Initiatives
Allied Health Regional Skills Partnerships
The Commission on Workforce Development made available a grant opportunity to support the development of Regional Skills Partnerships (RSP) in the allied health industry sector. Regional Skills Partnerships address workforce issues in a specific industry sector with a dual purpose of increasing that sector’s competitiveness while creating employment and career advancement opportunities for workers.
The Allied Health Regional Skills Partnerships are:
Competitive Workforce Alliance - Centralina Workforce Development Board
Healthcare Works - Capital Area Workforce Development Board
Southern Regional - Lumber River Workforce Development Board
Turning Point - Turning Point Workforce Development Board
Each RSP has partnered with community colleges, units of local government, health care employers and others to address regional allied health job shortage areas. The goal of the RSPs is to create a pipeline that will make connections between job seekers, education and training provider and employers.
For more information about this initiative, contact Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com.
Career Readiness Certification
Supported by the Commission on Workforce Development, the Career Readiness Certificate (CRC) initiative promotes individual career development and skills attainment and confirms to an employer that an individual possesses the basic workplace skills of reading, applied math and information locating. More information can be found at the Career Readiness Certification website. For questions, contact Stephanie Deese at deeses@nccommunitycolleges.edu.
Incumbent Workforce Program
North Carolina's Incumbent Workforce Development Program broadens the scope of the state's existing incumbent worker initiative. The program provides funding to established North Carolina businesses to provide educational and occupational skills training for current workers. For more information, visit the Worker Training Program section of this site. For questions, contact your local Workforce Development Board.
Sharing How Access to Resources Empowers (SHARE) Network
Together with its nine local areas, the Division of Workforce Solutions partnered with the U.S. Department of Labor and the Center for Faith-Based and Community Initiative to launch the SHARE Network North Carolina, making North Carolina the ninth state to join this initiative. SHARE Network enhances and expands the Commission’s JobLink system by strengthening the links between the public, government agencies, faith-based organizations, and community organizations. SHARE is comprised of two components: an On-Line Resource Directory and Access Points. For additional information please visit the N.C. SHARE Network web site or contact Linda Strong at lstrong@nccommerce.com.
Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED)
A U.S. Department of Labor initiative called Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, or WIRED funded a limited number of regions in the nation where educational institutions, companies, governments, and workforce and economic development organizations could partner to create innovative national demonstration projects to transform and rebuild their regional economies.
In February 2006, the Piedmont Triad Partnership was awarded a three-year, $15 million grant to help the region transition from its traditional economy based on textiles, apparel, furniture and tobacco to a new economy based on several growing industry clusters. North Carolina was one of 13 regions awarded the grant out of 100 proposals submitted from across the nation. Visit the Piedmont Triad Partnership's website and learn about the WIRED Works Final Report highlighting outcomes of the WIRED Initiative. For questions, contact Laura Spivey at lspivey@nccommerce.com.
Also see Workforce Investment Act projects funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).