State
of the Workforce Report Study Released!
 The
Centralina Workforce Development Board announces the release of the
State of the Workforce Report 2005. Centralina partnered with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg
Workforce Development Board and the Gaston County Workforce Development
Board to form the Competitive Workforce Alliance and produced the report.
The State of the Workforce Report 2005 identifies key issues for the
region's workforce.
To view the State of the Workforce Report, please visit
www.centralinaworks.com.
Look for more information on the report in our February E-Newsletter.
For more details on the report please contact David Hollars at (704)
348-2717 or at dhollars@centralina.org.
Giving
Back Has a Payback
Workforce
Investment Act Participant Gives Back to the Program that Helped Him Start
Over
Tim Brazelton was enrolled in the Workforce Investment
Act (WIA) program (funded by the Centralina Workforce Development Board)
after losing his job as a customer service representative in 2000. He
came to the Union County JobLink Career Center looking for help and
guidance. He enrolled in the Information Systems Technology curriculum
at South Piedmont Community College. When times got really difficult
during his last year in school, Tim took a part time job at Sam's Club
in Matthews. At this time, classes were cut at the community college
and Tim found that the classes he needed to complete his degree were
only offered sporadically throughout the school year.
Tim stuck with school and finally graduated in the spring of 2003. Because
of his degree, Tim was now eligible for a promotion with Sam's Club.
He took a full time job in the benefits department in Atlanta, Georgia.
After working for a few years, he transferred back to the Matthews location
as the benefits coordinator. Part of Tim's new job responsibilities
was to disperse grants to worthy causes. He called Rosemary Johnson
at the Union County JobLink Career Center to see if they could use a
literacy grant for WIA participants. Rosemary had counseled and assisted
Tim while he was in WIA funded training. Tim told Ms. Johnson that he
wanted to "give back" to the program that enabled him to succeed
in getting his education.
The Centralina Workforce Development Board applied for the literacy
grant to assist with the educational needs of dislocated workers in
Union County. On August 31, 2005, Tim personally presented a check in
the amount of $1,000 to Ms. Johnson for the Centralina Workforce Development
Board to use for literacy efforts in Union County.
Coordinating workforce, education, and community resources to put an
end to illiteracy is an effective approach and only one of the many
roles that the Centralina Workforce Development Board plays across the
region. For more information about the Centralina Workforce Development
Board, please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or dhollars@centralina.org.
Former WIA Participant Tim Brazelton Presents WIA Case Manager Rosemary
Johnson with a check for $1000 to Help Fight Literacy in Union County.
Do
You Know Your Tier Ranking?
North
Carolina Department of Commerce Releases their 2006 Tier Ranking Designations
 The
North Carolina Department of
Commerce announced that county tier designations, which determine
a variety of state funding opportunities to assist in economic development,
changed for 23 counties in the 2006 rankings mandated by the General Assembly.
Using the statutory formula, the Department of Commerce assembles the
required statistics on all of North Carolina's 100 counties, applies the
formula, and assigns a tier designation ranking from one to five, with
Tier 1 marking the most economically distressed areas and Tier 5 being
the least distressed. The changes are based on annual evaluations of population
growth, unemployment rates and per capita income.
For 2006, Rowan County moved down one tier level to a more-distressed
designation, while Anson and Cabarrus counties moved up one tier level
to a less-distressed ranking. For more information on the North Carolina
Department of Commerce 2006 Tier Ranking Designations please visit their
site at www.nccommerce.org/finance/tiers/
or contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or at dhollars@centralina.org.
We
Have A Winner!
The
Centralina Workforce Development Board Announces First Business Survey
Prize Winner!
Beginning this month, the Centralina Workforce Development
Board will hold a monthly drawing from Business Surveys
that area businesses have completed and posted on the Centralina WDB
website.
 Centralina
is pleased to announce that the winner of this month's drawing is
Toter Incorporated in Statesville.
Barbara Davidson of Toter completed and submitted the survey. We thank
Barbara for helping us with our continuous improvement feedback process.
If you haven't completed the survey, you can do so now by logging
onto our website at http://www.centralinaworks.com/survey/index.cfm.
