In an effort to further address the workforce and training needs of local employers in the Columbia Gorge, East Cascades Works and South Central Workforce Council are collaborating on a special funding initiative aimed at directly supporting businesses.
“A cross-state collaboration with Oregon’s workforce system creates an opportunity to support local Gorge employers and job seekers in a more comprehensive way,” said Jack Fitzgerald, chief executive officer, South Central Workforce Council.
East Cascades Works (EC Works), a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, serves ten counties east of the Cascades in rural Oregon; South Central Workforce Council (SCWDC), also a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, serves four counties in eastern Washington and the Columbia River divides the regional labor market. Both are designated to locally oversee workforce development programming, predominantly funded by the US Department of Labor’s Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA).
For this opportunity, EC Works and SCWDC have created a pool of resources, totaling $20,000, to directly support employers who straddle the OR/WA state border with training of their current workforce. This initiative pays particular attention to training that provides incumbent (existing) workers an opportunity for advancement and wage gains, as well as those that create new positions to be filled with new workers.
“We are excited to partner with South Central Workforce Council on this opportunity and others to come,” said Heather Ficht, executive director, East Cascades Works. “When addressing the 21st century needs of industry, we must be innovative, and willing to find solutions that extend beyond any geo-graphic boundary.”
To apply, employers in Oregon or Washington must match the request and must commit to training individuals who reside in Oregon and/or Washington; and who are situated within one of the following counties: Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam, Klickitat and Skamania.
The call for proposals is open now through April 15, 2020 or until all funds have been exhausted. The first deadline for applications is noon Pacific on October 15, 2019.
