Funding collaborative to roll out grant funding for health, energy work force development

Originally published in the Shreveport Times on October 30, 2011

Funding collaborative to roll out grant funding for health, energy work force development

Written by Adam Duvernay

Full article available at: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011110300328

A northwest Louisiana economic funding collaborative was recently awarded a hefty grant aimed at streamlining work force partnerships and developing the area's labor pool.

Workforce Innovations in Northwest Louisiana, a funding collaborative led by the Community Foundation of North Louisiana, is one of five sites nationwide to receive a grant from the National Fund for Workforce Solutions.

The $300,000 grant, which will be awarded over two years, will be combined with matched funds from the community and other designated revenue streams at a value near $900,000 for the first year.

"WINLA represents a unified effort among local leaders in employer, education, labor and philanthropic sectors to create lasting job opportunities for our citizens and foster a skilled labor force for our employees," Community Foundation Executive Director Paula Hickman said.

The collaborative — including a range of diverse partners such as Bossier Parish Community College, the Caddo Parish Commission, the Shreveport Chamber of Commerce, Capital One Bank and Goodwill Industries of North Louisiana Inc. — aims to streamline communication, training and cooperation among sectors of the local economy.

Labor representatives, local employers, charity organizations and higher education will work together to identify where jobs will emerge in local health care and energy sectors and how best to cooperatively train the unemployed and under-employed to fill those positions, Hickman said.

Hickman said demand in the health care and energy sectors for employees of the local economy will outpace the trained work force supply over the next 10 years, presenting a labor market challenge that, if met headlong through partnerships, could become an opportunity for growth, she said.

"We intend to have our people work force-ready and on a path to not just a job, but a career," Hickman said. "Really, we want to make this a win-win for everybody."

The Consortium for Education, Research and Technology of North Louisiana will manage the health care partnership. Another partnership for the energy sector is being developed.

By partnering with Willis-Knighton Health Systems, Louisiana Technical College and Southern University among others, CERT Executive Director Patti Trudell said work force training can be geared to where the need is greatest.

The collaborative will look at issues like transportation and child care support for employees, job-specific training or hiring services, Trudell said. The program would reach out to low-skilled, low-wage employees and set them toward careers starting about $10.80 per hour, she said.

"It's about being a lot smarter in the way we work together and being more intentional in the way we leverage our resources," Trudell said. "Many in our population want to progress but are lacking in a variety of ways."

Funding for the program is broken down between federal dollars, a community match collected by the collaborative partners and committed revenue streams like Community Foundation scholarships that will be aligned toward WINLA goals, Hickman said.

Training programs are expected to be industry-specific and focused on basic employment skills like the value of showing up to work on time, Hickman said.