It only takes a couple of minutes and by completing the survey, it
will guarantee your entry into our next drawing. For more information
on the Centralina Workforce Development Employer Survey and the business
services available through the Board and our local JobLink Career
Centers, please contact Vail Carter at (704) 348-2710 or by vcarter@centralina.org.
Improvements
Made in Adult Literacy!
U.S.
Department of Education Releases Report on Adult Literacy
 The
Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) has released data from its National Assessment of Adult Literacy.
A First Look at the Literacy of American Adults in the 21st Century
is now available on the NCES website at www.nces.ed.gov/naal.
The report compares literacy levels from the years 1992 and 2003.
The study indicates that, while American adults can read a newspaper
or magazine about as well as they could a decade ago, they have made
significant strides in performing literacy talks that involve computation.
Coordinating workforce, education, and community resources to put an
end to illiteracy is an effective approach and only one of the roles
the Centralina Workforce Development Board plays across the region.
For more information about all of the roles of the Centralina Workforce
Development Board please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or
dhollars@centralina.org.
Attention
Anson County Residents: Stop Foreclosure Now!
Home
Protection Pilot Program
and Loan Fund
 The
Home Protection Pilot Program and Loan Fund program that initially
included Cabarrus and Rowan counties in our region has recently expanded.
The program, now available in Anson County through the Sandhills Community
Action Agency, provides assistance to dislocated workers who have
lost their jobs due to "changing economic conditions" and
may be in danger of foreclosure. In order to apply for the Loan Fund,
a dislocated worker will have to be determined eligible to receive
the services.
For more information on this pilot program please contact the Sandhills
Community Action Program, Inc. at (910) 947-5675 and ask for a loan
fund housing counselor.
-
Executive Director, Marianne Bright
is leaving the Stanly County Chamber of Commerce and will be joining
the team at Journal Communications, a custom magazine publishing
and marketing company staring on February 6, 2006. Marianne has
had a tremendous impact on the local economy in Stanly County.
Her leadership and vision will be missed. We wish her the best
of luck in her new position!
-
Congratulations to Dr. Judy Grissom
who will become the Superintendent of Rowan-Salisbury Schools effective
July 1, 2006. Judy is a longtime educator and a Rowan County native
who has served as associate superintendent for curriculum in the Alamance-Burlington
School System. We congratulate her and look forward to working with
her in helping youth prepare for their future!
-
Membership Director, Diane Hundley
has left the Rowan County Chamber of Commerce and is now director
of sales and marketing at Trinity Oaks Continuing Care Retirement
Community in Salisbury. We wish her the best of luck in her new position!
-
Congratulations to Pam Cordts, Centralina
WDB Board member, who has been named the president of the Rowan County
Human Resources Association at their December 15, 2005 meeting. Pam
is employed with WA Brown & Son, Inc. in Salisbury.
-
Congratulations go out to the City
of Kannapolis. The City has been honored with two industry awards.
"Breaking New Ground for Business," an eight-page advertorial
for Kannapolis developed for the "North Carolina Economic Development
Guide" and published by the North Carolina Department of Commerce,
was honored by both the Southern Council of Economic Development and
the MarCom Creative Awards. The Centralina WDB is a proud partner
of the City of Kannapolis and looks forward to more great things!
-
At the January 10, 2006 Centralina
Workforce Development Board meeting, board member, Cynthia Lowder
was honored for her many years of service on the board. Cynthia is
the manager of the Stanly County JobLink Career Center, and has served
on the board for five years. In December of 2005, Cynthia announced
her retirement effective in February 2006. The Centralina Workforce
Development Board would like to thank Cynthia for her years of hard
work and dedication to helping train and prepare the workforce in
the Centralina region. Thank you Cynthia, you will be missed! We wish
you the best of luck!
David Hollars, Centralina WDB Executive Director,
and Bob VanGorden, Centralina WDB Chair, present the Centralina WDB
Leader, Visionary, Friend Award to outgoing Board Member Cynthia Lowder
for her years of service and dedication. Cynthia is retiring effective
February 1, 2006.
|
Employment
Statistics
(Updated Monthly on this E-Newsletter)
December 2005
(Source: NC Employment
Security Commission) |
| County |
Unemployment
Rate
|
Persons
Employed
|
| Anson |
6.3%
|
10,604
|
| Cabarrus |
3.9%
|
76,836
|
| Iredell |
4.4%
|
67,419
|
| Lincoln |
5.0%
|
34,175
|
| Rowan |
4.7%
|
66,082
|
| Stanly |
4.6%
|
28,058
|
| Union |
3.5%
|
77,421
|
For more information on employment, click
here.
