Pennsylvania Partners

It's taboo. It seems insurmountable. It has to be addressed to build a sustainable workforce. Understand how low literacy impacts our workforce, our businesses and our economy. Learn what services the literacy provider community offers. Explore three successful, replicable partnership models connecting workforce and adult education services.

Presenters:

Lauren Hirshon

Philadelphia Workforce Investment Board

Ulicia Lawrence

Temple University Center for Social Policy and Community Development

Rebecca Wagner

Community Learning Center

(Education & Literacy/Overcoming Barriers to Employment/Workforce & Economic Development)

Encouraging Welfare Client Participation in Employment and Training Programs

Crystal A

Contractors have changed how services and activities are delivered to welfare clients. County Assistance Office (CAO) staffs play a significant role in encouraging client participation. This workshop will review the design of the program and offer quick, easy methods that CAO staff can use to help get clients to report to the contractor and keep them there until they are placed in employment. This session is a must for CAO Direct Services Team members and others who work with employment and training contractors.

Presenter:

Jodie Sue Kelly

Cygnet Associates

(TANF)

Infusing ‘Green’ Into Workforce Development

Empire A

Highlighting the findings in the Pennsylvania Green Jobs Report, this session will explore the green economy in the commonwealth and its relationship with workforce development.

Presenters:

Ed Legge

Center for Workforce Information & Analysis, PA Department of Labor & Industry

Kim DeLellis

Center for Workforce Information & Analysis, PA Department of Labor & Industry

(Green Jobs/Workforce & Economic Development)

Now You Know – PA’s Electronic Learning Management System

Empire B

This session will review and demonstrate various commonwealth resources available to all staff in PA CareerLink® offices that they can use for personal and professional development, including the commonwealth's electronic learning management system (e-LMS).

Presenters:

Eugene Forehand

Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership, PA Deartment of Labor & Industry

Debra Nicholson

Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership, PA Department of Labor & Industry

(Professional Development)

Building a Sustainable Workforce through OVR On-the-Job Training Contracts with Emerging Businesses

Empire C

The workshop will review the use of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to expand OVR’s on-the-job training with new or emerging businesses and support the staffing needs of small businesses during this recession when commercial capital investment for hiring qualified and pre-screened employees are very limited. The current model used by OVR to initiate individual one-on-one OJTs will be discussed, as well as the use of multiple employer job openings for use in an OJT with qualified, pre-screened job applicants who are OVR customers. An employer representative who has worked closely with OVR in the hiring and retention of employees will review the advantages and benefits of hiring OVR customers to meet their business and diversity needs.

Presenters:

Ralph Roach

Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, PA Department of Labor & Industry

David Baum

Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, PA Department of Labor & Industry

(Overcoming Barriers to Employment/Workforce & Economic Development)

‘WIB 180’ - Helping Bucks County Youth Turn It Around

Empire D

The “180 Initiative” matches at-risk youth (high school drop-outs, unfulfilled job seekers, juvenile offenders and teen parents) with local employers who sign on to give the youth an edge, or “Turn-It-Around” by serving as an individual mentor, providing an on-the-job-training or job shadowing opportunity, or offering a full-time career. The employer-youth partnership initiative uses cutting-edge and innovative outreach materials to target both the youth and employer communities.

Presenters:

Maranda Kapish

Bucks County Workforce Investment Board

Danielle Johnson

Arbor Education & Training

WIB 180 employer

(Youth/Overcoming Barriers to Employment)

Overview of Staff Development Activities for PA CareerLink® Staff

Magnolia A

This session will review and analyze the courses conducted and methods used for professional development of one-stop staff during the past year. The advantages and disadvantages of classroom versus webinar delivery will be discussed, as well as evaluation and feedback results.

