Employment and Training Administration - Workforce Professionals - Topics of Interest

IREC's New i-Awards to Celebrate Innovation, Ingenuity, Inspiration in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) is reaching out across the U.S. for nominations to recognize the nation's Best of 2013 - Innovation, Ingenuity, Inspiration in renewable energy and energy efficiency. The prestigious awards will be presented during IREC's October meeting, in Chicago, with more than 10,000 expected participants.

The award categories:

IREC Certified Clean Energy Instructor/Trainer of the Year: honoring excellence in clean energy education and training for individuals holding the IREC Credential for Instructor Certification.

IREC Accredited Clean Energy Training Program of the Year: honoring excellence in clean energy training programs holding the IREC Credential for Accredited Training Programs

Community Renewable Project of the Year: honoring innovative community projects enabling many individuals to enjoy the benefits of renewable energy from a single or aggregated project.

State & Local Government Initiative of the Year: recognizing innovative state or local government policies, programs, regulations, legislation, that advance the sustainable growth of the clean energy infrastructure.

Closing the Divide Project of the Year: celebrating innovative projects that recognize the fundamental link between energy efficiency and renewable energy that can lead us down the path to our clean, sustainable energy future

Applications are available online. Applications should be submitted by July 1, 2013.

HUD Announces Technical Assistance Organization to Support the ?Strong Cities, Strong Communities National Resource Network?

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has published a notice in the May 9, 2013 FEDERAL REGISTER identifying Maryland-based Enterprise Community Partners as the recipient of $9,879,360 in support of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities National Resource Network

HUD notes in part:

? One of four key components to the White House Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative (SC2), the SC2 Network is a capacity building program targeted to assisting the nation''s most distressed communities. The SC2 Network will function as a central portal to connect distressed places to a wide-array of national and local experts who would help communities address their broad economic challenges. As described in the Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the SC2 Network, HUD will make one award of approximately $10 million to an entity or consortium to execute the SC2 Network. The grant will be awarded as a cooperative agreement for a three-year period ?

? On November 28, 2012, a SC2 Network NOFA was posted on Grants.gov announcing the availability of approximately $10 million in FY 2012 to administer the program. The Department reviewed, evaluated and scored the applications received based on the criteria in the NOFA. ?
More ?

Also see:

Strong Cities, Strong Communities Annual Report

National Fund for Workforce Solutions to Hold Annual Meeting in Atlanta on June 11-13; Plans to Unveil Strategic Blueprint for Helping Low-Income Individuals in the Labor Force

National Fund for Workforce Solutions to Hold Annual Meeting in Atlanta on June 11-13; �Plans to Unveil Strategic Blueprint for Helping Low-Income Individuals in the Labor Force; Invites Communities Interested in Joining Network to Attend
The National Fund for Workforce Solutions (NFWS) will hold its Third Annual Meeting on June 11-13, 2013, in Atlanta, Ga. This year’s theme, “Partnering for Prosperous Communities,” will highlight NFWS-supported, business-led workforce collaboratives and industry partnerships that are creating career opportunities for more than 18,000 low-income individuals in 30 communities across the country, as well as helping employers close the nation’s skills gap. It will be held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel from 12:00 p.m. Tuesday through 2:00 p.m. Thursday.

At the Annual Meeting, NFWS will unveil its 2.0 Strategic Vision for 2013-2017, offering a national blueprint for driving practices, policies and investments to improve family-supporting career opportunities for low-wage and unemployed individuals, provide employers with skilled workers and advance local economic development over the next five years. Participants will hear from experts on how to develop successful workforce funding collaboratives and workforce partnerships. They will discuss innovative workforce development practices and programs in advanced manufacturing, health care and other key sectors. Plus, a special plenary session will provide the latest information available regarding the federal budget for workforce programs.

On Wednesday, June 12, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy will present the plenary luncheon keynote address. Gov. Malloy, also chair of the National Governors Association’s Committee on Workforce and Education, will share his state’s workforce policy initiatives, as well as his role in helping to shape federal policy around workforce and education issues.
In addition, three national awards will be presented to groups that have demonstrated exceptional workforce development success: Chairman’s Award for Exemplary Collaboratives, Partners Council Awards for Exemplary Industry Partnerships and Investor Committee Awards for Systems Change.