There
is a Mouse on Campus Looking for Your Business!
The
Disney Institute Keys to Excellence Seminar
 For
one day only - Thursday March 30, 2006, the Disney
Institute is bringing its renowned brand of professional development
to South Piedmont Community College
in Monroe. It is a chance for businesses and others to learn proven
Disney success strategies that they can adapt inside their own organization.
The all day session entitled Disney Keys to Excellence will
challenge business owners, public and private non-profit groups, and
others to look at their organizations - small, mid-sized, or large
- in an entirely new light.
The Disney Institute has trained tens of thousands of leaders
from more than 35 countries and 40 industries through its professional
development programs held at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.
This is the first time they will be bringing their training programs
to North Carolina. The compelling programs for groups reveal best
practices and philosophies that have made Walt Disney World
a popular effective benchmark for best business practices. You will
have the opportunity to learn the Disney style approach to Leadership,
Management, Service, and Loyalty. This premier one-day program will
help to energize employees and give them the tools to be more effective.
 The
training will take place at South Piedmont Community College on Thursday
March 30, 2006 from 8 AM to 4 PM. So far, SPCC has close to 200
registrations and is willing to take more. The Centralina Workforce
Development Board is proud to work with SPCC in cosponsoring the Disney
Keys to Excellent seminar. For more information on the Disney Institute
training at South Piedmont Community College and to register for the
event, please contact Geri Duncan at (704) 290-5221 or at sduncan@spcc.edu.
Shortage
of Qualified Workers Identified in Report
National
Association of Manufacturers Releases 2005 Skills Gap Report
 According
to the recently released 2005 Skills Gap Report, produced by the
National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), there is a serious
shortage of qualified manufacturing employees in the U.S.
"The Survey exposes a widening gap between the dwindling supply
of skilled workers in America and the growing technical demands of the
modern manufacturing workplace, " explained NAM President John
Engler. He further went on to say, "It is essential that America
close this skills gap if we are to maintain our edge in the global marketplace
and remain the world's leader in innovation."
The 2005 Skills Gap Report is based on responses from more than 800
manufacturers of all sizes nationwide and is the first new comprehensive
survey about the American manufacturing workforce in five years. To
find out more about the National Association of Manufacturers and to
read the report please click
here.
Attention
Businesses: Book Mark This Site!
U.S.
Department of Labor Launches New Compliance Assistance
Web Portal
 The
U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) announced
its new Compliance Assistance Web Portal, designed to help members of
the regulated community understand and comply with federal employment
laws and regulations administered by USDOL.
Located at www.dol.gov/compliance,
the redesigned Compliance Assistance Portal is an enhanced, more user
friendly version of the department's previous compliance assistance
website. A central gateway to "all things compliance assistance,"
the intuitive portal directs users to easy-to-navigate information including
e-tools, fact sheets on a variety of employment law issues, regulatory
text, frequently asked questions and a wealth of additional compliance
assistance information provided by USDOL's agencies. In addition, users
will find links to the compliance assistance mailbox, and to a compliance
assistance e-mail subscription service, which updates subscribers by
e-mail every time there is significant compliance news.
 The
portal also features an improved navigation scheme to allow searches
for compliance information "by topic" and "by audience;"
users need not know the name of a particular law to locate key information.
Unlike the previous compliance assistance Web site, the new portal
also guides users to information outside USDOL's jurisdiction. For
example, even though USDOL doesn't regulate certain equal opportunity
laws, it will direct a user to the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission when appropriate. The site will
also inform the user if there is no federal law that covers a particular
issue.
As always, the Compliance Assistance Portal directs users to the department's
celebrated collection of compliance assistance tools, including DOL's
Toll-Free Help Line and the e-laws Advisors, interactive online tools
that help clarify employment laws. In addition, it links to DOL's
online Employment Law Guide, which has been updated to reflect new
and revised regulatory information.
