Yolanda "Pretty" Marble hugs a student at Muskegon Community College's Grab-n-Go When you walk by the Grab-n-Go at Muskegon Community College, there will probably be a group of students hanging around. Not because they have the best pizza in the town, but because of the woman who runs the café. ...
Collaboration key to solving the region's workforce challenges The 2017 fiscal year found West Michigan Works! continuing to grow, change and improve as a regional entity. A focus on cost-cutting and innovative approaches to programmatic services led to direct service delivery for Allegan, Barry, Ionia, and Montcalm counties. This, plus ...
During times of low unemployment, there is a critical need to upskill the current workforce to meet the growing talent needs of employers. Skilled Trade Training Fund grants address the skills gap by funding training opportunities for the current workforce. The grants create a win-win situation - when employers invest ...
Pictured from left: Craig Stolsonburg – Business Solutions Representative, West Michigan Works!; Kerry Boulter – Training Coordinator, Flexfab; Kevin Trahan – Maintenance Technician, Flexfab Hastings manufacturer, Flexfab, leveraged workforce training funds to help cover the cost of long-time employee Kevin Trahan’s certification in Managing Industrial Networks for Manufacturing. Tapping into ...
A view from above MiCareerQuest 2017 taken from a hydraulic lift in the construction sector MiCareerQuest is a unique, hands-on career exploration event that exposes over 9,000 West Michigan middle and high school students to exciting job opportunities in high-demand industries. Kids, teachers and guidance counselors meet with local employers ...
Influx of training dollars critical during times of low unemployment The Talent Investment Agency for the state of Michigan announced today its Skilled Trades Training Fund (STTF) awards for FY 2018. Since 2013, the STTF has injected millions of dollars into the Michigan economy for short-term training in high-demand occupations. ...
If you or someone you know is in West Michigan for the Thanksgiving holiday, you won’t want to miss ReThink West Michigan. On November 22nd, 2017 companies and non-profit organizations with open positions are coming together to convince you to live and work in West Michigan. Events will be held ...
The Michigan Construction Foundation (MCF) recently released Michigan’s Construction Industry: By the Numbers that reports on Michigan construction industry labor data. "We are focused on finding more workers for construction employers," says Brindley Byrd, Executive Director of the Michigan Construction Foundation (MCF), "and because of that, we looked at available data on ...
The Medical Assistant Registered Apprenticeship Program in West Michigan is helping health care providers fill a critical shortage of talent and has been saluted as national Promising Practice by the U.S. Department of Labor. The department listed Michigan along with programs in Wisconsin and Idaho as states with apprenticeship programs that ...
Service centers will offer workshops, resource fairs and hiring events with veteran focus During the week of Nov. 6, West Michigan Works! service centers will honor those who served in the military by offering job search services and events with a focus on veterans. “We serve veterans every day, but ...