“The NFWS Annual Meeting is an important forum in which national and regional economic and workforce development leaders exchange ideas and innovative practices with the goal of getting people back to work and on the path toward greater economic prosperity,” said Fred Dedrick, NFWS executive director. “We look forward to welcoming a diverse array of participants who are interested in learning about how to develop regional funder collaboratives, build effective industry partnerships, measure the business impact of training investment and create a talent supply chain for communities.”

“We strongly encourage communities who are currently involved in or interested in becoming part of the NFWS network to come and network with workforce, education, business and philanthropic leaders from around the U.S. to learn how communities are pooling resources and partnering together to address employer workforce needs, create opportunities for workers and contribute to economic development,” said Milton Little, CEO of United Way of Greater Atlanta and co-chair of the Atlanta CareerRise, a National Fund regional collaborative that serves the 13-county Greater Atlanta region.

Registration can be made online at http://www.cvent.com/d/lcqfw5. The cost is $200 for a one-day attendance; $425 for the three-day meeting. More information can be found at http://nfwsolutions.org/meetings/3rd-annual-meeting. Sponsorship opportunities are also available and allow for deeper levels of involvement. The meeting is being held at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel and a special hotel group rate is available until May 10.

Aspen Institute?s Workforce Strategies Initiative Releases Profiles of Organizations Working to Improve Job Quality in Health Care, Residential Construction, Retail and Restaurant Sectors

The Aspen Institute?s Workforce Strategies Initiative passes along the following advisory for those in the workforce community involved in improving low-wage jobs in their labor markets.

The Initiative has released four profiles of organizations working to improve job quality�in the direct-care, residential construction, restaurant and retail industries. These profiles were developed in conjunction with the Reinventing Low-Wage Work: Ideas that Can Work for Employees, Employers and the Economy discussion series that was hosted by AspenWSI in 2012 and early-2013 with support of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and Ford Foundation.� Recordings of the events, which included leaders from the organizations mentioned above in addition to employers, industry experts and journalists,�can be viewed on-line here.

Profiles of the Direct-Care Workforce and PHI
This report provides an overview of work in the direct-care industry and profiles PHI (Paraprofessional Healthcare Institute), an organization dedicated to improving employment for direct-care workers in the U.S.
Download

Profiles of the Residential Construction Workforce and the Workers Defense Project
This report details the dynamics and challenges of the residential construction industry and provides a profile of the Workers Defense Project, a non-profit and membership-based organization based in Austin, Texas that seeks to provide low-wage workers, particularly those in the construction industry, with resources to improve their working and living conditions.
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Profiles of the Retail Workforce and the Retail Action Project
This report illustrates the state of low-wage work in the retail industry and provides a profile of the Retail Action Project, an organization striving to improve job quality in retail.
Download

Profiles of the Restaurant Workforce and Restaurant Opportunities Center United
This report details the state of low-wage work in the restaurant industry and provides a profile of Restaurant Opportunities Center- United, an organization striving to empower low-wage restaurant workers, employers, and consumers to collectively improve job quality in the industry.
Download

NGA Updates ?State Clean Energy Actions? Report; Announces New Companion Database with ?Best Practices?

The National Governors Association (NGA) has provided released a 2012 update to the State Clean Energy Actions report.

With the release, NGA also unveiled a new database that compiles state clean energy actions to help governors and their staff identify best practices. The database is searchable by state, category and policy lever (e.g., law, regulation, executive order).

News Release

NTIA Releases Broadband Adoption Toolkit; USDA RUS Amends Regulations for the Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant Program

The U.S. Commerce Department?s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has released its Broadband Adoption Toolkit, a document aimed at sharing best practices developed from broadband adoption and digital literacy projects funded by the Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP). Leveraging the experience of about 100 communities served by BTOP to benefit the entire nation, the Toolkit gives practical ideas and tools for overcoming barriers to getting more Americans online access.

Since its creation, BTOP funded $452 million in grants to cities, libraries, nonprofit organizations, colleges and other groups for projects to teach Americans the digital literacy skills they need to be competitive in the 21st century economy, and to promote the benefits of and provide access to high-speed Internet through public computer centers.

NTIA collected many of the best practices developed by BTOP grantees to create the Broadband Adoption Toolkit. This report gives guidance to communities and organizations across the country on how to structure the most effective broadband training programs, set up the most productive computing centers and teach people to use technology to improve their lives. The 68-page publication includes chapters on program planning, outreach, training and curriculum with many practical ideas and tools for bringing new groups online. NTIA utilized the contributions of nearly 40 programs in the toolkit.