For more information about the new web portal please visit their
site at www.dol/gov/compliance.
Want
to Learn a Trade, But Don't Know Where to Start?
Job
Corps Helps Connect Youth to Skills Training
The Centralina Workforce Development Board's Youth
Council was proud to have Ms. Lakeshia Liphford of Job
Corps as the featured speaker at the Youth Council meeting
on January 19, 2006 at the Boys & Girls Club in Concord. Lakeshia's
presentation was well received by the Council.
Job Corps is a no-cost education and vocational training program
administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that helps young
people ages 16 through 24 get a better job, make more money, and
take control of their lives. At Job Corps, students enroll to
learn a trade, earn a high school diploma or GED and get help
finding a good job.
When youth join the program, they receive a monthly allowance;
the longer and more active the youth are with the program, the
more their allowance will be. Job Corps provides career counseling
and transition support to its students for up to 12 months after
they graduate from the program.
The Centralina Workforce Development Board supports and partners
with organizations like Job Corps to help prepare the youth of
today for the jobs of tomorrow. For more information on the collaboration
between Job Corps and the Centralina Workforce Development Board,
please contact David Hollars at (704) 348-2717 or at dhollars@centralina.org.
For more information on Job Corps, please contact Lakeshia Liphford
at (704) 344-0240.
Lakeshia Liphford presents information on Job Corps to the
Centralina Workforce Development Board Youth Council and attending
youth.
*******
Youth
Turn to Clubbing to Increase their
Reading Skills
Youth
in Lincoln County Start a Book Club
Youth enrolled in the I-Care, Inc. Workforce Investment
Act Program located in Lincoln County have started a book club.
The group of twenty students split up into two groups to read
"Speak" by Laurie Anderson and "You Don't Know
Me" by David Klass. Both books deal with issues that can
affect any youth as they continue to grow. Not only do the books
touch on sensitive subjects that youth may not be willing to discuss,
but by reading them the youth are increasing their reading and
comprehension skills.
"A few of our students have finished the books and have contacted
us to tell us that the books made them stop and think", said
Ali Cecchini, Lincoln County WIA staff member. Ali added, "One
student said that she can identify with the high school in "Speak",
and that she sees the "clics" at her school. She said
that is has made her actually wonder what is going on in other
people's heads and doesn't judge a person because of their actions".
Ali continued by saying that "One participant that read "You
Don't Know Me" has said that it made him look at his friends
in a different light. He said that he was upset that he had to
read at the beginning but after he finished the book he was glad
to have the opportunity".
The book club will continue with two more books starting in February.
The youth will be reading "Downsiders" by Neal Shusterman
and "Dreamland" by Sarah Dessen. The I-Care, Inc. youth
in Lincoln County plan to continue their book club for as long
as they can.
The Centralina Workforce Development Board and its Youth Council
provides the funding for WIA programs for youth. For more information
on the WIA Youth Program in Lincoln County, please contact Ali
Cecchini at (704) 735-8035 or by a.cecchini@excite.com.
For more information on the Centralin Youth Council or starting
your own book club, please contact Emily Barnes at (704) 348-2732
or ebarnes@centralina.org
.
 |
 |
Two of the books read by youth in Lincoln County
for their book club. "Speak" by Laurie Anderson and "You Don't
Know Me" by David Klass.
*******
New
Staff Member Joins Union County Community Action
 Eunice
McGee has joined Union County
Community Action, Inc. (UCCA) in Monroe as the Director of
Employment & Training.
She assumed the position of Director of Employment & Training
on January 3rd and is responsible for the administration of the
Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult and Youth Programs in Union
County. These programs provide job skills, education, training,
and employment opportunities to adults and in-school and out-of-school
youth ages 14-21.
McGee received her Bachelor's Degree in History from Winston Salem
State University. Prior to joining UCCA, McGee worked for the
Union County Department of Social Services for over 25 years.
The Centralina Workforce Development Board welcomes Eunice and
looks forward to working with her. The Centralina Workforce Development
Board provides the funding for WIA Adult, Dislocated Worker, and
Youth services in the region. For more information on the WIA
Adult or Youth programs in Union County, please contact Eunice
at 704.283.1114 ext. 237 or emcgee@uccainc.org.
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