Pryor and Mayes County Receive Work Ready Certification NOVEMBER 2008 The Oklahoma Department of Commerce recognized Pryor and IN THIS ISSUE: Mayes County on October 1 as a “Certified Work Ready Com- WORKFORCE munity” during a ceremony at the CONNECTION MidAmerica Expo Center. pages 1-2, 13 Oklahoma’s Secretary of Commerce, Natalie Shirley, praised the combined ef- ACHIEVEMENTS & forts of the city and county to receive the work ready certification. HONORS “The key to economic development in Oklahoma is workforce recruitment, train- pages 1-2, 10 ing, and certification,” Shirley said. “The Work Ready Community certification is a tool that will strengthen the pipeline of skilled workers in Oklahoma.” BUSINESS FOCUS Launched by the Governor’s Council for Workforce & Economic Development, page 3 Certified Work Ready Communities quantify a communities’ skilled workforce to existing employers and HOW TO: TIPS & businesses considering RESOURCES Oklahoma for a new loca- pages 3, 8, 11-12 tion. The program is one of the first of its kind in the FUNDING NEWS country. pages 5, 9, 11, 15 Norma Noble, Oklahoma’s Deputy Secretary of Com- BEEN TO OKLAHOMA merce for Workforce Devel- pages 6-7 opment, said every state in the nation is competing to ACHIEVEMENTS & attract industry and grow HONORS existing businesses. photo: Tim Milligan pages 1, 4-5, 9, 13 “What it takes to compete Gathered to celebrate the Work Ready certification of Pryor/Mayes effectively is a skilled and UPCOMING EVENTS & County are (L to R): Norma Noble, Deputy Secretary of Commerce for available workforce,” Noble Workforce Development; Mayes County Commissioner Alva Martin; IMPORTANT DATES said. “Communities which John Hawkins, Mayes County Project for Prosperity; David Chaussard, pages 5, 7, 14-15 Outgoing WIB Chair & Administrator of Claremore Regional Hospital; Sue earn work ready certifica- Wilcox, Northeast Technology Centers; St. Sen. Sean Burrage; Barbara tion automatically gain a Hawkins, Pryor Area Chamber of Commerce; Terry Walters, Northeast competitive advantage over Technology Centers; and St. Rep. Ben Sherrer. Not pictured: Marsha Cunningham, manager of Pryor’s Workforce Oklahoma Center non-certified communities.” Work Ready Communities continued on page 2 TRANSFORMING OKLAHOMA ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME Page 2 Work Ready Communities continued from page 1 Earlier this summer, Pryor/Mayes County and Chickasha/Grady County became the first areas in the nation to gain Certified Work Ready status. About Certified Work reAdy Communities Oklahoma’s Certified Work Ready Communities is an innovative program that encourages communities to put workforce at the front of their economic development agenda. It builds on the success of Oklahoma’s Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) program, which assesses and certifies individual workers’ skill sets and abilities. Work Ready Communities elevates the certification to a geographical area. A certified “community” can be indi- vidual communities or counties, groups of contiguous cities and counties, or a regional partnership. However the community defines itself, certain criteria must be met. Certification is reviewed annually. To be certified work ready, the community must meet the following requirements: • 3 percent of its incumbent or existing workforce must have a gold, silver, or bronze CRC; • 25 percent of its workforce not currently employed but looking for work must have a CRC; • The school system must have a high school graduation rate of at least 82 percent or 82 percent of its current high school seniors must have a CRC. Find out how your community can become an Oklahoma Certified Work Ready Community. Visit www.OKcommerce.gov/workready or contact Jeane Burruss at [email protected] or 405-815-5256. Workforce Oklahoma 2008 Outstanding Alumni This is the eighth article in a series celebrating the successes of Oklahomans who have benefitted from Workforce Oklahoma, which has evolved from being a jobs training program into a system of partners providing seamless integrated services responsive to the needs of both job seekers and employers. Tulsa Workforce Investment Area (covering Creek, Osage, Pawnee, & Tulsa Counties) JAmes Jones James Jones was a student at Webster High School in Tulsa when he started looking for a part-time job. A local community center referred him to the WIA Youth program of the Tulsa Workforce Board – part of the Workforce Oklahoma system. Through Workforce Oklahoma, James learned about the importance of personal responsibility. James Jones “They taught me this,” he explains, “by helping me get a job and helping me to pursue more educa- tion.” With encouragement from his Workforce Oklahoma career counselor, James graduated from high school. He is currently