News Release
Toolkit
Listing of BTOP projects

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) within the Department of Agriculture has amended its regulations for the Community-Oriented Connectivity Broadband Grant Program. The purpose of this regulatory change is to provide the Agency the ability to target limited resources to geographical as well as technological areas of need. This rule is not applicable to Community Connect grant applications filed for funding prior to the publication of a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) under this regulation.

The May 3, 2013 FEDERAL REGISTER contains the rule; the rule is effective on June 3, 2013.

Department of Justice Announces Grant Opportunities to Support Juvenile and Adult Reentry

The Department of Justice has recently announced several grant opportunities of potential interest to the workforce community:

FY 2013 Second Chance Act Juvenile Reentry Program

FY 2013 Second Chance Act Two-Phase Adult Reentry Demonstration Program: Planning and Implementation

Second Chance Act Comprehensive Statewide Adult Recidivism Reduction Planning Program

ETA Seeks Comment on Trade Act Participant Record (TAPR)

The Employment and Training Administration has published the thirty-day notice for the Trade Act Participant Report (TAPR), requesting public comments by May 31.

The TAPR is a data collection and reporting system that supplies critical information on the operation of the Trade Adjustment Assistance program and the outcomes for its participants. Information is required to be collected by State, and is used by Federal, State, and local, agencies to report program management information to the Congress and other Federal agencies, and to improve the effectiveness of job training programs. The current information collection requests minor technological changes to the current TAPR.

Click here for the January 15, 2013 thirty-day notice.

SBA Announces Funding Opportunity to Spur Business Recovery in States Impacted by Hurricane Sandy

The Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) is supporting the Sandy Recovery with a two-phase approach:

Phase 1, a short-term initiative for immediate need, will get funds flowing quickly to its partners to further ramp up existing counseling and training services.
Phase 2 will spur long-term economic small business recovery and resiliency through collaborative technical assistance provided by our Resource Partners working with their state and local economic development partners and initiatives.

OED has announced a funding opportunity under Phase 2.Applications are due June 5. Applicants will develop collaborative Sandy Recovery counseling and training programs to support the recovery and start-up of small business concerns in communities that were physically and economically impacted by Superstorm Sandy in October 2012 resulting in the loss of jobs or small business instability. The collaborative group of partners, coordinated by the lead applicant, will each bring unique contributions to deliver superior results. State and local public or private business assistance entities or other local economic development entities are encouraged to partner with eligible applicants to become part of the Application team.

In order to be eligible for this funding opportunity, the applicant must be the coordinator for a collaborative group of partners and must currently be funded by SBA as a Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Lead Center, Women's Business Center, or SCORE National Association. Only applications that are submitted by SBDC Lead Centers, WBC, or SCORE National Association will be accepted. An application submitted by an entity that is not in the aforementioned category will not be considered.

Expected Number of Awards: 14
Estimated Total Program Funding: $13,189,000
Award Ceiling: $6,191,000
Award Floor: $18,000

Department of Agriculture?s Economic Research Service to Undertake "Rural Establishment Innovation Survey"; Seeks Comments by May 5

The Department of Agriculture has announced that its Economic Research Service (ERS) plans to conduct the Rural Establishment Innovation Survey (REIS) as a one-time inquiry with a canvass of 34,000 businesses and not-for-profit organizations.

The proposed collection will contribute to a better understanding of how international competition and the increasing knowledge intensity of economic activity in the U.S. are affecting the vitality of rural areas and effective adjustment of these pressures.

Data obtain from the survey will allow ERS to examine the prevalence of innovation activity in nonmetropolitan businesses and those establishment and community-level characteristics associated with innovation. Information will be collected using a multi-mode survey where respondents will be able to complete the survey via telephone interview or by either completing a questionnaire sent via mail or available electronically through a secure web link.

The data collected through the survey will help fill serious gaps in ERS understanding of what rural establishments need to be competitive in the national and global economics and provide USDA and other policymakers with sound information so they can craft more effective rural development policies.

The results will inform the degree to which human capital endowments; access to credit; access to infrastructure; and potentially more limited interaction with suppliers, customers, and peer firms impedes processes of rural innovation. USDA notes: "Failure to collect this information will severely limit the evidentiary basis for improving the innovative capacity of business establishments located in less favorable areas."

Click here for additional background and instructions for obtaining the survey instrument. Comments are due by May 25.