VIRGINIA WORKFORCE NETWORKS

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VIRGINIA WORKFORCE NETWORKS

• Michael Somers, Business Development Manager,
  Department of Rehabilitative Services,
  Commonwealth of Virginia
• Blue Ridge Region

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• Business Friendly Employer Outreach Tool
• Businesses demand single point of contact from
  employment programs
• Filling job orders with qualified applicants

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Youre in good company...

• Bills Barbecue
• Boddie-Noell Enterprises
• Masonic Home
• Manpower
• Colortree
• Chesterfield County
• Educational Credit Management Corporation
• Home Depot
• Onmi Richmond
• Prudential Cleanroom Services
• Kroger
• Hawkeye Manufacturing
• Spherion
• World Access
• Aramark

• Westminster Canterbury
• Alliance for Seniors
• Richmond ARC
• 7-Eleven
• Suntrust
• Internal Revenue Service
• TruGreen Chemlawn
• ServiceMaster Services
• Imperial Plaza
• RideFinders
• Corman Construction
• Federal Express
• WAWA
• Bank of America
• Charter One Mortgage
• Owens Minor
• STAT Employment Services

• Target
• Wal-Mart
• Peoples Financial Services
• Jefferson Hotel
• Ranstad
• PARI
• Virginia Capitol Police
• Scott Stringfellow, Inc.
• Chick-Fil-A
• Unistaff
• City of Richmond
• Virginia Farm Bureau Insurance Services
• BBT
• Ronson Communication Information Systems
• Ukrops

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NETWORKING

• A group of people who exchange data or
  information to gain a common goal or cause

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MEETING

• The members of the network
• (Workforce professionals)
• Meet with
• Businesses
• (Employers)

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Workforce Professionals

• Social services
• Vocational rehabilitation
• Schools (transition specialists, counselors)
• Employment commission
• WIA one stop
• Corrections
• Aging
• Supported Employment
• Veterans, Military Programs
• ARC
• Etc, Etc

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EMPLOYERS

• Human resources
• Regional managers
• Managers
• Foremen
• Owners
• New start-ups

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Our Vision

• To provide and avenue for dialogue with the area
  business regarding employment information
• To share job leads and information
• To disseminate local labor market information

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Mission Statement

• To enhance partnerships among workforce
  development professionals and the business
  community

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Our Ground Rules

• Please bring job leads that you are aware of to
  share with the group
• Bring a business card. . . We will give you a
  list of those present to facilitate ongoing
  communication
• Please be on time out of consideration for our
  guest speakers
• No discussion of individual agency and client
  information

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POP QUIZ

• Speaker or Guest Employer
• The JOB SWAP
• Business Card Information

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Benefits for Members

• Develop contacts
• Develop employer knowledge (Perks and Quirks)
• Establish oneself as a resource for workers

• Network with other agencies
• Share job leads
• Learn names and faces of HR persons in the
  community

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Benefits for employers

• Profile and showcase the company at no cost
• Access to prescreened applicants
• Clearly state expectations of employees

• Tax credits
• OJT, internships, job coaching and other training
  options
• Learn names and faces of workforce professionals
  in the community

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• Benefits for School Personnel
• Validate actual jobs and job requirements in
  community to share with career development and
  training staff
• Develop potential internship sites
• Develop potential situational assessment/shadowing
  sites
• Recruit potential career/vocational advisory
  committee members

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Types of Networks

• Meeting on the Employers job Site
• Same location each meeting
• Mixed

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Does it Work?

• VA has 20 Networks
• Average of 25 Members
• Average of 10 meetings a year
• Average of 2 speakers per meeting
• Average of 15 job leads at each meeting

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Does It Work?

• 500 people meeting each month
• 5,000 Each Year
• 40 Businesses are showcased each month
• 400 Each Year
• 340 Job Leads discussed each month
• 3,400 Each Year

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Yes, It Works!

• If each of the Members (25) use only five
• Of the 3,400 job leads each year
• 2,500
• New Hires Each Year

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FAQS

• Who owns the networks?
• Who Manages the networks?
• What tools are necessary to start a network?
• Do the Networks ever do anything else other than
  host speakers?

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Page-Luray Workforce Network Prince William
County Workforce NetworkPD-9 Workforce Resource
NetworkRegion 2000 Area Network for Employment
(RANE)Rockingham/Augusta Workforce
NetworkShenandoah County Employment Resource
GroupSouth Central Workforce NetworkWinchester/F
rederick/Clarke Workforce Network Workforce
Network RoanokeCharlottesville Area Workforce
NetworkGreater Fredericksburg Workforce
NetworkHampton Roads Workforce NetworkLoudoun
Workforce NetworkMartinsville Area Disability
Employment NetworkMetro Richmond Workforce
NetworkMiddle Peninsula/Northern Neck Employment
ConnectionNew River Valley Employment
NetworkNorthern Virginia Workforce Network