IN THIS ISSUE:
Spotlight on New Media and No Worker Left Behind
No Worker
Left Behind
The training needed to succeed in the global economy
Contact NWLB
Ph: 517 335-1319
Email: nwlb@michigan.gov
No Worker Left Behind News
March 15, 2010
New U.S. Census Bureau data show that No Worker Left Behind is helping make Michigan a more highly educated state. In just one year (the first year of NWLB) from 2007 to 2008, there was a sizable increase in the number of people gaining advanced training experience in Michigan. Individuals having some level of advanced training and education increased by 120,000, while the population of those having only a high school diploma decreased by 90,000.
In 2008, 36 percent of Michigan’s workforce had some college experience but not a 4-year degree – an increase of two percent from 2007. According to Michigan’s Office of Labor Market Information and Strategic Initiatives, Michigan continues to outperform surrounding states and the nation in this category.
These results were due in part to the impact of No Worker Left Behind. NWLB is helping tens of thousands of people to go beyond their high school diploma to gain advanced training, including those in associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs.
No Worker Left Behind continues to use more federal workforce funds than any other state to put more people into training. The pace of enrollment has accelerated in the first six months of each new program year – it appears to be a trend:
Source: NWLB By-The-Numbers, WIA/TAA/FAET enrollment breakdown
This chart compares how many Michiganders we enrolled in training through NWLB using the main funding streams for un- and underemployed workers in the first six months (August-January) of each of the first three years of NWLB, i.e. 2007-8, 2008-9, and 2009-10. In total, for the first half of each program year we put 10,404 people into training in 2007-8; 16,180 people into training in 2008-9; and 23,682 people into training in 2009-10.
This chart demonstrates that in the last six months, we increased by more than 46 percent the number of people we put into training compared to one year ago and more than doubled (a 128 percent increase) the number of people we put into training two years ago.
Despite this great news, the need in Michigan is so overwhelming and the program is so popular that some Michigan Works! Agencies continue to have significant waiting lists that, taken together, add up to 17,000 people.
DELEG is aggressively pursuing additional federal funding to serve everyone as soon as possible.
Spotlight on New Media and No Worker Left Behind
Here at DELEG, we have been busy reaching out through a myriad of “new media” outlets to spread the word about No Worker Left Behind and provide information on how it is helping people get the skills necessary for family sustaining jobs.
This past month I have been interviewed by a national podcast, interviewed by a blogger for a local business magazine and I have uploaded a YouTube video of an interview for Comcast.
Please take a moment to check out these different new media pieces below.
Note: For optimal use, quicktime should be installed.
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My Breakfast with Andy: A Discussion with a Michigan Workforce Leader BY JOSEPH F. BASTIAN It was a cold, but sunny, February morning when I entered Cadillac Place, the regional offices for the state of Michigan, located in Detroit’s New Center. I had been offered an opportunity to chat with Michigan’s Deputy Director of Labor and Economic Growth, Andy Levin, and I jumped at it. As someone who has taken a worker-centric approach to getting Michigan back on its feet, I was very interested in hearing what a voice from the top had to say about where we are now, where we are headed, and what our state leadership is doing to promote re-employment and workforce development. Andy met me with a warm smile, a firm handshake, and an attitude that got right down to business. In our discussion, Andy noted that Michigan is leading the revolution in changing how workforce development is run across the entire United States. That should be no surprise, since we lead the country in unemployment, home foreclosures, and vacant commercial properties. Since 95 percent of workforce development funding comes from federal sources, it was critical that we as a state aggregate these funds into targeted workforce programs. I am happy to say that the state is succeeding in this consolidation. Click here to read more: http://bit.ly/9AxR7b
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To keep up with stories like this and other developments relating to jobs and the economy, please follow me on Twitter @andylevindeleg.
Warm Regards,
Andrew S. Levin
Chief Workforce Officer, State of Michigan
Deputy Director,
Michigan Department of Energy, Labor & Economic Growth
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