The Workforce Preparation Network (WPN),
a United Way initiative, is making an impact on youth and
displaced workers.
Forty community partners in
business, industry, social service, education, government, and
labor are working together to help Monroe County residents
increase economic self-sufficiency and decrease poverty.
With $178,000 in support from the
Lilly Endowment (through the Indiana Association of United Ways
4Community program), WPN partners are coordinating their
resources to help students and adults achieve their educational,
vocational, and life goals.
WPN Addresses Poverty by
Preparing Workers
The 2003 SCAN assessment revealed that poverty is one of the
most pressing issues in Monroe County. Further research
attributed this, in part, to a lack of youth work skills, high
drop-out rates, and under-employment. Through WPN, a diverse
group of dedicated partners work to reverse this trend by
equipping our youth and transitional workers with tools to
succeed in the highly competitive and rapidly changing 21st
century economy.
What are the
goals of the WPN?
1. Enhance the awareness of local employment and career
preparation resources and opportunities
2. Increase the pool of qualified employees, especially for high
demand fields, through improved access to both career
preparation and advancement
3. Promote career and worker preparation resources in our
community, especially for youth and teens
4. Identify and incorporate the development of employee soft
skills in career preparation and advancement
5. Facilitate the creation of a supportive environment where
every individual in Monroe County earns at least a high school
diploma or equivalent
6. Reach vulnerable populations through these efforts, including
at-risk teens, persons with disabilities, persons for whom
English is not their first language, and persons experiencing
economic and related barriers to education and career
advancement
7. Coordinate a “clearinghouse” concept for community data,
community initiatives and best practices information
8. Enhance community understanding of the 21st century work
environment
9. Promote a culture of life-long learning
What is the WPN doing about this situation?
The WPN is seizing an opportunity to promote the work and
life skills that are necessary to increase our individual and
combined self-sufficiency. Working with a variety of community
stakeholders including business, labor, social service,
governmental, educational and other partners, the WPN will act
as an umbrella of collaborative efforts. A unique feature of all
these efforts is the strong partnership bonds that are being
formed between the participants as we stay focused upon the greater vision of reduced poverty and increased self-sufficiency
for Monroe County. Read more about the
exciting projects that are part
of the WPN!
Partnership
Building: A major benefit of the WPN is that community partners, some of whom have
never worked together before, can share ideas and resources.
Many community groups have joined the WPN:
- Amethyst House
- Big Brothers Big Sisters
- Bloomington Life Sciences
Partnership
- Boys and Girls Club
- Catholic Charities
- City of Bloomington
- Four Rivers Resources
- Franklin Initiative
- Girl Scouts of Tulip Trace
- Girls Incorporated
- Greater Bloomington Chamber
of Commerce
- IBEW Local 725
- Indiana Division of Family
Resources
- Indiana Legal Services
- Indiana University
- Indiana Youth Institute
- Ivy Tech Community
College-Bloomington
- LIUNA Local 741
- Local Growers Guild
- MCCSC Adult Education
- Middle Way House
- Monroe County Commissioners
- Monroe County Drug Court
- Monroe County Economic
Development
- Monroe County Community
School Corporation
- Monroe County Public Library
- Monroe County United
Ministries
- Options for Better Living
- Plumbers & Steamfitters U.A.
Local 136
- Purdue Extension
- Richland Bean Blossom School
Corporation
- SEED Corporation
- Shalom Community Center
- Step Ahead Council
- Stepping Stones
- South Central Indiana
Building Trades
- Stone Belt Arc
- United Way of Monroe County
- Youth Services Bureau
- White River Central Labor
Council
- Work One
Investors:
In Monroe County, several groups have invested their funds
to provide seed money for this project: Franklin Initiative,
Monroe County Step Ahead Council, Ivy Tech Community College –
Region 14, Stone Belt Arc, IBEW Local 725, LIUNA Local 741, UA
Local 136, South Central Indiana Building Trades, White River
Central Labor Council, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Catholic
Charities, Girl Scouts, Girls Inc., Rhinos Youth Center, and
United Way of Monroe County
