Workforce Development Committee

Workforce Innovation Committee Meeting Minutes RochesterWorks, Inc., 255 N.Goodman St. Tuesday, September 11, 2012 8:30 - 9:30 AM

Present: Bob Titus, Mary Ellen Spennachio-Wagner, Sharon Keefe, Bob Trouskie,

Absent: Paul Burke, William Clark, Ann Marie Cook, Sergio Esteban, Nicholette Leathersich, Chuck Murphy, Gary Rogers, Judy Seil, Pat Stovall, Camille Aidala, Rick Arnold,Vincent Ruggiero, Thomas Green, Kevin Kelley, Roosevelt Mareus, Tammy Marino, Carol Rath, Connie Sanderson

Staff and Guests: Christina Bakewicz, Carol Cavanaugh, Peter Pecor, Laura Seelman, Hilda Betances

Approval of Minutes:

The motion to approve the June 5, 2011, Workforce Innovation Committee meeting minutes was made by Bob Titus and a second by Bob Trouskie. The motion passed unanimously.

Executive Report:

Peter commented on the Local Plan it is available on RochesterWorks! Website, and it is prepared for modification. Peter told members they are welcome to review the Local Plan. The Local Plan is good through June 2013. Once any modifications are received or made the Mayor and County Executive will review and sign it.

Peter commented that he has an ongoing dialog regarding Work Force and WIA and will report if any changes are in place that will have an effect on the local WIB funding.

Mary Ellen Spennachio-Wagner commented that she read from a blog that DHS would eliminate the 20 hour requirement for WEP. Mary Ellen said she would forward the blog to Christina and Pete. Details are unknown.

Peter reported on the 5-Steps to Rapid Employment Program Rollout:

RochesterWorks! has agreed to be one of the first national pilot sites for the 5 Steps to Rapid Employment Program. Our staff is in training for this program, which is different from the Career Navigator Program, as it is focused on personal changes, i.e. attitude, self -worth, etc. The purpose of the program is to prepare the trainers who will target working with dislocated workers. We will continue offering the Career Navigator Program which is geared for those in the professional business arena. RochesterWorks! has an agreement with Jay Block Associates for this pilot.

Bob Trouskie asked that information be forward to him.

Business Services Report:

Christina reported on where we are with programs and initiatives and also reported on incentives available for businesses. The Work Experience Program has proven to be a significant undertaking. The volume of participants has been more than what was anticipated. The potential of seeing 90 participants a week has increased significantly. We are scheduling approximately 390 per week, and have an average

of 3 of 50% attendance rate. The process that has been put into place to match and refer interns is working well. Over all everyone is pleased.

Christina distributed the statistics/Snapshot to the committee. This snapshot showed that we have met nearly all the deliverables promised for the WEP program.

Sharon Keefe asked about placement of these individuals and how WEP locations are identified. Christina responded that the business services team does outreach to appropriate companies for both WEP sites and placement for employment.

Bob Trouskie asked about who is placed into WEP assignments. Christina explained that this program is specifically for Public Assistance recipients.

Handouts regarding current business incentives were distributed and these programs were briefly discussed.

These incentives include the NEG On-the-Job training (OJT) program, which reimburses businesses for hiring and training unemployed individuals and the New York Youth Works (NYYW) program that provides businesses with tax incentives for hiring certified youth.

Operations Report:

Fourth Quarter WIA Performance Report for Program Year 2011

Carol presented highlights from the performance report. Our program year runs from July 1, 2011, to June 30, 2012. This report summarizes the year end results for this program year.

The total active customers and total new customer went down from the previous year. Overall we served almost 32,000 customers. We had 86,000 visits which is 11,000 more than the previous year.

There were fewer Individual Training Accounts (ITA) this program year because our funding was reduced, and the top occupation for training was health care. The number one was LPN, RN followed by truck driver training.

This is the first year we have gone to the youth navigator system, and the goal was to increase the number of out-of-school youth served. Enrollments got off to a slower start than usual but we are now on target to meet both the in-school and out-of school goals.

Discussion/Brainstorming:

Pete commented that RochesterWorks! is working on the Annual Report. Social Media was added along with our involvement with the DHS WEP program.

He went on to say that we are working closely with MCIDC/Monroe County Industrial Development Committee and MCC to provide targeted training in advanced manufacturing.

of 3 2012 meeting schedule: December 4

Meeting adjourned at 9:30 am.

Submitted by Hilda Betances, 9/17/2012 Pete Pecor, 9/18/12 Christina Bakewicz, 9/27/12 Carol Cavanaugh, 9/20/12