WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT PLAN

Aligning our workforce and economic development efforts, assisting business grow by providing a skilled workforce, and helping job seekers build a bridge to economic self sufficiency through lifelong learning is part of the Region 7 Workforce Boards’ vision of how the workforce investment system will help Northwest Louisiana attain its strategic goals. To achieve these goals, the region is implementing demand driven strategies to create an education and workforce training system that operates seamlessly to support lifelong learning for all citizens of Northwest Louisiana and increases emphasis on workforce training focused on meeting the needs of business.

Led by the Governor’s Task Force on Workforce Competitiveness, the system is embarking on a business re-engineering project that will result in redesigned and reinvented employment and training services. This will lead to a dramatic improvement in service delivery resulting in a shift from a task-based system to a process-based demand driven service delivery system. Through the shared vision of state and local elected officials in Region 7, the Workforce Commission, the Region 7 Workforce Investment Boards, the education community, faith- based and community organizations, these goals can be achieved by integrating the services of the education and economic development systems with the workforce investment system.

To create a skilled force, not just a workforce, Region 7 is creating a customer focused demand driven system which:

1. Meets the needs of job seekers by identifying the needs of business customers for new and upgraded workers; and

2. Meets the needs of businesses by identifying their job skill requirements and insuring that the types of education and training provided meet these needs. This will both enable workers to secure and retain jobs and advance in the workplace and help business grow.

The system will encourage training programs to incorporate emerging and high growth job skills identified by businesses in flexible, responsive, and timely training programs that meet the changing needs of businesses. To provide flexibility, maximum use of Individual Training Accounts (ITA's) and On-the-Job Training (OJT) will be used to provide training in high demand/high growth occupations. In addition, the system will make maximum use of faith-based and community organizations.

Common performance indicators will be used to measure the effectiveness of each workforce development activity. To accomplish this goal, regional measurable performance standards across programs, such as completion rate, placement rate, salary, and retention rate, using independently verifiable outcomes data, are gathered through the Louisiana Virtual One-Stop (LAVOS) internet based computer system. This is encouraging regional and interagency planning and service delivery. To insure the system is demand driven, incentives will be based on integrated, regional service delivery to businesses as well as performance data.

To streamline the system, programs will reduce or eliminate duplication and inefficiency within the workforce development system thereby reducing costs. To achieve integrated seamless service delivery, the state continues to implement one-stop centers, thereby eliminating isolated delivery programs.

Savings realized through streamlining the system can be redirected toward investing in skill development of Northwest Louisiana's citizens.

In Region 7, businesses, training programs, labor, education, and community and faith-based organizations are forging effective partnerships. There are two (2) workforce investment areas contained within Region 7. To insure regional coordination and collaboration and that the system is locally operated, state agencies will decentralize delivery of workforce services and programs by appropriating the maximum funds allowable to regional levels.

To help stem the tide of out-migration, Region 7 is focused on improving the educational attainments and career development of youth. Youth programs funded through WIA are implementing a new strategic approach targeting out-of-school youth and other youth at-risk including foster care, incarcerated youth and those at-risk of dropping out.

By developing a systematic approach to link available services with the neediest youth, the system is attempting to insure businesses continue to have a steady supply of workers that possess both the basic skills and technical skills needed to sustain economic growth. In addition, the workforce system is focused on the work ethic by instilling good work habits as the foundation for successful employment, encouraging job training programs to build the work ethic component into the education system.

The core of this redesigned system is a one-stop service delivery system with two customers, business and job seekers. For the job seeker looking for a single physical location to access a full spectrum of local services, there are two (2) levels of one-stop service delivery in this region. There are four (4) full service comprehensive one-stop centers in Region 7. Six (6) parishes have point of contact career centers serving as a career information access point with electronic linkages throughout the system.

This allows customers to make informed choices about service delivery options and access quality workforce information. They can decide which level of service center best suits their current needs based on the services available at that center. LAVOS will document services to customers as they flow from core to intensive to training services across programs. Utilizing the flexibility provisions of WIA, the workforce investment system and the Governor's Task Force on Workforce Competitiveness will explore opportunities to pilot different integrated service delivery projects.

The collaborative process used to develop the WIA plan provides a clear picture of what the workforce development system wants to be in the 21st century and how to get there. The ability to modify the plan as the system evolves will allow it to focus not only on current products and services but also on where it needs to be in the future and what needs to be changed today to get there.

Sections contained in this Workforce Development Plan are:

Appendices

Labor Market Information – Northwest Louisiana Region 7
Projected Employment by Industry 2000 – 2010
Chart I – Percent Distribution of Industry By Industry in 2000
Chart II – Changes in Employment by Major Industrial Sectors from 2001 to 2003
Chart III – Job Vacancy Survey for Major Occupational Groups
Chart IV – Projected Changes in Employment by Industrial Sector from 2000 to 2010
Chart V – Top 30 Occupations Based on Total Projected Annual Job Openings
Chart VI – Top 30 Occupations Based on Total Projected Annual Job Openings Due to Growth
Chart VII – Examples of Dominant Occupations Found in Six Major Industry Sectors
Chart VIII – Education, Training, and Work Experience Required for Selected Occupations

Procurement Policies and Procedures