Washington Workforce Development News
Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board
February 5, 2024
WORKFORCE BOARD TO HEAR WAVE SUCCESS STORIES FEBRUARY 15
The Workforce Board will hear directly from students who received a Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE) scholarship, with a focus on the impact the scholarship is making on both their education and career goals. The WAVE presentation is part of the Board’s regularly scheduled meeting, set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Thursday, February 15. This in-person meeting will be held at the Association of Washington Business in Olympia, and will also feature talks from AWB president Kris Johnson and April Sims, president of the Washington State Labor Council. The Board will also receive a legislative update and hear about public feedback to the draft state strategic workforce plan, Talent and Prosperity for All. More details coming soon at www.wtb.wa.gov.
WAVE AWARD LAUNCHES: HELP SPREAD THE WORD TO CTE STUDENTS!
The Washington Award for Vocational Excellence (WAVE) scholarship application is open for 2024! The award recognizes high-performing career and technical education (CTE) students at both the high school and community-and-technical college level. The award covers up to two years of tuition, according to the tuition charged by the institution students will attend— with minimum awards set at $3,850 per year, or $7,700 over two years. WAVE is administered by the Workforce Board in collaboration with the Washington Student Achievement Council, which handles the disbursement of funds. The application deadline is March 10. In addition to completing the application, housed on theWashBoard.org, students will need to submit two letters of recommendation and ensure their CTE teacher or instructor signs off on their eligibility via a certification form. See the Workforce Board’s WAVE page for details: https://wtb.wa.gov/wave/
NEW WORKFORCE SYSTEM POSTER AVAILABLE NOW!
The Workforce Board’s popular workforce system poster is freshly updated and ready for 2024. Make sure to order copies of this handy overview of Washington’s largest, publicly funded workforce development programs, including participant employment rates and earnings, federal and state funding totals, and a list of administering agencies and providers. The poster, printed this year in “Barbie-pink” is also known as “America’s favorite matrix,” at least among staff. The poster is free and perfect for cubicle and office walls. Email us at workforce@wtb.wa.gov to request your own copies. View the poster, including a digital PDF, at: https://wtb.wa.gov/planning-programs/washington-workforce-system/
PUBLIC COMMENT OPEN FOR PERKINS STATE DETERMINED PERFORMANCE LEVELS
Now is the chance to weigh in on performance indicators as part of the Carl D. Perkins V 2024-2028 draft plan. This federal plan addresses career and technical education (CTE) at both the high school and postsecondary levels. States are required to set and report on core indicators of performance, including the graduation rate of CTE students, along with academic proficiency in reading, math and science, among other categories. The draft plan includes State Determined Performance Levels (SDPLs), along with proposed targets for the next four years. Public comment ends Feb. 29. Email your comments to workforce@wtb.wa.gov. Please include “Perkins” in the subject line.
ESD WEBINAR FOR NEW EMPLOYERS INCLUDES HELP WITH OCCUPATION CODES
The state’s Employment Security Department is holding an unemployment insurance webinar aimed at new employers from 1-2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22. The webinar includes tips on how to file quarterly unemployment reports, information on employer tax rates, and how to include Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes, or job titles, in reports. These newly collected codes are helping inform the state on what kind of work is being done in every corner of Washington, enabling the workforce system to better gauge where there are new and emerging skill gaps, along with worker supply and demand issues by region, among other items. More: https://esd.wa.gov/employer-taxes/about-soc. Webinar: http://tinyurl.com/mr2dvfuj
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