Page 13 - HC B2B Spring21

HELENA WINS SPRING UPDATE
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By McKinley Winkle
Workforce Connections Website
The Department of Labor has partnered with Chambers of Commerce across Montana to create a new website that will highlight unique job opportunities within business organizations. The Montana Department of Labor will host the site and provide staff at local job services to assist in getting your opportunities posted. Chambers of Commerce across Montana will provide staff to assist in connecting schools to the site and help businesses think of unique, out-of-the-box opportunities. This site was created to address the lack of knowledge
school-age kids have about the labor market and to create an easy and effective way for educators and school counselors to access career information and opportunities.
Virtual Manufacturing Night
Helena WINS partnered with Helena College to host a virtual manufacturing night. The event included an employer panel with representatives from Boeing, Pioneer Aerostructures, and Diversified Plastics, Helena College faculty from both the manufacturing and welding programs, and former students who have gone through Helena College and now have careers in their field of study. To start, there was a general manufacturing video played, Helena College teachers talked about their programs, employers were asked a series of questions about manufacturing and how it relates to their business, what is intriguing to them about manufacturing and ended with questions from participants. The event was a success with 32 participants in attendance.
iGraduate Grant
Helena WINS has submitted for our
third year of iGraduate Grant funding.
The proposal was based on connecting middle school and high school students
to career and technical education and connecting students to high demand
jobs in our community. The three main strategies WINS identified in the application included: Increasing student awareness of career opportunities in Helena’s growth industries through increasing communication between industry and education, increasing interest in technical education and trades programs, and increasing student work skills training and work-based learning opportunities.
Labor Market Report
Thanks to Helena WINS, Reach Higher Montana, Montana Youth Apprenticeship Partnership (MYAP), Montana Business Assistance Connection (MBAC), and American Jobs for America’s Youth (AJAY MT) we will have a Helena area labor market report. The document will be an economic and workforce report describing current economic conditions in the Helena region identifying, labor market trends, gaps between supply and demand of workers, constraints impacting attraction, comparing amenities and more.
Helena Area
Summer Jobs Program
Helena WINS has partnered with American Jobs for America’s Youth Montana (AJAY MT) for the third year in a row for the Helena Area Summer Jobs Program (HSJP). HSJP helps grow the local workforce, connect employers to
motivated young employees, and
develop young employees’ work skills while exposing them to potential career paths. Students in the program are matched with a paid summer job or internship, complete a work skills training prior to summer, and meet with a mentor throughout their experience to develop their skills and explore career paths. We currently have just under 40 employers and over 50 student applicants.
INVOLVEMENT IS CRUCIAL TO THE SUCCESS OF HELENA WINS AND WE WANT YOU TO BE A PART OF IT!
If you have any questions or are interested in learning more about our Helena WINS program, visit our website at helenawins.com or email our Director at mwinkle@helenachamber.com.
SPRING 2021 B2B - A Publication of the Helena Area Chamber of Commerce 13