MWC was praised in a recently released national research report conducted by the Mathematica Policy Research
(Mathematica) for the US Department of Labor (DOL). In “Insights from the Recovery Act LMI [Labor Market Information] Grants,” Mathematica found MWC’s role as the administrative entity and fiscal intermediary of the MARC Green Consortium (MARC) pivotal to the consortium's success. According to the research report, Maryland, DC and Virginia all “identified the MWC and the fiscal organization of the project as a “major strength” that “improved overall efficiency.”’ Click here for a link to the reports and our press release. 
 

What happens one year after US Department of Labor grants are awarded? This excellent article by the Community College Times provides an update on Trade Act Assistance and Community College Career Training (TAACCCT) grants and discusses the progress being made by several consortiums.

We're loving the improved layout of the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration's website: http://www.doleta.gov/. It's so much more user-friendly. Be sure to check it out today.

As much of the country heads back to school, we find ourselves thinking about high school and college-aged young adults who've left the classroom and the many challenges they face. That led us to think about the US Department of Labor's Job Corps program.

Job Corps is a free education and training program for young adults (16 years old+). The program is designed to provide enrollees with educational attainment (high school diploma and GED) and job skills. But more importantly, the Job Corps program encourages long-term success in life and a career. To find out how Job Corps has changed lives, click here for a few Job Corps Success Stories.

If you or someone you know is interested in joining Job Corps, call (800) 733-JOBS or (800) 733-5627.  It may be the call that changes your life or the life of someone you know.   

Having worked with the ex-offender population, we appreciate Secretary Hilda Solis's remarks at a recent US Department of Labor Reintegration Summit and the work of DOL-funded REXO (Reintegration of Ex-Offenders) initiatives.

Secretary Solis noted that she calls the "...work [of US DOL-funded programs] turning "tax takers" into taxpayers. It's  about giving transitioning citizens the opportunity to contribute to our  economy —rather than drain dollars from state and local budgets. At the  Department of Labor, we're proud of the contributions our Rexo program has made to turn lives around. It is estimated that 44 percent of all incarcerated adults will reoffend when they get out of prison. But for participants in our Rexo program, that number is down to 14 percent. So our impact is real, and it's  measurable." 
  

Much is happening behind-the-scenes to prepare for the launch of the ACE (Accelerating Connections to Employment) Initiative this fall. From conference calls to in-person strategy meetings, the ACE planning group is working hard to coordinate this unique multi-state grant.

Funded by the US Department of Labor's Workforce Innovation Fund grant program, the ACE Initiative will utilize integrated adult basic education skills and occupational training, and wrap-around support services to prepare 1,200-1,600 jobseekers in Maryland, Connecticut, Georgia, and Texas for high-demand jobs in healthcare and other sectors. ACE will focus on serving at-risk, low-skilled populations in Austin, TX; and streamline coordination between support agencies, community colleges, employers and community-based organizations, and incorporate the teaching of basic skills, occupational skills, soft skills, and job readiness training with optional internships or clinical placements, job placement support, and long-term career navigation. 

The US Department of Labor will be holding a Hiring Fair for People with Disabilities and Veterans on August 8th from 10-2. Please click here to access the event flyer.

We're delighted to celebrate our second birthday of serving Marylanders! Today, the Department of Business and Economic Development featured a piece on us. Click here for the link on DBED's site. 

MWC marks a busy first two years
By Kristin Lemmert, Public Information Officer, Maryland Workforce Corporation

On July 1, 2010, Andy Moser walked into an empty office with several boxes, a chair, a personal line of credit, a cellphone, and the idea that a nonprofit could help Maryland more effectively develop and fund programs to workforce training programs.

“In that moment, I knew what it meant to be part of a start-up, the calculated risk you take,” remembered Moser, president and CEO of the Maryland Workforce Corp.

MWC was created by the General Assembly in 2009 as a nonprofit organization that works on behalf of the state. The corporation was fully up and running the following July.

Now, two years later, MWC has landed more than $16 million in competitive grant funding for the state “that it would not have received otherwise,” Moser said. “I’m not ready to rest, however.”

One of the few State-associated workforce development 501(c)3 organizations in the country, MWC administers innovative, demand-driven workforce development programs that arm Marylanders with the education and skills they need to compete in today’s challenging job market.

“For us, it’s about developing programs that break down barriers to employment,” Moser said. “We bring together state agencies, colleges, employers, associations and organizations to develop programs that improve lives and our
economy.”

The corporation most recently worked with the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Baltimore County to develop the Accelerating Connections to Employment Initiative—a nearly $12 million project funded by the U.S. Department of Labor that combines occupational training with adult basic education coursework.

MWC has led two projects nationally recognized as “best practices” by the labor department—the Mid-Atlantic Regional Collaborative Green Consortium and Maryland’s Reemployment and Eligibility Assistance program—and has been pivotal in the development and administration of the Maryland Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training program at six community colleges.

“I keep a copy of one of our success stories on my desk. It’s about a father my age who, after lecturing his kids about going to college, decided to earn his GED and receive training in building maintenance,” said Moser. “His story
reminds me that we can always do more.”