Secretary Newson awarded $300,000 to WDBs that exceeded negotiated performance standards during Program Year 2011 in areas such as average earnings, job placement and retention, literacy gains and number of certifications attained.
Award dollars are available to the following WDBs:
• Southwest: $100,666
• Western: $73,667
• Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington: $44,500
• South Central: $38,167
• Fox Valley: $34,000
n Southeast: $9,000
Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development Secretary Reggie Newson announced Tuesday that six Workforce Development Boards exceeded some performance standards for the most recent program year, and they will receive a portion of $300,000 in total funding awards for recognition of their workforce partner performance.
SWWDB is responsible for the planning and oversight of the workforce system in southwest Wisconsin, covering Grant, Green, Iowa, Lafayette, Richland, and Rock counties.
The funding award is a nice reward for their efforts, according to said Dr. Robert T. Borremans, executive director of SWWDB.
"It was a surprise for us," Borremans said. "We've known for a while that we exceeded performance."
Borremans said his board and staff have "always been competitive" about meeting and surpassing performance standards, but the state has not always been forthcoming with sharing financial funding to encourage good performance. The source of the awards is federal Workforce Investment Act funding, as allocated to states and regional workforce areas by the U.S. Department of Labor to support training and other workforce programs.
"Some years you get nothing," he said. "It used a nice formula this year. I feel it's fairer now."
Borremans said the unexpected revenue "shows a commitment on the part of (state) DWD to work and create incentives to perform, and is geared toward local boards "for work that is well done."
Only one other time has a local board exceeded all performance standards, according to Borremans.
"That was in 2004, and it was us," he said. Back then, all the organization received in recognition was a certificate and a thank-you, he added.
As a condition of receiving the funding, WDBs must indicate how they plan to use the funds by the required deadline of June 30, 2013. The boards have discretion to invest the funds in WIA-approved programs serving adults, youths and dislocated workers.
Borremans said he has until Jan. 11 to submit those plans to the state. He has asked his staff to submit ideas by Jan. 4, but there are already ideas in the boards' plans.
"There are some things we have not been able to do," Borremans said, and the award money will probably go toward setting up those programs.
Career clustering and career pathways are important to the system now, he said. Logistics in transportation and food processing, specific to dairy, are already being discussed with dairy producers, and creating a set of core competencies "so we can organize training around them" may well be moved into the forefront for action. Also, designing a system for matching available job openings in the region with job seekers may get a boost.
Borremans said the SWWDB contracted with Manpower about two years ago to be its service provider to take care of case management and assessments and to help job seekers develop an employability plan.
"The results have been positive," he said, "and we find out our performance has exceeded standards. Of course, our staff monitors everything to make sure we are well in position to out perform standards."
The Southwest Wisconsin Workforce Development Board is one of Wisconsin's eleven regional boards established by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
"While all of our regional workforce partners contribute significantly as a team in connecting job seekers to jobs, I am pleased to recognize those that exceeded expectations in serving dislocated workers and other job seekers of all ages," Secretary Newson said. "I challenge those getting the additional funding to further invest these resources in efforts that will continue to yield powerful results in developing our state's workforce."
In accordance with WIA regulations for statewide activities funding, Secretary Newson awarded $300,000 to WDBs that exceeded negotiated performance standards during Program Year 2011 in areas such as average earnings, job placement and retention, literacy gains and number of certifications attained.
Award dollars are available to the following WDBs:
• Southwest: $100,666
• Western: $73,667
• Waukesha-Ozaukee-Washington: $44,500
• South Central: $38,167
• Fox Valley: $34,000
n Southeast: $9,000