Five reasons why employers should participate It’s a fact: 37.5 million baby boomers will retire in the next decade and only 21 million workers will enter the workforce to replace them. (2015 Skills Gap report, Deloitte) To address the future shortage of talent, a regional collaboration of employers and ISDs ...
With the State of Michigan’s approval of another year of funding for the Skilled Trades Training Fund (STTF), West Michigan Works! is encouraging employers who hope to receive funding to attend upcoming information sessions to ensure their applications are complete and competitive. Since 2013, the STTF has injected millions of ...
Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder and Michigan Talent and Economic Development Director Roger Curtis were in Grand Rapids on Monday to learn more about the success of a health care apprenticeship program in West Michigan. The Medical Assistant Registered Apprenticeship Program (MARAP) was created in ...
Talent 2025 recently released their Labor Force Participation Rate research brief. The rate is an important measure of the health of the economy. While the unemployment rate measures the number of individuals who are not working and looking for work as a proportion of the number of individuals in the labor force, the ...
SUPPORT WORKFORCE FUNDING The President has recognized that there are millions of vacant jobs in the country, and he says he wants to get people back to work. But this budget says otherwise. With proposed program eliminations and reductions just shy of $1 billion, it would seriously undercut our system's ...
Is your company interested in developing a registered apprenticeship program? Why do it alone? Apprenticeships have been used to train labor and address critical talent needs for over 75 years. West Michigan Works! is now part of a statewide initiative to expand apprenticeship programs. By acting as a liaison with ...
On Tuesday, July 11, 2017, West Michigan Works!, in partnership with Muskegon Community College (MCC), unveiled their new certified nurse assistant (CNA) learning lab. The lab features medical equipment, human manikins and a smart board for students in the CNA program at MCC. The lab in Muskegon is the third ...
On July 3, the West Michigan Works! Service Center in Barry County opened its doors in a new location. The opening was formally recognized at an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony on July 12. Attendees included Mayor Tossava, Barry County Commissioner Ben Geiger, Barry County Chamber president and board ...
The Grand Rapids Community Foundation recently awarded $20,000 in grant funding to support boot camp technology training for local employees. The grant will provide low-wage employees, who face barriers to professional development, the opportunity to learn the technology skills employers need. Participants will learn skills such as software coding and business analysis. ...
West Michigan Works! has partnered with the Michigan Career and Technical Institute (MCTI) to help fill talent gaps in health care and provide new opportunities for job seekers who experience barriers to employment. A 13-week long CNA course provides no-cost training to those wanting to enter the field or needing ...