enrolled at Langston University where he is studying Early Childhood Education. With encouragement from the Tulsa Workforce Board and the Workforce Oklahoma system, James has expanded his goals. Beyond just looking for a job, he is preparing himself for long-term success in the labor force. All Oklahomans will benefit from his increased knowledge, skills, and productivity. To locate the Workforce Oklahoma office nearest you, visit www.workforceok.org. To learn more about Workforce Development efforts in Oklahoma, visit www.OKcommerce.gov/workforce. Page 3 COMMUNITY DEVELOPER Two New Tools To Understand Your Area track business ACtivity The Edward Lowe Foundation has created an online resource that tracks business activity in communities across the United States. The site provides a breakdown of business establishments along with the jobs they generate at state, metropolitan statistical area (MSA), and county levels. This is only one element of the site. Others will be added over the next few months. Check it out at www.YourEconomy.org. For additional information, contact T.J. Becker at the Edward Lowe Foundation at [email protected] or 269-445-4257. Limited vieW Limits PotentiAL By aggregating regional strategies in an accessible form on the Internet, the Know Your Region Project is working to break down the barrier of geographically-limited views of data. Spearheaded by U.S. Economic Development Administration partnered with Western Carolina University’s Institute for the Economy and the Future, the Know Your Region project offers concrete and insightful tools to development special- ists on how to understand and apply the concept of regionalism. The Institute (WCU) worked with the University of Illinois’ Regional Economics Applications Laboratory and The Coun- cil for Community and Economic Research (formerly ACCRA) to develop a curriculum that enables practitioners to understand and apply core concepts of regionalism and clustering to the strategic planning process. During this second year of the project, the Institute is focused on delivering the Know Your Region curriculum and dis- seminating additional resources for development practitioners across the nation. To find out more, visit http://KnowYourRegion.wcu.edu. BLS Redesigns Website Great Source of Economic Data If you haven’t visited the website of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently (or ever), then go and check out the changes they have made. They completely redesigned their website – www.bls.gov. New features include an RSS feed for the Latest Numbers reports (Consumer Price Index, Unemployment Rate, etc.) from BLS, an upgraded site search engine and expanded A-Z index, and resources by audience category (consumers, investors, etc.). Most BLS website addresses have not changed and for those that have changed there are re-direct pages to get you where you want to go in the website. To help users get around the new site, the BLS has a New Features link at www.bls.gov/bls/redesign2008.htm. From here users can view a PowerPoint slideshow or download a PDF file highlighting the recent changes to the site. TRANSFORMING OKLAHOMA ONE COMMUNITY AT A TIME Page 4 GROW Conference to Focus on Advancing Oklahoma’s Biomass and Biofuels Industries Third Annual Oklahoma Biofuels Conference to take place November 12-13 As Oklahoma continues to research and develop its alternative fuel sources and production, Oklahoma Governor Brad Henry is hosting the third annual GROW Oklahoma Biofuels Conference, November 12-13 in Oklahoma City at the Skirvin Hotel conference center. Through the efforts of the Oklahoma Bioenergy Center and other public and private research and investment, Oklahoma has emerged as a national leader in the development and deployment of biofuels, including the next generation cellulosic ethanol, which promises to be one more key piece in the puzzle to help solve our nation’s transportation fuel crisis. The Oklahoma Bioenergy Center recently planted 1,000 acres of switchgrass in a research plot in the Oklahoma panhandle; this represents the world’s largest single plot dedicated specifically to cellulosic fuel research. The 2008 Oklahoma Biofuels Conference will cover topics that include: • New and proposed initiatives and funding for bioenergy research including the 2008 Farm Bill • Oklahoma Bioenergy Center Demonstration Fields Update • 2nd generation feedstocks for Oklahoma • Discussion on food v. fuel debate • Biorefinery construction – new players, plans and progress • Biofuel impacts for end users • Carbon control policies that may offer income potential for producers photo courtesy of the Noble Foundation • Energy sustainability • Advances in feedstock conversion technology With its tightly focused agenda, this conference is intended to appeal to a broad