Presenters:

Carol Dzuricky

Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership, PA Department of Labor & Industry

Robert Atwell

Bureau of Workforce Development Partnership, PA Department of Labor & Industry

(Professional Development)

Speaking for Ourselves: Strategies to Promote Youth Engagement and Leadership

Magnolia B

What strategies work best to recruit youth, keep them engaged, and make the most of their strengths and assets? This workshop, led by the Philadelphia Youth Network Youth Ambassadors, will address these and other related issues based on the perspectives of young people themselves. It will enable practitioners and policymakers to understand more fully the importance of involving youth in program design and evaluation and how to achieve this important goal.

Presenters:

C. Kemal Nance

Philadelphia Youth Network, Inc.

Members of the Philadelphia Youth Network Youth Ambassadors

(Policy/Youth)

One-Stop Futures: Impact of Working Learners, Trade, Welfare and Unemployment

Magnolia C

One-stops, or PA CareerLinks®, are central to the Workforce Investment Act’s design as a way to expand job seeker choice and simplify the maze of agencies providing assistance to the unemployed. Will these centers now be called upon to deliver more complex services to new customers? Will one-stops be asked to focus on career pathways and "working learners," adults in need of life-long education, training AND work, not simply Individual Training Accounts and job referrals? Will centers also be called upon to implement sectoral strategies, regional planning and economic development linkages? And will a new emphasis lead to changes in who is served? More customers and more complex services seem very likely. How to pay for expanded goals has become even more problematic.

Presenters:

Robert Knight

Arbor Workforce Institute

(Policy/WWorkforce & Economic Development))

Retaining the Brain: A Knowledge Management Pilot Project

Magnolia D

The loss of “baby-boomer” knowledge by the water industry has begun to have a ripple effect at Pennsylvania American Water. There are individuals who have a long history with the company who possess key critical knowledge. Participants who attend this workshop will learn about a knowledge management pilot project that was conducted in 2009 in order to capture, document and transfer thought processes of a particular individual whose expertise was critical to water operations in Western Pennsylvania. The story, as well as the techniques used in this unique knowledge management program, will be presented.

Presenters:

Jodi Wadel

PA American Water

Brett Wiewiora

Educational Data Systems, Inc.

Ray Delo

PA American Water

(Education & Literacy/Workforce & Economic Development)

10 Ways to Stay Out of Jail

Tower 2

This session will give an overview of common errors grantees make when operating under federal grants. The instructor will use common audit and monitoring findings as a basis for this discussion

Presenter:

Employment & Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor

(Fiscal)

ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS

Setting the Standard

White Room

This roundtable will feature a discussion on how to build the skilled workforce that businesses demand by setting standards for adult workplace literacy programs.

Presenters:

KayLynn Hamilton

Institute for the Study of Adult Literacy

Diane Inverso

Mayor's Commission on Literacy

Michael Perez

YMCA Education & Technology Center

(Education & Literacy)

Labor Management Programs: Training for Jobs of the Future

White Room

Keystone Development Partnership (KDP), a non-profit organization, manages the Keystone Transit Career Ladder and KDP Utilities Industry Partnerships. Employers in public transit, electric, gas and water sectors offer green jobs in these densely unionized industries. Labor Management Training Committees govern KDP training programs for incumbent and newly hired workers to meet the requirements of emerging technologies. KDP aligns organizations for employers and unions to access funding resources and connect to regional training resources including community colleges.

Presenters:

Stuart Bass

Keystone Development Partnership

John Tkach

Keystone Transit Career Ladder Partnership

Brian Price

KDP Utilities Industry Partnership

(Green Jobs/Industry Partnerships/Workforce & Economic Development)

Building a Sustainable Workforce for All: Industry Partnership Strategies to Attract, Develop and Retain Entry-Level Workers

White Room

Join us for a roundtable discussion about how Industry Partnerships are addressing workforce needs for the entry-level workforce. Learn strategies for engaging employers, assessing worker needs, forming partnerships with non-profits and community colleges, linking developmental education with occupational training, and designing comprehensive workforce systems. Explore best practices, pitfalls and lessons learned from Industry Partnerships that have focused on entry-level workers.

Presenter:

Susan Crandall

Keystone Research Center

(Industry Partnerships/Workforce & Economic Development)